Mayflower (ship)
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mayflower is a ship. It is most famous when Pilgrims and other settlers travelled on it to the Pymouth colony in Massachusetts. Mayflower set sail from England in July of 1620, but had to turn around twice because Speedwell, the ship it was traveling with, kept leaking. It finally got underway on September 6, leaving the leaky Speedwell behind. After over two-months at sea, the English colonists finally arrived at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. A few weeks later, they sailed up the coast to Plymouth, and started to build their town where a group of Wampanoag people had lived before (a sickness had killed most of them). They lived on the ship for a few more months, rowing ashore to build houses during the day, and returning to the ship at night. Many people began to get very sick from the cold and the wet — it was December! About half the people on Mayflower died that first winter from what they described as a “general sickness” of colds, coughs and fevers. Finally, in March of 1621, there were enough houses that everyone could live on land. After a long, hard voyage, and an even harder winter, Mayflower set sail back to England on April 5, 1621. The crew (sailors and officers of the ship) lived on the upper decks. There were about 26 crewmembers on Mayflower on the journey from England. The Master, in charge of sailing the ship, was Christopher Jones (we would call him “captain” today.) He probably had his quarters, or living space, at the back of the ship, called the stern. This was the driest and most comfortable area on the ship. The common sailors, or regular workers, had their quarters at the front of the ship, or bow, in a room called the forecastle. The forecastle, or fo'c'sle , wasn't a pleasant place to sleep or eat. It was constantly hit by waves, so it was always wet and cold. The sailors would have to get used to the swaying and pitching of the ship because it was at its strongest here (like being on a roller coaster all the time!) Also, most of the men would be going to the bathroom at the head, which was at the very tip of the bow. So it wasn't very clean. There were also officers on Mayflower, who were responsible for sailing and navigating the ship. They probably lived in between the Master and the common sailors. Their quarters weren't as nice as the Master's cabin, but not as awful as the where the common sailors had to live. There were also officers on Mayflower, who were responsible for sailing and navigating the ship. They probably lived in between the Master and the common sailors. Their quarters weren't as nice as the Master's cabin, but not as awful as the where the common sailors had to live. So where did the passengers live on Mayflower? The ship carried 102 men, women and children in 1620 on its only trip to New England. That's right, they all had to live in the dark, damp, cold cargo decks down below the crew's quarters! The passengers were the cargo!
