MAYFLOWER

• 1580s – A movement begins within the Church of England with a goal to reform and purify the Church of England (“Puritanism”)
• 1590s – Separatism begins as an extension of Puritanism and its followers believed the Church of England to be beyond reform and they sought to establish their own church by moving to the Netherlands which offered religious freedom.
• March 25, 1603 – Queen Elizabeth I dies and is succeeded by her cousin, James I.
• January 1604 – At the Hampton Court Conference, Puritan leaders petitioned King James for reforms to the Church of England; most of the Puritan proposals were rejected.
• 1605 – Following the Hampton Court Conference, Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, targets the Puritan ministers and seeks to deprive them of their offices (livings).
• 1606 – The congregation in Scrooby secretly breaks with the Church of England; members include William Bradford and William and Mary Brewster.
• 1607 – Scrooby congregants plan to flee for Holland, but are caught and jailed.
• 1609 – Congregation moves to City of Leiden. “When they weren’t praying, the Pilgrims were working.”
• 1613 – First wife of Stephen Hopkins, mother of Constance and Giles, dies in England
• 1617 – European illness wipes out many Wampanoag villages, including Patuxet (which eventually becomes Plymouth settlement)
• 1618 – After nine years in Holland, the Scrooby congregation remained poor due to their inability to take skilled labor jobs and they were increasingly concerned that their children were becoming more Dutch than English; the rumor of war between Holland and Catholic Spain could spell the end of the country’s religious freedoms. The congregation decides to pursue a colony in the “New World” so they can worship freely and raise their children as English colonists.
• 1618 – The Pilgrims needed ships and supplies for the 3,000 mile journey and sought help from the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London; the merchants agreed to help pay for the journey and settlement in return for payment in furs, fish, wood, and other valuable goods. The Merchant Adventurers also assisted with the procurement of the land patent which gave the group the right to claim a section of land in the Virginia Territory with English government protections.
• July 1620 – The Speedwell leaves Holland with 57 passengers
• July 1620 – A second group of passengers were waiting to depart on the Mayflower; many were Puritans but other were passengers selected by the merchants to help the colony – these passengers were called “Strangers.” 
• August 5, 1620 – Both Speedwell and Mayflower depart but are forced to turn back when Speedwell develops leaks
• September 6, 1620 – Mayflower departs with 102 passengers aboard after Speedwell is abandoned; Captain is Christopher Jones. It would be a difficult passage given the violent ocean winds and storms common in autumn.
• During the journey - Death of Will Butten
• During the journey – Birth of Oceanus Hopkins
• November 9, 1620 – Land is spotted; William Bradford: “The appearance of it [North America] much comforted us… it caused us to rejoice together and praise God.”
• November 10, 1620 – Sunday, Sabbath rest observed
• November 11, 1620 – The ship was in Massachusetts but the Pilgrim land patent was for the Virginia Territory; Captain Jones intended to take his passengers south. The journey along the coast came to the Pollack Rip, a deadly section of shoreline where the ship nearly sank. Captain Jones turned back and anchored at Cape Cod. This change of plan led to dissension among the passengers. Some of the Strangers argued for a split from the Pilgrims since their land patent was no longer valid; the Strangers concluded they were free to strike out on their own. Others realized the need to work together to ensure survival. After debate the decision to stay together was ratified when the Mayflower Compact was signed by the adult male passengers.
• November 11, 1620 – John Carver elected as first Governor
• December 5, 1620 – Francis Billington (eight years old) accidentally set a fire on board the Mayflower
• December 6, 1620 – Birth of Peregrine White, son of Susanna and William White, was the first child born to the Pilgrims in America.
• December 6, 1620 – Shallop departs for exploration; for about a month the male passengers searched Cape Cod for a place to settle. The settlers discover the empty wigwams (summer homes) of the Nauset people; they had likely moved inland for the winter. The settlers stole baskets of dried corn and other items found that they believed would help them survive. No attempts were made to leave payment or a peace offering. The Nausets were watching and were angered by the theft.
• December 7, 1620 – The “First Encounter” was an attack on a group of settlers on the following morning. The Pilgrims fought back, but the Nauset fighters fled before anyone was hurt.
• December 7, 1620 – Decision made to leave Cape Cod for Plymouth
• December 7, 1620 – Death of Mrs. Bradford
• December 11, 1620 – The small group of men who sailed for Plymouth Harbor landed; the remaining passengers had stayed on board the Mayflower.
• December 1620/January 1621 – Construction of Common House begins to house shared food supplies
• January 1621 – Scurvy like illness kills nearly 50% of settlers; sickness is exacerbated by cold weather, poor food, and exhaustion
• February 1621 – Stephen Hopkins recovers; Damaris Hopkins (child) dies
• March 1621 – Completion of Hopkins family house
• March 16, 1621 – Samoset (Abenaki tribesman) enters Plymouth village; he surprises settlers by speaking English. He had leaned English from the fur trappers and fishermen in Pemaquid (modern day Maine). Samoset tells the Pilgrims about the Wampanoag people who live nearby and their leader, Massasoit. The Pilgrims want to make peace after their previous encounter with the Nausets.
• March 22, 1621 – Samoset returns with four men from Massasoit’s village including Squanto, the only survivor from Patuxet. Peace is made between the settlers and Massasoit. Squanto lives in the village and teaches them how to catch eel and seafood and where to find wild fruits and other plants; also how to plant corn and fertilize the soil with dead fish.
• April 1621 – Mayflower departs for England leaving approximately 50 settlers in Plymouth
• May 1621 – Governor Carver dies unexpectedly, possibly from a stroke or heat exhaustion. William Bradford becomes Governor and Isaac Allerton is named his assistant.
• May 1621 – Edward Winslow and Susanna White marry.
• June 1621 – Governor Bradford selects Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins to take food, arms, and gifts to a meeting with Massasoit.
• Fall 1621 – Governor Bradford orders a day of thanksgiving and feasting after crops are harvested and to which Massasoit is invited; he brings 90 braves and they contribute deer. The celebration last most of 3 days.
• November 1621 – Arrival of Fortune
• December 1621 – The Puritan settlers do not celebrate a traditional Christmas; the Strangers had their own private festivities.
• Early 1622 – The Narragansetts threaten with arrows in a snakeskin; the settlers decide to build a fort on the hill and a fence around the village. Four companies are created and assigned a wall of the stockade to guard.
• April 1622 – A high fence is constructed, also new houses; then a fire destroys four houses but the settlers are able to save the Common House.
• June 1622 – Oceanus Hopkins died
• September 1622 – Stephen Hopkins fined for a master and his servants drinking and idling together.
• December 1622 – After two years of constant work, constant hunger for the settlers the decision is made to allow ownership apart from the communal farming.
• February 1623 – Caleb Hopkins in born
• July 1623 – After weeks of drought, the Governor orders a day of prayer for rain. A ‘steady, delicate, penetrating, soaking, quenching shower’ follows and lasts for nearly 2 weeks.
• August 1623 – Arrival of the ship Anne; Little James is missing
• September 1623 – Little James arrives; Constance Hopkins first meets Nicholas Snow
• October 1623 – Anne returns to England while Little James stays as a fishing and trading vessel
• Fall 1623 (est) – Fortune captured by pirates and 500 pounds worth of beaver is lost
• March 1624 – Governor Bradford names four additional assistants to help Isaac Allerton, including Stephen Hopkins, Edward Winslow, Captain Standish, and Richard Warren
• March 1624 – Little James sinks; Charity arrives
• June 1625 – Deborah Hopkins born
• February 1626 – Constance Hopkins marries Nicholas Snow
• 1630s – Plymouth, other colonies expand
• 1657 – William Bradford dies
• 1660 – Massasoit dies
• 1662 – Massasoit’s son Metacom, also known as King Philip, becomes leader of the Wampanoags
• 1673 – Josiah Winslow is the first American born Governor of Plymouth; he does not continue his father’s good relationship with the Wampanoags
• 1675/1676 – King Philip’s War
• 1691 – Plymouth Colony becomes part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Image - Mayflower, Bernard Gribble; Mayflower | History, Voyage, Landing, & Facts | Britannica