December 21: Mayflower is the name of the English boat that carried the first British separatists, known today as the Pilgrims of Plymouth to the New World who arrived at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on December 21st. 1620, under the leadership of William Bradfor.

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882).

Due to a series of problems on the ship, they were forced to return twice to repair shortly after sailing. In a third attempt, they finally left Plymouth on September 6, and were able to arrive on 11 November.

A harrowing scene of the the Mayflower at Sea, by Mike Haywood provided by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

The ship carried 102 people, not counting the crew. They were the first colonists to settle in the Massachusetts coast, forming the Plymouth Colony. Christopher Jones and several of his friends who became partners purchased the ship Mayflower for busness.

We should remember of the differences between the Puritans and the Anglican Church recently founded by Henry VIII in England. The Puritans, who were those who departed from Plymouth, applied an even more radical philosophy regarding the laws of the Anglican Church, even more fervently that Calvinists. First there was an attempt to retreat to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but it was not quite right decision, and decided to return to Southampton.

"Embarkation of the Pilgrims," by Robert Walter Weir - William Bradford is depicted at center, kneeling in the background, symbolically behind Governor John Carver (holding hat) whom Bradford would succeed. Brooklyn Museum.

There were promised land (it is not known who and why) in New England and the September 16, 1620 would leave for there. Pilgrims sought to create a new Jerusalem and purify the Anglican religion and the evils that plagued.