University of Batna 2 Mostefa Ben Boulaid

Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages

Department of English Language and Literature

CCL/ First Year LMD / Groups : 4 and 5 / Teacher: Mrs. Khelkhal

Colonial America
The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony

1. Why did the Pilgrims travel to America?

The Pilgrims were a group of English settlers who left Europe in search of religious freedom in the
Americas. They established the Plymouth Colony in 1620.
The Pilgrims traveled to America in search of a new way of life. Many of the Pilgrims were part of a
religious group called Separatists. They were called this because they wanted to "separate" from the
Church of England and worship God in their own way. They were not allowed to do this in England
where they were persecuted and sometimes put in jail for their beliefs. Other Pilgrims were hoping to
find adventure or a better life in the New World.
2. Voyage on the Mayflower and Mayflower compact
The Pilgrims set sail on a ship called the Mayflower. In addition to the 102 passengers, there were
between 25 and 30 crewmen onboard the ship. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was long and
difficult. After two long months at sea, the Pilgrims finally reached land.
When the Pilgrims arrived in New England, they decided they needed to make an agreement on how
issues would be settled and the colony would be run. They signed a document that is today called the
Mayflower Compact. The compact declared that the colonists were loyal to the King of England, that
they were Christians who served God, that they would make fair and just laws, and that they would
each work for the good of the colony. The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 of the Pilgrim men
(the women were not allowed to sign).
3. Plymouth Colony
After arriving in America, the Pilgrims searched the coast of New England for a good place to build a
settlement. They eventually found a location called Plymouth. It had a calm harbor for their ship, a
river for fresh water, and flat lands where they could plant crops. It was here that they built their village
and established the Plymouth Colony.
The Pilgrims were happy to finally be in America, but things didn't get any easier for them. They were
not prepared for the cold winter. Many people got sick and died over the first winter. At one point

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 there were only around six people well enough to continue working. By the end of winter, only 47 out
of the original 102 settlers were still alive.
The Native Americans that lived in the same area as Plymouth Colony were the Wampanoag peoples.
The chief of the Wampanoag made contact with the Pilgrims. They established a peace treaty and
agreed to trade for animal furs. One Wampanoag man, Squanto, had traveled to Europe and could
speak some English. He agreed to stay with the Pilgrims and teach them how to survive. He taught
them how to plant corn, where to hunt and fish, and how to survive through the winter. Without
Squanto's help the colony probably wouldn't have survived.
4. Thanksgiving
The Pilgrims held a feast after their first harvest in 1621. They invited some of the local Wampanoag
people to join them. This feast is sometimes called the first Thanksgiving. They continued this tradition
and, in 1623, when they were celebrating the end of a long drought, they began to call the feast
"Thanksgiving."

The Puritans

1. Who were the Puritans?

The Puritans played a major role in colonizing much of the United States including the New England
colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The Puritans were English Christians
who did not agree with the practices of the Church of England. They were different from the
Separatists (many of the Pilgrims were Separatists) in that they wanted to stay with the Church of
England, but change the practices from within the church. The Separatists, on the other hand, wanted
to leave the Church of England and start their own church.
The Puritans moved to America in order to practice their religion free from persecution. All English
subjects were expected to be members of the Church of England. Being a Puritan was illegal and
people who practiced Puritanism had a tough time in England. Things got especially difficult for
Puritans in England around the 1620s and 1630s when the Catholic archbishop decided it was time to
wipe out Puritanism in England.
2. Puritan colonies
In 1630, eleven ships led by John Winthrop arrived in New England carrying more than 700 Puritan
settlers. They established the Massachusetts Bay Colony and settled near the modern day city of
Boston. John Winthrop served as governor of the new colony. He wanted it to be a "city on a hill" (a
passage from the Bible) that would be an example to Europe of how a Protestant society could flourish.
The Puritan leaders of Massachusetts Bay Colony had very strict rules and regulations regarding their
church. People who disagreed with them were often forced to leave the colony. Some of these people
formed new colonies to the south of Massachusetts including Rhode Island and Connecticut.

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 The thirteen colonies
The English presence continued to expand along the east coast of North America, eventually
developing into thirteen distinct colonies. As the colonies grew in population and wealth, they became
increasingly independent from England.
The colonies are often divided up into three regions including the New England Colonies, the Middle
Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. New England Colonies are : Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay,
New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Middle Colonies are : Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania. Southern Colonies are : Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia.