Plymouth Colony ( eng. Plymouth Colony ) is an English colony that existed from 1620 to 1691 in the south-east of modern Massachusetts . Along with the Virginia colony - the oldest British settlement in the US (hence the second name - Old Colony, "The Old Colony").
New Plymouth , the successor of the Old Colony and the first large settlement on the territory of New England , was founded in November 1620 by Cape Cod rounders and moored to the Plymouth cliff on the Mayflower by “ pilgrim fathers ” who fled from the persecution of the English authorities. The place where New Plymouth originated was previously investigated by captain John Smith .
The legal basis for the colony was an agreement concluded aboard the Mayflower . Being founded by deeply religious people, the Plymouth colony was distinguished by its puritan customs and adherence to traditions. Some of them have become an integral part of American culture . These include the custom of celebrating Thanksgiving (first celebrated by pilgrims in New Plymouth in 1621).
In addition to internal disagreements, the Indians were the main danger for the colony. In the years 1635-1636 during the so-called. of the Pecot War, the Pequot Indians were exterminated by colonists ; their villages on the bank of the Pecot River were burnt together with the inhabitants (see en: Mystic massacre ). In 1675–1676, the Plymouth colony became the scene of a bloody Indian uprising led by the leader of the vampanoag Metacomet .
In 1691, the Plymouth colony was merged with the Massachusetts Bay colony and the Maine colony in the province of Massachusetts .
Literature
- Addison, Albert Christopher. The Romantic Story of the Mayflower Pilgrims . - The Plymouth Colony Archive Project, 1911.
- Deetz, James. Their Lives: Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony. - New York: WH Freeman and Company, 2000. - ISBN 0-7167-3830-9 .
- Demos, John. A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony. - New York: Oxford University Press, 1970.
- Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. - New York: Penguin Group, 2006. - ISBN 0-670-03760-5 .
- Weinstein, Allen. The Story of America: Freedom and Crisis from Settlement to Superpower. - New York: DK Publishing, 2002. - ISBN 0-7894-8903-1 .
Links
Plymouth Colony Travel Guide on Wikigid (Eng.)
- Colonial America: Plymouth Colony 1620 — A short history of Colony hosted at US-History.com, includes a map of all the colonies.
- The Plymouth Colony Archive Project — A collection of primary sources for the Plymouth Colony.
- Pilgrim ships from 1602 to 1638 —Pilgrim ships searchable by ship name, sailing date and passengers.
- History of the Town of Plymouth 1620 ... —Free Google eBook; PDF format