“Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; [we] Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid … ”
– The Mayflower Compact, 11 November 1620 by the old calendar (or 21 November 1620 by the new calendar)
I grew up with the story of the Pilgrim Fathers, who settled at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts (and not in Virginia, as they had originally intended). It is one of the great stories in American history, but it was not the beginning of the English colonies on this continent. Before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, there was a settlement in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. But this Jamestown settlement wasn't anywhere near as successful as the later Pilgrim settlement. Both were racked by starvation and disease that claimed many lives, but the Pilgrim settlement survived, when the Jamestown settlement did not. Some brief comments about the Jamestown settlement may thus be warranted here, to give you an appreciation of what the Pilgrims did (although their success was marred somewhat by their relations with the Indians, in the ways that I will note soon).
Some brief comments about the Jamestown settlement (and the PBS documentary about it)
Regarding the Jamestown settlement, I actually purchased another documentary called “Secrets of the Dead: Jamestown's Dark Winter” (also by PBS). This voyage did actually land in Virginia, as they had originally intended (unlike the Pilgrim voyage, which landed in Massachusetts). But sadly for me, this Jamestown documentary was more focused on the archaeology involved than on the history. Thus, it is not to be construed as an actual “history” of the Jamestown settlement. The focus here is on the archaeological examination of the human remains found there. For example, they were able to show in this documentary that the grim stories about resorting to cannibalism at Jamestown were actually true. Although this was gross, it was certainly dramatic enough; but it did not satisfy my craving for the human story of what happened there. There was some passing mention of John Smith and Pocahontas, for example, but most of the story centered on the body of a teenage girl whose real name is unknown (although they call her “Jane” to identify her as a Jane Doe.) The definitive documentary about what happened at Jamestown, it would seem, thus has yet to be made at the time that I write this. By contrast, this documentary about “The Pilgrims” was much better; although it was not without some revisionist elements that I will note later on in this post. For now, I will just say that I found it to be entertaining despite its revisionism, and would recommend it to others anyway.
European origins of the Mayflower voyage, and comments on revisionism regarding religious freedom motivations
“The Pilgrims” is by Ric Burns – the brother of the more famous Ken Burns (another great filmmaker), as you may know. It starts with the story of those who would eventually travel on the Mayflower, before they had decided to set sail for the Americas. This history of this group when they were back in Europe is almost as interesting as their better-known story in the New World, in my opinion. It starts with a group of Puritan Separatists back in England. At this time, it was illegal not to attend services in the Church of England, and Protestant nonconformists like the Puritans could get into some trouble with the law. The future Pilgrims actually moved to the Netherlands around 1607 or 1608, at about the same time that the Jamestown settlement was being founded. To make a long story short, the Puritans would eventually decide to leave Holland and go to America, where they would eventually be free of this kind of religious persecution. They were supported by England (rather than Holland), and got permission from the English king, on the condition that their religion would not be officially recognized by the state. In some ways, the English were probably glad to be rid of these “stubborn nonconformists.” One of the revisionist elements of this documentary is their assertion that the Puritans did not go to Plymouth for “religious freedom.” They actually agree that these Puritans wanted religious freedom for themselves, but argue that they were willing to deny it to others when it suited their purposes. But even if true, this does not really disprove the motivation of religious freedom. This is indeed a big part of why they went to the New World, and it was a motivation for many future settlements long after the time of the Pilgrims. If their revisionism were actually backed by evidence, that would be a different story. But without such evidence, revisionism is a negative thing; and compromises their objectivity in some ways with political motivation.
The Embarkation of the Pilgrims
The Mayflower voyage, landfall in the New World, and the signing of the Mayflower Compact
Their coverage of the Mayflower voyage is itself fairly dramatic, and helps to show that this was a difficult voyage. But the most interesting part of the documentary for me starts when they finally arrive in the New World. They first sighted land on November 9th, 1620; and were anchored in the harbor for a few days before they made landfall. As one of the commentators says, it was like they were landing on another planet. The parallels to science fiction are numerous, and help to make this more understandable to a modern audience, who were raised on some amount of science fiction. Mention is also made of the Mayflower Compact, and how it created something of a social contract between the people and the government. It was not as sophisticated as later social contracts like the United States Constitution, but it did influence the Constitution (as I note elsewhere, in a blog post primarily focused on another document, called the “Fundamental Orders of Connecticut”). For example, the Mayflower Compact says that they combined themselves into a “civil Body Politick,” and promised “all due Submission and Obedience” to the “just and equal laws” that they believed it to create. The Mayflower Compact is thus almost as important as the journey itself, and helped to set the course of a democratic America built on the “consent of the governed.” In this, at least, the documentary is not very revisionist.
Landing of the Pilgrims
Signing of the Mayflower Compact
Revisionism in how it depicts the relations with the Indians, and the first Thanksgiving dinner
The actual revisionism comes more from how it depicts their relations with the Indians. For example, they argue that there was never a combined Thanksgiving dinner between the Pilgrims and the Indians, in the way that it is typically imagined. But “the way that it was typically imagined” limits this statement enough to deprive it somewhat of its apparent surface meaning. The fact that the dinner happened, even if the popular version of events has embellished it in some ways, remains despite their apparent revisionism. Of course, not all of their relations with the Indians were friendly – there were some open hostilities at this time, as this documentary notes. The Pilgrims were weak, and did try to conceal the true extent of this weakness from the Indians. But there were far more Englishmen where the Pilgrims had come from, of course, so the tide of colonization could not be stopped at this time. Rather, it marched inexorably onwards as English-speaking Americans invaded the continent, and stole this land from the Native Americans.
First Thanksgiving at Plymouth
Thanksgiving at Plymouth
Comments on the style of the film, and their use of the diaries of William Bradford
The film makes excellent use of the diaries of William Bradford, which are brought to life magnificently by actor Roger Rees. These help to give a personal element to the story, and show how much the Pilgrims were haunted by the memories of that first winter. The facial expressions of Roger Rees help to show how haunted this man must have been at the time. Furthermore, they dramatize his story to an extent that the words alone might have some trouble doing – although the words also add much to the drama, by bringing the starvation and disease to life. Like the Jamestown settlement, the Pilgrims lost many to these deadly killers of “starvation and disease,” but ultimately survived the harsh winter despite these things. The survivors were actually very successful at spreading their genes, and many Americans (including myself) can trace their ancestry back to passengers from the Mayflower. If biology is about the survival of one’s own genetic line, the surviving Pilgrims were very successful at accomplishing this goal. It was a successful experiment, although it often came at the expense of the Indians.
William Bradford, later the Governor of the Plymouth Colony
Conclusion: This is actually a great film despite its many weaknesses
So despite the revisionist elements noted earlier, this is still a fantastic film that tells a great story. The drama of the frontier is brought to life for a new generation. Few in my own generation know much about it beyond the obvious mistreatment of the Indians. That imperialist motive was certainly there (racism and all), but the Pilgrims accomplished something that was significant despite these failures (as this film notes). They laid the foundations of American democracy, and a New England society that was not based upon plantation slavery. Their legacy has not been universally good, of course, but nor has it been universally bad. This film notes both their successes and their failures, and thus seems overall to be worth having.
“ … by Virtue hereof [we] do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience … ”
– The Mayflower Compact, 11 November 1620 by the old calendar (or 21 November 1620 by the new calendar)
“Secrets of the Dead: Jamestown's Dark Winter” DVD at Amazon
“The Pilgrims” DVD at Amazon
Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate marketer, and can sometimes make money when you buy the product using the link(s) above.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
My discussion of the Mayflower Compact and the “Fundamental Orders of Connecticut”
A review of Alistair Cooke's “America: A Personal History of the United States” (BBC)
A review of “The War That Made America: The Story of the French and Indian War” (PBS)
A review of “Liberty! The American Revolution” (PBS) and “The Revolution” (History Channel)
A review of “Rebels & Redcoats: How Britain Lost America” (British-made)
Part of a series about
American history
Colonial America and the Pilgrims
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