{"id":2478,"date":"2024-10-10T20:48:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T20:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/?page_id=2478"},"modified":"2025-02-28T02:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:33:09","slug":"pilgrims-first-winter-1620","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/pilgrims-first-winter-1620\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilgrims&#8217; First Winter (1620)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2479\" style=\"width: 565px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2479\" class=\" wp-image-2479\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall-300x154.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall-300x154.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall-1024x525.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall-768x394.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall-1536x788.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall-624x320.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/10\/Mayflower_in_Plymouth_Harbor_by_William_Halsall.jpg 1599w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2479\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">William Halsall, English, 1841\u20131919. The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor Massachusetts 1620, 1882. Oil paint on canvas, Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><b>What happened?<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In November 1620, a group of English settlers called the Pilgrims, many of whom were fleeing religious persecution in England, arrived in Cape Cod in the present-day state of Massachusetts, USA (image above). The Pilgrims traveled aboard their ship, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayflower<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from England for two months. The ship was originally supposed to dock further south, near the Hudson River in New York, but rough seas threw it off course.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After a month of exploring, the Pilgrims finally anchored in Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts, where they would go on to establish the second permanent English colony in the Americas, after Jamestown in Virginia. Throughout the winter of 1620, the Pilgrims lived on the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayflower<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, ferrying to land to work on building their settlement. The Pilgrims moved into Plymouth colony by March of 1621, five months after arriving in the Americas.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of the 100 passengers on the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayflower<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, less than half survived the winter of 1620 to 1621. Confined to the ship for most of the winter, many Pilgrims died from disease.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pilgrims survived in the New World with help from the Indigenous Patuxet people, who belonged to the larger Wampanoag nation. The Patuxet taught the Pilgrims how to endure the harsh weather conditions, plant local crops, and fish.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Disease brought by earlier European colonists decimated the Wampanoag population, part of an event known as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-great-dying-c-1520-1700-ce\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Great Dying<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> by Western scholars. Weakened by European diseases, the Patuxet people joined the Pilgrims in an effort to defend their land.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Patuxet man named Tisquantum, commonly referred to as Squanto, mediated the interactions between the Pilgrims and Patuxet people. Tisquantum had experience with English colonizers and spoke English. In 1614, he and seven other Indigenous men were abducted by English explorer Thomas Hunt and taken to England to be sold as slaves. He was able to return home to North America as a guide.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The relationship between the Patuxet people and the Pilgrims was originally peaceful and respectful. However, this changed as more English settlers arrived and began to forcibly take Indigenous land.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>How is this related to climate?<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts during the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-effects-of-the-little-ice-age\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Little Ice Age<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a period of wide-spread cooling that particularly affected Europe and North America. According to NASA, winters in North America were colder than average temperatures between the Little Ice Age and the start of the Industrial Revolution.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The winter of 1620 was actually mild by Little Ice Age standards, but still much cooler than today. However, the harsh winter weather was more extreme than the Pilgrims anticipated. Historical accounts indicate that the soil was frozen solid, and a snowstorm delayed scouting trips, causing the Pilgrims to take longer to find a spot to settle.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>References and additional resources<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harrington, N. \u201cWeather and the Thanksgiving Story.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CBS 42 News<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. November 2015. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs42.com\/news\/weather-and-the-thanksgiving-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.cbs42.com\/news\/weather-and-the-thanksgiving-story<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Haynes, S. \u201c400 Years After the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayflower<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Set Sail, a New Exhibit Acknowledges the U.K.\u2019s Impact on Native American Communities.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">TIME Magazine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. September 2020. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5888990\/native-americans-mayflower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/time.com\/5888990\/native-americans-mayflower\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cPlymouth Colony.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">History.com<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. June 2023. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/colonial-america\/plymouth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/colonial-america\/plymouth<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe First Winter: The Pilgrims.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">PBS LearningMedia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 2023. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pbslearningmedia.org\/resource\/americanexperience27p-soc-firstwinter\/the-first-winter-the-pilgrims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/pbslearningmedia.org\/resource\/americanexperience27p-soc-firstwinter\/the-first-winter-the-pilgrims\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe Sun\u2019s Chilly Impact on Earth.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">NASA<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. n.d. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/svs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/stories\/iceage_20011207\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/svs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/stories\/iceage_20011207\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wolfe, B. \u201cThe Little Ice Age and Colonial Virginia.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Encyclopedia Virginia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. December 2020. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopediavirginia.org\/entries\/little-ice-age-and-colonial-virginia-the\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/encyclopediavirginia.org\/entries\/little-ice-age-and-colonial-virginia-the\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to cite this page<\/h3>\n<p><em>Pilgrims&#8217; First Winter (1620)<\/em>. (2025, January 31). Climate in Global Cultures and Histories: Promoting Climate Literacy Across Disciplines. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/pilgrims-first-winter-1620\/\">https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/pilgrims-first-winter-1620\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What happened? In November 1620, a group of English settlers called the Pilgrims, many of whom were fleeing religious persecution in England, arrived in Cape Cod in the present-day state [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2478","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pilgrims&#039; First Winter (1620) - Climate in Arts and History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/pilgrims-first-winter-1620\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pilgrims&#039; First Winter (1620) - Climate in Arts and History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What happened? 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