Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Review By: Jeff Beck, Compare Book Techie
Review Score:

Witness the birth of the nation through the eyes of history's most inspiring colony. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War, by Nathaniel Philbrick is the epic tail of the Pilgrims' colony in America. While the subject is familiar, be warned: forget everything you thought you new about the Pilgrims' voyage and settlement in the new world. Philbrick deftly demonstrates his talent for presenting history in such a personal and heart-felt way, you will feel a part of this perilous journey.

The book opens with the group of devote English Puritans living in Leiden, Holland. They had left their motherland to escape persecution from the Church of England. As Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War points out, the notion that they risked coming to the New World for religious freedom is bogus: they had found such tolerance among the Dutch. Their journey across the Atlantic had more to do their desire to remain British, and not be affected by Dutch culture, than it did about the freedom to worship as they saw fit. This cultural desire must have been extremely strong, however, as the odds of establishing a successful colony were extremely poor. The book describes how so far all but one English colonization attempt had been met with complete failure and disaster. And the one "successful" colony, Jamestown, had seen a death-toll of three thousand of the original three thousand six hundred settlers. That apparently is a new use of the word "successful" that I am not familiar with.

Even before they embarked, the Pilgrims were confronted with near-insurmountable obstacles. In order to secure funding for their venture, the Pilgrims signed on with a private investor group out of England named The Adventurers. While the original agreement with this group was favorable, the Pilgrims were forced to sign an amended agreement that secured all six work days (the seventh being a day of worship) as working for The Adventurers. But perhaps more notable, at least from a historical point of view, is the agreement change which sent nearly as many company employees from The Adventurers across the total Pilgrims, no doubt to allow the company to maintain control over their investment. This notable change ultimately led to the Mayflower Compact, an agreement between Pilgrims and employees. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War describes how neither party was overjoyed at the prospect of working together. However, they quickly realized that if they could not overlook their differences, they would not last long.

Due to a series of leakage problems (which forced the Pilgrims to abandon their own ship, and cast lots in The Adventurers' rented Mayflower), the colonists did not arrive in America until early winter. Needless to say, this placed the Pilgrims in dire circumstances. Common knowledge would have you believe that this is where the Native Americans stepped in, and saved they day with the first Thanksgiving meal. However, according to Mayflower : A Story of Courage, Community and War, the historic meal did not occur until the following autumn. This first winter was little more than hardship and death for the new settlers.

Which isn't to say they had no contact with the American natives. In fact, if it wasn't for a theft of several bags of Indian corn, they may have never been a Plymouth. This theft led to an initially hostile relationship between Pilgrims and Indians. However, the Pilgrims rock-solid resolve ultimately won over the local natives, which opened correspondence and trading.

The first Thanksgiving has little in common with the second grade diorama you built all those years ago. Chairs and tables were scares at best, meaning most participants sat and ate on the ground. As Mayflower : A Story of Courage, Community and War describes, most of the participants were not Pilgrims at all, but local Native Americans; due to massive Pilgrim deaths, the Indians out numbered the Pilgrims 10 to 1 at the feast. The first Thanksgiving was not even termed "Thanksgiving" until two hundred years later.

Here is a quick piece of Thanksgiving trivia for you: which of the following where not at the original Thanksgiving feast? A) Pumpkins, B) Cranberry Sauce, C) Forks. If you answered D) All of the Above, you are correct. While the Pilgrims did enjoy a roasted turkey, the meal mostly consisted of fish, duck stew, and a large deer provided by one of the visiting Indian chiefs.

Nathaniel Philbrick's epic recount of the Pilgrims' conquest is both entertaining and haunting. While their experiences were filled with death, disease, and heart-ache, the author still find time to celebrate their successes. Perhaps reading Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War will give you the courage necessary to face your own mayflowers in life.