Pilgrims & Mayflower Trivia -- 50 Questions

102 passengers and about 30 crew. The passengers included men, women, children, and servants.

Wine and other goods between England and France. The Mayflower was a merchant vessel, not designed for passengers.

The mouth of the Hudson River (then part of Virginia Colony). Storms pushed the ship to Cape Cod instead.

November 11, 1620 (Old Style) / November 21, 1620 (New Style). It was signed aboard the ship before landing.

41 adult male passengers. All pledged loyalty to the crown and agreed to form a civil government.

They worshipped in secret as Separatists, not at an official church. The Scrooby congregation met at William Brewster's home.

Leiden, Netherlands (1609-1620). They fled England for religious freedom before deciding to sail to the New World.

They feared losing their English identity and their children were assimilating into Dutch culture. Economic hardship also motivated the move.

The smaller ship intended to accompany the Mayflower. It leaked twice and was abandoned in England.

The Mayflower's captain. Jones captained the ship for its famous voyage and died in 1622.

66 days. The ship departed September 16, 1620, and sighted Cape Cod on November 9, 1620.

Scurvy, pneumonia, and possibly typhus. Malnutrition and cramped conditions weakened the passengers.

William Butten, a teenage servant. He died at sea on November 16, 1620.

Oceanus Hopkins. Born at sea in late 1620, he died before age two.

The Pilgrims' first hostile meeting with Native Americans at Cape Cod in December 1620. The Nauset attacked the exploring party.

An epidemic that killed up to 90% of coastal Natives between 1616-1619. It cleared land and weakened tribes the Pilgrims later encountered.

The long-time governor of Plymouth Colony and author of 'Of Plymouth Plantation.' Bradford governed for over 30 years.

Bradford's historical chronicle written between 1630 and 1651. It is the primary source for early Plymouth history.

The first governor of Plymouth Colony. Carver was elected in 1620 but died in April 1621, likely from sunstroke or heat exhaustion.

The colony's military captain. Standish was hired for his military experience and played a key role in the colony's defense.

Myles Standish led a preemptive attack on the Nemasket in 1623. The brutal killings permanently damaged Pilgrim-Native relations.

A Patuxet man who served as interpreter for the Pilgrims. He had been kidnapped to Europe and learned English.

He was captured by Thomas Hunt in 1614 and sold into slavery in Spain. He escaped to England and eventually returned home.

An Abenaki sagamore who first approached the Pilgrims in English on March 16, 1621. He had learned English from fishermen.

He was the sachem (leader) of the Wampanoag Confederacy. Massasoit maintained peace with the Pilgrims for decades.

Patuxet. The village had been wiped out by the 1616-1619 epidemic, leaving cleared fields.

Corn, beans, and squash grown together. The Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims this sustainable companion planting technique.

Successful with Wampanoag help. The 1621 harvest ensured the colony would not starve, prompting the feast.

Approximately 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag men. The event lasted three days.

Military demonstrations, foot races, and ball games. Edward Winslow mentions the men exercised with arms and played games.

The joint-stock company holding the Pilgrims' land patent. It replaced the Virginia Company of Plymouth.

Cornmeal, fish, and whatever game or produce was available. Early years were marked by scarcity and rationing.

Plymouth's primary export to England. Beaver pelts were highly valued in Europe and funded the colony's imports.

A social club founded in 1769 that celebrated 'Forefathers' Day.' The club preserved Pilgrim memory before Thanksgiving became national.

A December 22 observance marking the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth. Older than Thanksgiving, it commemorates the 1620 arrival.

The 300th anniversary celebration in 1920-1921. It included parades, pageants, and the construction of the Plymouth Rock portico.

A replica of the Mayflower launched in 1956. Built in Devon, England, it sailed to Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is now a museum ship.

A hereditary organization founded in 1897. Membership requires documented descent from a Mayflower passenger.

Approximately 25-30 of the 102 passengers. Millions of Americans claim Mayflower ancestry.

Patriots tried to move it and broke it in half. The broken half was moved to Pilgrim Hall; the rest stayed at the waterfront.

1920. The granite portico enclosing Plymouth Rock was built for the Pilgrim Tercentenary.

A Christian allegory by John Bunyan (1678), unrelated to the Pilgrims. Despite the name, Bunyan was an English Baptist, not a Plymouth colonist.

Founded in 1919 to preserve Pilgrim artifacts and historic houses. It operates several historic properties in Plymouth.

The group of Separatists who met at William Brewster's home in Scrooby, England. They were the core of the future Pilgrims.

An elder of the Scrooby congregation and a leader at Plymouth. Brewster served as the colony's religious leader and negotiated with the Wampanoag.

The Pilgrims' community in the Netherlands from 1609-1620. About 300 Separatists lived in Leiden before some sailed to America.

Captain John Smith coined it in 1616. Smith mapped the region and named it New England to encourage settlement.

The Puritan migration to Massachusetts Bay. About 20,000 Puritans arrived in the 1630s, far exceeding the Pilgrims' numbers.

A commemorative coin issued in 1920-1921. The U.S. Mint produced 152,000 half dollars to mark the 300th anniversary of Plymouth.

An effort to locate the original 1620 settlement through archaeology. Since 2013, researchers have found artifacts from the first Pilgrim homes.