The Mayflower set off for America on September 16, 1620.
Mayflower - Wikipedia
When I was a kid learning about the Mayflower the first time, I think we were probably taught more myth than fact. Their reasons for leaving England were ostensibly religious, and they saw America as some kind of "promised land."
This wasn't actually the first permanent English settlement in America, and there were subsequent settlements on the east coast as more and more colonists trickled in and established a foothold.
I suppose one way of looking at the significance of the event would be to ask: If the Mayflower never sailed or was lost along the journey, would American history have turned out any differently? Or was this land destined to be colonized and conquered no matter what?
Mayflower - Wikipedia
When I was a kid learning about the Mayflower the first time, I think we were probably taught more myth than fact. Their reasons for leaving England were ostensibly religious, and they saw America as some kind of "promised land."
This wasn't actually the first permanent English settlement in America, and there were subsequent settlements on the east coast as more and more colonists trickled in and established a foothold.
I suppose one way of looking at the significance of the event would be to ask: If the Mayflower never sailed or was lost along the journey, would American history have turned out any differently? Or was this land destined to be colonized and conquered no matter what?