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Discover the Top 5 Amazing Mayflower Fun Facts You Never Knew Before!

illustration of the-mayflower
Embark on a historical adventure and discover intriguing tidbits about the famed Mayflower that will leave you saying "Ahoy, I didn't know that!"

1. Pilgrims Play Nine Men's Morris

In what can only be described as the 1620's version of Candy Crush, the Mayflower passengers found solace in a simple, yet challenging, board game to pass the Atlantic-crossing time: Nine Men's Morris, a strategic beloved pastime in Europe, had the Pilgrims and crew lining up three pieces in a row on a grid, proving that even amidst a pioneering journey, classic diversions still had their merits.
Source => history.com

2. Leak-Free Mayflower Departure

Ahoy, mateys! Don't let leaky rumors sink the Mayflower's reputation: The famed ship actually set sail from Plymouth, England on September 16, 1620 with no significant delays due to leaks, carrying a motley crew of around 50, and offering cozy 5-foot ceilings for passengers to rest their seventeenth-century bonnets in a tightly packed space measuring about 50 by 25 feet.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

3. Captain Misses Hudson River

Much like a gambler on a winning streak, the Mayflower's captain decided to head for the Hudson River but missed the mark by a country mile: The ship ended up docking at what we now call Provincetown Harbor in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, thanks to some gnarly Atlantic storms that dominated their 66-day journey, forever securing the unexpected spot as the birthplace of America's first English settlement.
Source => mayflower400uk.org

4. Stephen Hopkins: Bermuda Survivor

Talk about a vacation gone wrong: Stephen Hopkins, the Mayflower's very own Bermuda Triangle survivor, learned a thing or two about living in America during his misadventures en route to Jamestown, which included a shipwreck, a 10-month unscheduled island stay, a brief brush with mutiny, and a narrowly-avoided death sentence. He would go on to apply his wild expertise to becoming a Pilgrim leader and a signatory of the Mayflower Compact, ultimately serving as an assistant to the governor of Plymouth Colony till he kicked the proverbial bucket in 1644.
Source => mayflower400uk.org

Captain Jones' Loves & Wine Business

5. Captain Jones' Loves & Wine Business

Before Christopher Jones made the Mayflower the ultimate party boat for the New World, he was a serial ship-namer after his loves: behold the sweet tale of Captain Jones and his beloved Josian! Behold the origins of central heating, as he warmed up to the wine trade after commanding the Mayflower to Cape Cod Bay: Captain Christopher Jones, a respectable Harwich citizen, was not only involved in the wine business but named a ship after his second wife, Josian. In his first trans-Atlantic journey, he skillfully transported the Pilgrims to the New World in what became a historic sojourn aboard the Mayflower in 1620.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

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