Compare And Contrast Plymouth Colony And Jamestown

Although many people know the birth of America had much to do with new English settlers, very few know the story. Many often narrow it down Thanksgiving, Indians, and Pilgrims. However, there is a much deeper and significant story. Many challenges were faced during the 1607 - 1707 period. Many died in the quest for a New World and new life while others thrived. The first two English colonies settled in American were Plymouth Colony and Jamestown Colony. Each had its own reason/s for establishing and a lot of differences exists between the two. They also have some things in common. In this paper, I will discuss the differences and similarities between the above mentioned colonies using various documents such as: George Percy’s “Starving Time”

The Mayflower was divided into many rooms like the Cabin, which is where the thirty or so crewmembers slept, The Gun deck is where the Pilgrims lived while on the Mayflower. The Speedwell began to leak and after a few attempted repairs it was decided that it both sips would return to Plymouth, England but Speedwell would not be traveling to America. On September 6, the Mayflower started its journey, once again, to America. For the first half of the trip, only sea-sickness was apparent. It was later that storms and strong winds began to whip the ship so badly that putting up the sails was not safe anymore. The Mayflower even came very near to shipwrecking. It took 66 days for the Mayflower to reach Cape Cod. Once there, they explored the area until finally deciding to settle in Plymouth,

The ships made numerous stops to make sure they would have favorable weather conditions and also to re-stock. Their stops included the Caribbean and the Canary Islands. After 144 days and over 6,000 miles they finally arrived in Virginia. Once there, they searched for a suitable site, though that was not an easy task. George Percy, one of the 38 noblemen in the expedition, puts it this way, “All this march we could neither see Savage nor Town” Ultimately they picked Jamestown as their building ground and Percy would serve as governor twice.
Clearly, the settlers of both Plymouth and Jamestown colonies had tough journeys to America. In an excerpt from Captain John Smith’s General Historie of Virginia, Book III, “The Proceedings and Accidents of the English colony in Virginia”, he mentions how when they left Blackwall they were not able to see England for six weeks because of “unprosperous winds.” Captain John Smith would become a leader at Jamestown