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The Voyage to The New World
This event of the Pilgrims crossing the Atlantic was the very first real challenge that they faced. Many of the people on the ship, The Mayflower, were sick and unable to do much. "And I may not omit here a special work of God's providence." Despite the harsh times, the Pilgrims thought that it was God's doing to make them sick, but they did not question him. " -
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Timespan
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Problems on The Mayflower
There was a young man on the Mayflower that was a terrible person. He would make fun of the sick and not help at all. According to "Of Plymouth Plantation", God noticed how bad of a person this bully was. "But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grevious disease, of witch he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first one that was thrown overboard." Because of his actions, God smited him by giving him a terrible disease whitch led to death. -
Fear of Sinking
Right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the main beam of the Mayflower begins to crack. This puts all of the pilgrims in fear of sinking. They find a way to temporarily fix it by using a large screw. Once again, the pilgrims thank God for letting them live, "So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed. -
Life After Landing
The settlers landed on Plymouth Rock during the winter season and were unprepared and sick. "So as there died sometimes two or three of a dayin the foresaid time, that of 100 odd persons, scarce fifty remained." The settlers were sick with scurvey and other diseases, ridding them of any ability to care for themselves. There were only a handful of able-bodied people left, so they all focused on taking care of the sick. -
How They Survived
With so amny of the settlers sick, there was no way for the expantion of a society. The settlers who were not sick noticed this and did all that they could to make the others better. "there were but six or seven persons who to their great commendations, be it spoken, spared no pains night or day, but with abundance of toil and hazard to their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathesome clothes, clothed and unclothed them."
