Magazine

America’s Bloodiest War

In 1600, southern New England was home to approximately 90,000 Indians. Approximately 12,000 were Pokanokets, a tribe living at the head of Narragansett Bay. From 1616 to 1619, bubonic plague, introduced by European fishermen in Maine, killed up to 90 percent of the Indians in some areas along the New England coastline. Massasoit, sachem (leader) […]

Magazine

A Pilgrim Primer

English Separatists, a wing of the new Puritan movement, had fled oppression at home and found refuge in the Netherlands around 1607. In 1620, part of the congregation decided to build a new life in the New World. Their pastor, John Robinson, stayed behind and did not live to join his flock in America. The […]

Magazine

Why the Pilgrims Still Matter

A conversation with Mayflower author Nathaniel Philbrick about why the Pilgrims still matter in today’s world. Why We Should Care About the Pilgrims The Pilgrims were America’s first illegal immigrants. Their patent did not apply that far north, and yet they said, “We’re going to go our way and the heck with you guys.” We […]