7. They Couldn’t Pay Back Their Debt
The Pilgrims lived in general peace with the surrounding Native Americans until, after hearing about a supposed attack on white settlers, they decided to launch a poorly thought-through pre-emptive strike against them.
Library of CongressThe Pilgrims signing the Mayflower Compact.
Worse yet is how the Pilgrims carried out that strike: They invited two prominent Native Americans military leaders to negotiate over a meal, and then stabbed and killed them before their guests suspected anything.
After word of the murders got out, other tribes wanted nothing to do with the Pilgrims. This ruined their fur trade and essentially bankrupted the colony. Because of this, they couldn’t pay back the London Virginia Company, their sponsor to whom they owed money for their boats and other supplies.
8. Misogyny Was Central To Who The Pilgrims Were
Pilgrims considered women to be the “weaker vessel,” according to John Robinson, an influential pastor for the Pilgrims. He also said that it was the man’s role to educate women, to “guide and go before” them.
Puritans thus expected women to take up the “feminine” occupations, such as child-rearing or maintaining a household. Single women of marrying age were not a common sight in Plymouth. Most widows remarried within six months to a year.
Wikimedia CommonsThe Mayflower at sea, on its journey toward America.
To be fair, however, women in Plymouth had more legal and social rights than most 17th-century European women.
9. They Beat Their Children
Growing up as a Pilgrim did not make for a great childhood. Robinson, the aforementioned pastor, also advocated strict upbringings for children, with a strong emphasis on corporal punishment to fix behavioral issues.
In fact, thanks to him, the Pilgrims thought a child’s natural rebellious inclination was a manifestation of original sin — and thus, something to beat out of them.
It wasn’t enough to belt the original sin out of kids; the Pilgrims ripped children away from their parents, too. Mothers would take care of their child until he or she was about eight years old. At this point, the community would place the child in the foster care of another family.
This was because Pilgrims thought that a child’s parents would love them too much, making them incapable of properly disciplining them. By making someone else raise them, they thought the kid wouldn’t grow up to be spoiled.
After this look at who the Pilgrims were, discover the true history of the Native American genocide. Then, learn how the rest of the world celebrates Thanksgiving.
