Take Your Pilgrim IQ

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and while the guests around your table may be smaller than usual in 2020, here is some trivia you may want to share.

So, grab a paper and pencil and answer these true/false statements to see how much history you remember.  No peaking! Answers will be on the next page.

Take your Pilgrim IQ Test – True or False

  1. The Pilgrims left England to start a settlement on or near the Hudson River.
  2. The Mayflower landed first in the Provincetown area.
  3. The first permanent English settlement on the east coast of the present USA was Plymouth.
  4. During the first winter in Plymouth, nearly half the Pilgrim group died with only four women survivors.
  5. Beside wild game and turkey, the Pilgrims enjoyed lobsters that were plentiful in this area.
  6. The Pilgrim group were mostly Puritans (those who wanted to purify the Church of England.)
  7. The color of the Pilgrim clothing was bright and varied in color and style.
  8. Plymouth Rock was mentioned in William Bradford’s journal as the spot in the harbor where the Pilgrim group first stepped ashore.
  9. The Pilgrim group came to America for freedom of worship but did not allow others who came after them to worship freely.
  10. Pilgrims held Thanksgiving days with feasting and games in the fall.

 

ANSWERS:

  1. True. The group had a charter to start a settlement in “northern Virginia” That would have been just south of the Hudson River.
  2. True. First, they landed in the Provincetown area on November 6th but found it unsuitable for a settlement. The exploring party did not land in Plymouth until December 21st.
  3. True. The Jamestown Colony was not permanent; it failed, and its purpose was commercial not meant for family life.
  4. True. Of the 102 passengers that sailed from England in 1620, nearly half of them died by spring of 1621.
  5. False. Although lobsters were plentiful, Pilgrims called them “poor man’s food” and only ate them when little else was available.
  6. False. Half the passengers were Separatists – starting a new religion separate (apart) from the Church of England, and half were merchants looking for land and a better life.
  7. True. Many dressed in the London fashions of the17th century – not the black, somber style as depicted in early pictures.
  8. False. The Pilgrims never mentioned the “Rock” in writings and journals. It wasn’t until 1749 that townspeople declared it had importance.
  9. True. Everyone in the village was required to practice the faith as the Separatist did. Quakers and others were punished or banned from the village.
  10. False. A Pilgrim day of Thanksgiving was a day of fasting and prayer, declared by the Governor. Thanksgiving as we celebrate it, was the Pilgrim’s annual Harvest Celebration.

So how is your Pilgrim IQ? This information is part of the research done more than twenty years ago.  Historians may have debunked some of this information today, but I still find it fascinating and somewhat amusing. Don’t believe some of these answers? Check them out for yourself. Email me. I’d love to hear from you!  Happy Thanksgiving!