MBT Merchant ship "Mayflower" (c. 1620) - Construction Drawing Scale 1 : 50 (10.00.006)

The Mayflower (Mayflower) was a ship in which a number of English and Dutch colonists sailed to America to start a new life there, free from religious persecution. The ship was built at a shipyard belonging to the legendary Darley family. The ship departed on 6 September 1620 from Plymouth and had 102 colonists on board, partly members of a colony that had lived in Leiden for several years.

The people who arrived on the Mayflower are known in the United States as the Pilgrim Fathers or the Pilgrims. The Pilgrim Fathers were a group of 'dissenters', religious nonconformists who were convinced that the existing Anglican Church could no longer be reconciled with their faith. They came into conflict with the English authorities and fled in 1609 from their homes in Scrooby (Yorkshire) to Leiden in the Netherlands. When they heard that the Virginia Company offered advantages for group travel, they submitted their application for a licence (patent). However, they learned that Virginia was an Anglican settlement and decided instead to accept the help of the London merchant Thomas Weston when he offered to finance their journey. They applied for a licence to New England.

In July 1620, a joint-stock company of merchants and Pilgrims was founded. Their agreement stipulated that the Pilgrims would cultivate the land, build houses, and fish, for 7 years. After this period, the company's profits would be shared between the two parties. At that time, they only had a patent from the Virginia Company, but they decided to depart despite the legal uncertainty. Originally, the Pilgrims were to travel on two sailing ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, but the Speedwell was leaky and could not set sail.

After a two-month journey, the Pilgrims arrived in the New World. There they founded the Plymouth Colony, a religiously based colony, and adopted an austere lifestyle. Many US residents are very proud if they can identify an ancestor who came to America on the Mayflower.

On 5 April 1621, the Mayflower began its return journey to Great Britain.

Specifications :