Speedwell (ship, 1577)

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The Speedwell was a 60-ton sailing ship that was planned to bring the Mayflower Pilgrim Fathers to North America to an area of ​​the London Company , roughly in present-day Virginia , but the voyage broke off twice due to technical problems near England and ultimately at the Atlantic crossing of the Mayflower did not take part.

history

The ship was built in 1577 under the name Swiftsure . Its construction was part of the English preparations for the war against Spain. The ship took part in the fight against the Spanish Armada . During the Azores expedition of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex in 1596, it served as the ship of his deputy Gilly Merick. After hostilities with Spain ended, it was decommissioned in 1605, rebuilt for civilian use, and renamed Speedwell .

The ship came to Holland, where it was acquired by a group of English Puritans who had fled to Leiden from religious oppression in England . After a few years in Holland , they wanted to leave the country again. The reasons for this were the economic hardship of part of the group, the fear of their small group being assimilated into Dutch society, and the desire to do missionary work to promote the spread of the puritanical view of the gospel.

On July 21, 1620, under the command of Captain John Thomas Chappell, they left Delfshaven , now part of Rotterdam , to meet the Mayflower in Southampton . This had been acquired by some investors. Their crew consisted of additional separatists and additional colonists who were hired by the investors. They joined together to set off into the " New World " together.

The Pilgrim Fathers on the Speedwell shortly before their departure for America (Robert W. Weir, 1844)

The two ships cast off on August 5, 1620. After a short time, however, a leak was found on the Speedwell , so that both ships first sailed to Dartmouth , where repairs were carried out. On the second attempt, the two ships sailed about 100 nautical miles around Land's End in Cornwall , but the Speedwell leaked again, so that both ships called Plymouth . There, it was decided that without the Speedwell and only on the Mayflower direction America should go. Eleven passengers on the Speedwell switched to the Mayflower , some going to London , others also returning to Holland.

With 103 passengers, the Mayflower then continued on its own. On the third attempt, she left Plymouth on September 6, 1620 and arrived in Cape Cod on November 11, 1620 . A replacement ship for the Speedwell , the Fortune , reached the new Plymouth Colony a year later, on November 9, 1621.

It was later alleged that the Speedwell's failures were caused by sabotage by crewmembers in order to evade the obligations of their long-term contracts, but there is no concrete evidence to support this claim.

One possible explanation is that the "Speedwell" was equipped with a main mast that was too high. There was no sign of this in the dry dock. During the journey, however, when the wind load exerted a not inconsiderable force on the hull using the leverage of the mast, the ship's planks stretched so much that the ship leaked.

The further fate of the Speedwell is not known. Presumably she returned to Holland or was sold in England. In 1656 eight Quakers , including Christopher Holder and John Copeland, came to Boston on a sailing ship called the Speedwell (see Martyrs of Boston ); It is not certain whether it was the same ship or whether there was a deliberate or unintentional identity of names.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ WDR August 15, 1620 - "Mayflower" and "Speedwell" leave Southampton

literature

  • Nathaniel Philbrick : Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War . Viking, New York City, USA 2006, ISBN 0-670-03760-5 .
    • German by Norbert Juraschitz: Mayflower. Departure to the New World. Blessing, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-89667-229-2 .
  • Indian Battles: with Incidents in the Early History of New England . 1859. By Rev. Henry White. New York: DW Evans & Co. 677 Broadway.

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