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King James I
King James I, shown here as he looked in the 1620s, is most famous for having commissioned the King James Bible of 1611. As King, he was a patron to William Shakespeare, and presided over the formation of the British colonies in America.
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The Mayflower
Here is the small wooden ship the Mayflower. Owing to a series of delays the vessel did not leave England until the autumn of 1620, and the sixty-four day voyage to America was a rough one.
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Map of the American Colonies
This 1755 map of America's eastern seaboard shows the jutting hook of Cape Cod where the Pilgrims first landed. They had meant to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River (then considered part of Virginia), but were blown off course.
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William Bradford
William Bradford, shown here, was elected at age 31 the second governor of Plymouth Colony. His book, Of Plymouth Plantation, written over the course of two decades, is the most vivid record we have of life in that colony.
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Landing at Plymouth
This 19th century engraving by Sarony and Major depicts the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Because of their late departure from England, and a rough ocean crossing, there was already snow on the ground when the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts on December 11.
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Signing of the Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was drawn up by the Pilgrims' leaders -- Edward Brewster, William Bradford, Gilbert Winslow, and Myles Standish. Most of the adult men on board ship signed their names to it.
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Puritans Escaping
This engraving depicts a group of English Puritans escaping to America.
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John Winthrop
Here is Massachusetts Bay Colony's staid and conscientious governor John Winthrop. A devout Puritan, Winthrop was and is widely regarded as early New England's preeminent figure.
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John Cotton
John Cotton, shown here, was one of the leading Puritan clergymen in America. He was a scholarly preacher, but his rigid adherence to dogma made him strongly oppose those who believed in exercising their free conscience.
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