American History Tellers - The Mayflower | Cutthroats | 4

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

In May 1622, the Pilgrims were still reeling from Squanto’s betrayal when a ship appeared in Plymouth Harbor, carrying an advance party for a rival English colony. Governor William Bradford reluctantly agreed to host the men while they searched for a site to settle. But the newcomers strained Plymouth’s limited food supplies, pushing the hungry colony to the brink of starvation. As the new arrivals began antagonizing their Indian neighbors, word spread of a plot to destroy the English. The Pilgrims’ violent response to the crisis would change New England forever.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to American History Tellers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-history-tellers/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we explore the triumphs and tragedies that shaped America, we're always striving to paint a vivid, nuanced picture of the past, and with Wondry Plus, you can experience that vision in its purest form. Enjoy ad-free episodes, early access to new seasons, and exclusive bonus content that illuminates the human stories behind the history. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts and see American History through a whole new lens. Imagine it's a sweltering August day in 1622 in Plymouth Colony. Sweat beads down your neck as you wrestle a dull saw back and forth across a thick pine log. You and your neighbors are preparing timber for a new fort you're building on one of the hills overlooking the town.

But it's slow going. Your saw keeps getting wedged in the log. And as you throw your weight against it, to loosen the blade, a shadow falls over you. You look over your shoulder and find Governor William Bradford inspecting your work. Is that all you've managed? I thought you'd be further along by now. You let go of the saw and rub your sore hands. Well, maybe I would have if I had a full belly. Hardly had anything to eat all day. Tell me, Governor, when are you going to increase our rations? Well, nothing's changed, so we'll stay on half rations, at least for now. But I have faith that the Lord in his infinite mercy will bless us with a bountiful harvest this autumn. But what if he doesn't? Why must we spend every hour building this fort? Wouldn't our time be better spent working in the fields? Hunting, gathering food? The newcomers have eaten up our stockpiles. I know that you are working hard on little food, but we need this fort to keep our settlements safe from Indian war parties, because you mark my words, the mere presence of a well-defendant will be enough to discourage any warrior from setting foot in Plymouth. But are you so sure we're in danger? What if all these rumors about an Indian plot against us are nothing but talk? Bradford's expression hardens. He steps towards you, close enough for you to see the dark circles under his eyes.

Son, I assure you, the threat is real. Now get back to work. As Bradford walks away, you swallow your protest and pick up your saw. But as much as you try to ignore it, hunger gnaws at your insides. As you stare past your weary fellow workers to the half-built fort looming over the settlement, you feel certain of only one thing. You're far more likely to die of starvation than an Indian's arrow. Hey, Ontario, come on down to BetMGM Casino and see what our newest exclusive

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Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2-6-00 to speak to an advisor. charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Scams are everywhere. On your phone, in your inbox, even on your television screen. Looking at you, Tinder Swindler. What is it about scams that has pop culture so obsessed? Maybe it's because it could happen to anyone. Or maybe it's because we're all so deeply fascinated by the psyche of someone who can lie with ease, cheat with no guilt, and convince the

world that they are who they say they are, even when they're not. Scamphalencers is a weekly podcast that takes you into the world of deception, sharing the stories of today's most notorious scams. Like the recent episode of Natalie Cochran, the pharmacist Fem Fetal, it seemed like she had it all. A good job, loving husband, and two kids. But behind the scenes, Natalie was scamming friends and family using fake contracts, fake government emails, and she even faked cancer.

But when the wall start closing in, she'll do anything to keep the lie. live until someone ends up dead. Listen to scam influencers now wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American history tellers, our history, your story. In the summer of 1622, Governor William Bradford ordered the pilgrims to begin building a fort on a hill overlooking Plymouth to defend the settlement from potential Indian attacks. But with food supplies running low and no concrete evidence of an Indian threat, many colonists argued that their time and energy would be better spent tending crops. Plymouth's hunger crisis had intensified after a sudden influx of English settlers earlier that spring. These newcomers had drained resources and antagonized their Indian neighbors,

undermining the Pilgrim's fragile foothold in the new world, and setting the stage for a violent confrontation. This is Episode 4, Cutthroats. In May 1622, the Wampanog leader Massasoit sent warriors to Plymouth to demand the pilgrims turn over their interpreter Squanto. Squanto had made false claims that Massasoit was plotting to attack Plymouth in an effort to undermine Massasoit's alliance with the English so that he could take power for himself. When Massasoit discovered the plot, he insisted on Squanto's execution, but Plymouth Governor

William Bradford refused to turn over his trusted interpreter. Bradford and the Pilgrims had come to depend on Squanto for their own survival, so Massasoit's warriors went home empty-handed, meaning for now Squanto would remain with the Pilgrims, even though Bradford knew his decision could damage his relationship with the Massasoit. But Bradford had more immediate problems to address. Massasoit's warriors left Plymouth just as a small ship sailed into the harbor. Bradford worried it was French invaders, but instead it carried an advance party for a new colony created by Thomas Weston, the Pilgrim's chief financial sponsor back in London. It was the first ship to appear in the harbor since the arrival of the fortune, six months earlier, carrying three

dozen new colonists to Plymouth. In a letter sent with the fortune, Weston had pledged his loyalty to the pilgrims, but now they learned he was sponsoring a separate competing settlement made up of 60 men. Not only had Weston secured his own patent for a rival colony, but he also had the audacity to request that the pilgrims host these men while they search for a suitable place to build their settlement. Radford reluctantly agreed, even though Plymouth was already subsisting on half-rations. And almost immediately, the newcomers strained the colony's meager food supplies. In the spring of 1622, the pilgrims relied on shellfish while planting corn for the fall harvest, but Weston's new arrivals ruined the crop by eating the immature

stocks, destroying the plants before they had a chance to grow and putting the colony in danger of starvation. And that wasn't the only strain. Unlike the pilgrims, Weston's new group were overwhelmingly young, single men driven by the pursuit of profit. In a letter to Bradford, even Weston admitted they were not of the best character, writing, I will not deny that there are many rude fellows. The pilgrims themselves were a mix of Puritan separatists and so-called strangers who did not share their strong religious convictions. But after a year and a half in New England,

the separatists and strangers had learned to live and work together, in large part due to Bradford's strong leadership. But now, Weston's newcomers jeopardize Plymouth's fragile harmony. And then that summer, the pilgrims received even more troubling news. The previous December, they had sent the fortune back to England with 500 pounds worth of cargo to help pay off their debt to their investors, but the newcomers brought news that their ship had been seized by French pirates. So just when the pilgrims thought that they were beginning to claw their way out of debt, they lost everything. Under the arrangement they had made before

voyaging to America, their investors, a joint stock company known as merchant adventurers, owned all of the colonists' land, tools, and livestock. Until the pilgrims paid off their debts, they could not profit from their labor. Even their homes were considered company assets. And now the loss of the fortune set them even further back from their goal of true financial independence. But even that was not the end of the bad news. The pilgrims also received word of a disturbing turn of events in Jamestown, the only other permanent English settlement in America. Earlier that spring, Indians had massacred 347 English colonists in the Virginia colony, a death toll more than four times the entire population of Plymouth. News of this violence

heightened the Pilgrim's fears about their own native neighbors, and that summer, rumors spread that the Narragansett and Massachusetts tribes were planning to attack the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrim's alliance with Massasoit gave them some protection, but because of Bradford's refusal to surrender the traitor squanto, they didn't know if they could still count on Massasoit for support. So Bradford decided that the eight-foot wall the colonists had built around Plymouth was not enough. He believed that if the pilgrims were going to defend themselves from a massacre like the one that devastated Jamestown, Plymouth needed a fort, a reinforced structure where everyone could take refuge in the event of an attack. Work on this fort began in June, but it wasn't

long until many settlers started questioning the wisdom of the project, given their pressing need for food. The colonists were already malnourished, and the hard demands of manual labor further drain their limited food supplies. At the same time, construction on the fort diverted valuable time and energy from work in the fields. Typically, the men performed farm labor while the women tended to the children at home. But with most able-bodied men occupied with construction of the fort, few were left to tend to the crops. So when fall arrived, while work on the fort was almost finished, the corn harvest fell far short of expectations. By then, Weston's newcomers had left Plymouth

and settled roughly 20 miles up the coast in a place called Wesuguset, adjacent to the Massachusetts Indian village. But circumstances in Westinguset were even more dire than in Plymouth. Weston's men had come to America to establish a colony of their own, but they were ill-prepared for the difficulties

of colonial life. Instead of planting crops or gathering food after settling in Wessagusset, they directed their energies into building a fort of their own. So desperately in need of food, the men of Wesse Gusset persuaded the pilgrims to accompany them on a joint trading expedition to the south of Cape Cod in the fall of 1622. They managed to secure some much-needed provisions, but during the journey, Squanto suddenly fell ill with a fever and started bleeding from his nose. Bradford stayed with him by his bedside,

but Squanto died a few days later. For Bradford, it was another devastating loss, following the deaths of his family, his wife, and the former governor of the colony. Bradford had valued Squanto so much that he put his alliance with Massasoit at risk. But now he had not only lost his friend and trusted interpreter, he had no idea whether he had irreparably damaged his relationship with Massasoit. But for all Bradford's fears, Plymouth was still far better off than their neighbors to the north because Plymouth benefited from discipline, shared religious convictions, and strong leadership. while Wesse Gusset was quickly descending into chaos and conflict.

Imagine it's February 1623 in the settlement of Wessuget. You're the governor of Plymouth Colony, and you've traveled more than 20 miles up the coast to check on the new settlers here. Cole bites at your cheek as you walk along the water's edge with their leader, John Sanders. Glanced sideways at him, noticing his drawn face and the way his tattered coat hangs loosely around his thinning body. When he speaks, his voice is thin. We cannot go on like this. We're starving here.

I thought there might be some migrating birds we could hunt, but none have passed through. You glance up at the empty sky and nod sympathetically. No, not this time of year. At what soon it'll be spring, and you'll plant your corn crop? You must have patience. But what are we supposed to eat until then? Well, there's plenty of food if you know where to seek it. The shore is teeming with shellfish.

You and your men are lucky to have oysters in these waters. There are none to be found in Plymouth. and you can dig up peanuts. That's hardly enough to make a meal. Well, perhaps not in the way that you're used to, but we've been surviving on clams and peanuts in Plymouth ever since our disappointing corn harvest. You and your men must strive to feed yourselves.

Oh, my men have grown too listless to even search for food, and who can blame them? But I have an idea. The Indians have plenty of corn in their village. Why should we waste our strength rooting for clams in the cold mud when there's so much corn for the taking? You stop abruptly, put a hand on Sanders' arm, gripping it tightly. No, you must not steal the Indians' corn. It would be extremely dangerous

to do anything that might invite their wrath. Sanders lifts his chin defiantly. Well, I could offer to reimburse them later, once we've grown our own corn this summer. I would make it a fair bargain? No, no, do not even consider it. If you trouble the Indians, we will all suffer the consequences. You and your men must feed yourselves as we have in Plymouth. There's no other way. Sanders shakes his head and looks past you, staring at the horizon with hollow eyes. A heavy feeling of dread settles over you. You know that hunger can cloud a man's judgment,

and you're terrified that Sanders is going to upset the delicate peace he's worked so hard to maintain, and that you and the residents of Plymouth will all be forced to pay the price. After moving to Wesogusset, Weston's men threw themselves into building their own form. fort. But this project left them unprepared for the harsh New England winter ahead. As they grappled with hunger,

William Bradford urged them to subsist on shellfish and peanuts, but the men refused to leave the safety of their fort to gather food. And soon, relations with the nearby Massachusetts tribe deteriorated. The Indians accused their neighbors of stealing from their corn stores, and the settlers mocked and looted the Indians in return. The colonists grew so desperate that they began trading away

their clothes and betting for food. some contracted themselves out as servants to the Indians, but still hunger persisted. One morning, one of Weston's men was found dead in the tidal flats. He became stuck in the mud and was too weak to free himself. Bradford interpreted the suffering of Weston's men as divine punishment for their godless ways, but the struggles of Wes Agusset would soon have wider repercussions. In March 1623, news arrived in Plymouth that Massassoit was gravely ill. Bradford sent one of his closest advisors, Edward Winslow, to his bedside. Winslow traveled 40 miles on foot to the Wampanog village of Pocon. There he found Massasoit ill with what was likely typhus spread by Dutch traders

who had recently visited the village. Massasuit had not eaten or slept in two days, and he had temporarily lost his vision. But Winslow stayed at the ailing leader's side, feeding him pickled fish and preparing a healing broth of strawberry leaves and sassifras roots. Massassoot's sight returned, and he started to improve. The next day, Winslow patiently tended to other sick people in the village, carefully scraping the fur off their tongues, a characteristic symptom of typhus, though he wrote that he found the task much offensive to me, not being accustomed with such poisonous odors. He even bathed Massasoit and shot down a duck for him to eat. So under Winslow's attentive care, Massasoit quickly regained his strength.

Many Indians had traveled to Poconoka to say their goodbyes to Massasuot, so he had a large audience when he made a public announcement of gratitude to Winslow. He declared, Now I see the English are my friends and love me, and whilst I live, I will never forget this kindness they have shown me. Winslow had restored the Pilgrim standing at a critical moment, and the grateful Massasoit repaid him with a crucial piece of intelligence, revealing that Winslow's people were in grave danger from a conspiracy to eradicate the English from the region. Driven to their limits by Weston's men, the Massachusetts tribe had resolved. to destroy their neighbors in Wessegusset.

But fearing that the Pilgrims would avenge their countrymen, the Massachusetts had decided to attack both Wessigusset and Plymouth. Massasuit insisted that Winslow's only option was to make a preemptive strike against the Massachusetts. He urged him to return to Plymouth as soon as possible and prepared to go to war for his colony's survival. and in the latest season of The Spy Who, we open the file on Oleg Gordievsky,

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mole of their own. When they discover the truth, Gordievsky's world collapses. MI6 hatch a desperate, high-stakes plan to smuggle him out of Moscow, an escape that could rewrite history. Follow the spy who on the Wondry app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can binge the full season of the Spy Who outran the KGB early and ad-free with Wondry Plus. In just a few years, Ozympic has gone from a diabetes drug to a global phenomenon. But behind the miracle claims, another battle is raging. Demand is exploding.

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Can they close the supply gap before one bad vial destroys everything? Make sure to follow Business Wars on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Business Wars early and ad-free right now on Wondry Plus. In March 1623, Edward Winslow rushed back to Plymouth with the news of a potential plot by the Massachusetts Indians to attack the English settlements of both Wesse Gusset and Plymouth. The warnings that Winslow brought back were soon confirmed when a Wessigusset settler named Phineas Pratt arrived in Plymouth hungry and exhausted.

Pratt had trudged through more than 20 miles of icy swamps after hearing about the conspiracy in order to warn his fellow Englishmen in Plymouth. Staggering into the settlement, Platt reported that conditions in Wesse Gusset had grown unbearable. He and his fellow colonists had run out of food, and their Massachusetts neighbors were becoming increasingly belligerent. Sensing an attack was looming. Wessagusset leaders posted more guards to keep watch over the colony, but the starving sentinels were dying at their posts. Pratt recalled how on one freezing night I saw one man dead before me, and another at my right and another at my left, dead for want of food. Pratt had learned of the Massachusetts

conspiracy from an Englishman who had gone to live with the Indians. Pratt then relayed the information to the pilgrims, explaining that the Massachusetts planned to wipe out both settlements in a single day, and that they were simply waiting for the snow to melt so that the warrior's footprints could not be tracked. Governor William Bradford was furious to get confirmation that Plymouth was in danger due to the reckless actions of Thomas Weston's men, but the good news was that thanks to Edward Winslow, Massassoit was now firmly back on the Pilgrim's side. Massasoit had urged Winslow to make a preemptive strike,

and although no Indians had directly threatened them, Bradford decided to trust Massasoit and heed his advice. Bradford consulted with Plymouth's military leader Miles Stannish, who agreed that swift action was needed. For Standish, the threat was also personal. A Massachusetts warrior named Wituamat had recently insulted Stanish during a trading expedition, and Standish had an axe to grind. Bradford gave Stanish free reign to make an example of Wituamat.

And so Standish quickly put together a force of seven Englishmen and his Wampanog friend Habamock, an English speaker and close aid to Massasoit. On March 26, 1623, the party sailed 20 miles north to West Agusset under the guise of a trading mission. Upon arrival, they marched up to the settlement and gathered the men there inside the fort they had built. Then Stanish revealed his plan to kill as many Indians as possible. Afterwards, he would evacuate the Pilgrim's and Weston's men either to Plymouth or Maine to keep them safe from reprisals. The starving settlers in Wessegusset readily agreed to the plan in the hopes that

once they had relocated, they would finally have something to eat. But the pilgrim's arrival in Wessigusset had not gone unnoticed. Soon a Massachusetts warrior approached the fort, offering to initiate a trade. Imagine it's March 1623 in the village of Wesse Gusset. You're a Massachusetts spy who lives nearby, and your people are secretly planning an attack on the English settlers here. But an hour ago, you watched another group of Englishmen arrive from the village of Plymouth. Determined to gain information, you step through the mud,

approaching the settlement's crude fort. You adjust a pair of beaver pelts under your arm, and then knock on the wooden gate. A short, broad-shouldered man with red hair emerges, his hand brushing the hilt of his sword. You bow your head slightly. Good morning. I don't believe I've had the honor of meeting you before. My name's Captain Miles Stanich. Captain, you're a military man, and we have something in common.

Are there other soldiers with you? Suspicion flickers across Standish's face and his hand twitches. For a moment, you wonder if he will draw his sword. But then his expression softens into something more welcoming. Yeah, that's right, I am a soldier. But I'll be asking the questions from now on, what do you want here? You raise the peltz hanging over your arm. I've come to trade first.

And what do you seek and return? Knives? Perhaps gunpowder? Gunpowder? I'm certainly not throwing that away for a pair of pelts. Standish's pale face flushes red. You curl your mouth into a smile, enjoying watching him squirm. Well, I would also accept an iron kettle or a plow?

Standish's shoulders ease slightly, though his hand still hovers near his sword. Well, I'll have to consult with the others first. Perhaps you should return later, or better yet, I'll come to you. Oh, please do, and be sure you don't forget. We'll be waiting for you. I never forget my friends, and I don't forget my enemies either. Oh, which one am I, Captain? I am not yet sure.

Standish's words hang in the air, and for a moment you stare at each other, barely breathing. Then, with a curt nod, you finally turn and walk away, but you can feel the weight of Standish's hard gaze at your back. You strongly suspect that he and his men are up to no good, and you're struck by the possibility that they've discovered your plot. Now, more than ever, you know you must move against them before they have the chance to strike the first blow. When the Massachusetts spy returned to his group after meeting Miles Standish, he declared that he saw by his eyes that the captain was angry in her. his heart. The Massachusetts were led by two men named Wutuamat and Peksuat. They were both elite

warriors believed to have special wisdom, stamina, and spiritual abilities. After hearing the spies report, Pexuat approached the English settlement and confronted the Pilgrim's Indian ally, Habamok. He said that he knew what Stanich was up to, declaring, let him begin when he dares, he shall not take us unaware. Then, later that same day, Paxuat and Wutuamat spoke to Stanis directly. Pexuat was much taller than Stanish, and looked down at the Englishman and sneered, You are a great captain, yet you are but a little man. Though I be no sachem, I am of great strength and courage. Adding to the intimidation, Wituamat stood next to Pexswat, sharpening a knife, but Stannish refused to be goaded. He had a plan to carry out. The next day, Stanish and his men,

including Holmok, invited Wittuamat and Pexwot into one of the settlement's homes for a meal. Although the two warriors were wary, pork was a rare treat that they found too tempting to refuse. But when they sat down, Standish quickly signaled for one of his men to close the door. Then he reached out, grabbed the knife strung around Pexuat's neck, and began stabbing the warrior with his own weapon. While Standish attacked Pekswat, the other pilgrims attacked Wituamat and one of his friends killing them. Edward Winslow wrote,

It is incredible how many wounds these two warriors received before they died, not making any fearful noise, but catching at their weapons and striving to the last. Then, once the three Indians were dead, Habamok returned to Stanish with a grin on his face, saying, yesterday, Pexuot brag of his own strength and stature, said though you were a great captain, yet you were but a little man. Today, I see you are big enough to lay him on the ground. But the killing wasn't over yet. The pilgrims captured and hanged with Tuamatt's teenage brother and shot three more dead. A group of Massachusetts warriors arrived and began firing arrows at the Englishmen, but Hobamak quickly scattered them. In the end, the raid claimed seven Massachusetts lives, and as a final act, Standish cut off

Wituamat's head as a trophy. Fearing retaliation, most of the remaining West Augusta colonists decided to sail for Maine. And once they were gone, Stanish and his men set off for Plymouth, with Wituamat's head wrapped in a piece of white linen. Stannish returned to a heroes welcome, and the pilgrims proudly mounted Watuamat's head on a pike and placed it on the roof of their fort for all to see. Shortly after, Radford sent a message to the Massachusetts Sachem, warning that if he tried to attack the English again, he would give them no peace until he and his people were utterly destroyed. A few days later, a Massachusetts woman arrived in Plymouth and announced that the Sachem was eager to make peace. By then, the pilgrims had earned a new name

among the Massachusetts, Wotokwanon, or cutthroats. But the Massachusetts were not the only tribe affected by the violence. The Pilgrim's raid had sent shockwaves throughout the region. Various Indian communities fled their villages in terror for remote islands and swamps. And unable to plant their crops, they faced hunger, disease, and death. Over the next few months, several influential sachems died, allowing Massasoa to consolidate his authority over the region. And in the months that followed, news of the attack reached the Pilgrim's spiritual leader,

Reverend John Robinson, who was still living in Holland. Robinson was stunned by the violence, his flock had unleashed upon the Indians, and he admonished William Bradford in a letter, writing how happy a thing it had been if you had converted some before you had killed any. Besides, where blood has begun to be shed, it is seldom staunched. He continued, It is a thing more glorious in men's eyes than pleasing in gods to be a terror to poor barbarous people. But the men and women in Plymouth had no regrets. Five months later, in August 1623, Wituamat's head remained on display when Bradford married a widow named Alice Southworth in front of the entire community. They were joined by Massasoit and 120 of his

warriors. Although the pilgrims typically shun decoration, the linen rag soaked with the blood of Wattuumat flew above the settlement like a flag. The killing spree in Wes Agusset had radically transformed the balance of power in the region in favor of the pilgrims and their allies, the Wampanog. and not only had the pilgrims ensured their safety from attack, but the year 1623 also marked the end of their crippling food shortage due to a new approach. Rather than growing crops as a collective, Bradford decided to assign each household its own plot

and let the families keep what they grew. Productivity soared with women and children joining in the work. After three tumultuous years in America, the pilgrims had finally proven that they could feed their community and defend themselves from attack. but they still had not found a path to long-term financial success. And deep down, they knew that without a profitable trade, it was still in doubt whether the colony could survive.

In the fall of 1620, a battered merchant ship called the Mayflower set sail across the Atlantic. It carried 102 men, women, and children, risking it all to start again in the new world. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of American history tellers. Every week we take you through the moments that shaped America, and in our latest season, we explore the untold story of the Pilgrims, one that goes far beyond the familiar tale of the first Thanksgiving. After landing at Cape Cod, the Pilgrims forged an unlikely alliance with the Wapinag people who helped the pilgrim survive the most brutal winter they'd ever known, laying the foundation for a powerful national myth, but behind that story lies another,

one of conflict, betrayal, and brutal violence against the very people who helped the pilgrim survive. American History Tellers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of American History Tellers the Mayflower early and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus. Okay, Carrie, you ready? Quick, quick, quick. List three gifts you'd never give a cowboy. Lacey Bobby Sox. A diamond bracelet. A gift certificate to Sephora.

Oh, my God, that's outrageous, Carrie. Oh, wait, we're recording a commercial right now. We've got to tell them why we're doing this. Oh, yeah, sorry, pod listeners. Okay, so we're five besties who've been friends for five million years, and we love games, so of course we made our own. It's called Quick, Quick, Quick. You just pick a card and have your partner give three answers to an outrageous question. It's fast, fun, fantastic, and a bunch of other funny adjectives.

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Quick, quick, quick. It's the fastest way to have fun. In 1626, the Pilgrims were shaken by the news that their pastor, John Robinson, had died in Lyden, Holland, from a severe outbreak of the plague. Robinson had always planned to join the Pilgrims in America, but his responsibilities to the rest of the congregation in Holland had caused him to delay in the year since their arrival. And without Robinson's moderating influence, the colony's religious fervor hardened into intolerance. One resident was expelled for holding a meeting to establish an alternative church, and one of his supporters was publicly beaten. In response, the Pilgrim's investors, the merchant adventurers, rebuked the colonists for their cruel and hard

hearted actions. Also, Governor William Bradford increasingly relied on military leader Miles Standish to enforce his agenda. One observer wrote, I have found the Massachusetts Indians more full of humanity than the Christians. Standish's militarism was so woven into daily life that on Sundays, each man worshipped with a musket by a side. By the fall of 1626, the merchant adventurers disbanded after giving up hope that Plymouth would ever turn a profit. Bradford, Stanish, Edward Winslow and five other leaders agreed to assume the colony's heavy debt in exchange for the understanding that they would be given a personal monopoly in the fur trade. To the amazement of many, this gamble worked. Winslow began traveling to Maine to trade with local Indians,

exchanging surplus corn for beaver fur, a popular material used in European fashion. In 1626, Dutch traders introduced the pilgrims to Wampum, white and purple shell beads valued by local Indians. These beads became a vital form of currency that revolutionized trade between the English and the Indians. And over the next two years, the Pilgrims established new trading posts, one in Cape Cod for securing Wampum, and another in Maine for trading Wampum for Beaver. Around the same time, beaver prices quadrupled due to wartime disruptions in the European Beaver trade. So at last, the Pilgrims were able to ship enough Beaver fur to England to climb out of debt. By 1630, the profitable fur trade proved that the English colonists could sustain themselves in New England.

And that spring, a wealthy lawyer named John Winthrop led 1,000 Puritans to Massachusetts Bay 60 miles north of Plymouth. In September, they founded the town of Boston, its population three times the size of the decade-old community in Plymouth. But William Bradford took pride in having pioneered the way in Plymouth. He wrote, As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many. Bradford was proud that the Pilgrims had established a Protestant foothold in America. In total, he served 31 years as governor. He had seen the colony weather countless threats surviving against the odds.

But as the years went by, he could not help feeling that their experiment in creating a tight-knit, godly community had ultimately failed. Imagine it's a cold, gray Sunday morning in February 1636 in Plymouth. You're the governor of the country. colony, and you're leaving church services with your good friend Edward Winslow. Normally, worshiping alongside your community fills you with a sense of peace and gratitude, but today you can't help but feel troubled by the poor attendants. You turn to Winslow. Does this morning's turnout seem thinner to you than usual?

Winslow shrugs, his eyes focused on buttoning his coat. Well, perhaps there were a few less worshippers than last Sunday. I know there will soon be even fewer. What do you mean? Well, I have good news to share. I've obtained a sizable track of land, 20 miles up the coast near the salt marshes, I mean to settle my family there. You stop in your tracks.

What are you talking about? Plymouth is your home. Well, yes, and it's been a good home. But this acreage up north will give my cattle more room to graze. I believe my children will thrive there, too. I'm going to name the estate after my family's farm back in Worcestershire. Wait until you see it. I'm already drawing up plans.

But, Edward, I don't understand. For 16 years, we've labored together side by side through whole. harsh winters, hunger, pestilence, we built this community together. How could you think of turning your back on it? Well, we've run out of room in Plymouth. We've scraped at the poor soil here, while all the good land lies waiting up north. I'd be foolish not to claim it. And this is what's best for my family. But what about what's best for your community? We came here for the glory of God and the advancement of his kingdom. Now you break that covenant for the sake of material gain? You speak of earthly gain as if it were a sin. Did we not create?

cross the ocean so that our children might have a future? And what future lies on this barren coast? I'm growing this colony. This is not an end, but a beginning. Winslow claps his hand on your shoulders before striding off to join his wife and children. You turn your gaze from him to the thin crowd of worshippers filing back to their weather-beaten houses. It feels like the bonds of your community are fraying, and that everything you've worked for is coming apart. During the 1630s, tens of thousands of Puritans left England and established settlements across New England in what was known as the Great Migration. Boston's Deep Harbor made it the region's economic hub, whereas Plymouth, with its shallow port, remained little more than a backwater.

And this Great Migration spurred a boom in agriculture, and many pilgrims moved away from Plymouth to establish new farms and towns, including William Bradford's close friends and advisors, Edward Winslow, Miles Stanish, and William Brewster. And as the community began to dissipate, Bradford feared the pilgrims were chasing wealth and forgetting their spiritual principles. Bradford also despaired over Plymouth's fading influence, writing, and thus was this poor church left, like an ancient mother, grown old and forsaken of her children. She that had made many rich became herself poor. Bradford wrote that the creation of new towns was not for want or necessity, but for the enriching of themselves, and predicted that it would be the ruin of New England. Bradford's solution was to write a history of Plymouth.

Between 1630 and 1652, Bradford wrote a detailed account of the colony's early years called of Plymouth Plantation. He hoped that long after he was gone, this account would educate younger generations about the ideals the community was founded on. On May 9, 1657, Bradford died at the age of 67, and on his deathbed, he left the manuscript to his sons. The growth of New England that had troubled Bradford in life continued long after his death. By 1670, some 60,000 English colonists had spread across New England, while Indian populations had fallen dramatically.

And competition between the English and Indians over limited land and resources fueled conflict. After the death of Massasoit in the early 1660s, the decades-old English and Wampanog Alliance collapsed. In 1675, Massasoit's own son met. who adopted the name King Philip, led a desperate last-ditch effort to drive the English out of his ancestral homelands. His quest became known as King Philip's War. But the English ultimately defeated the Indians, and the brutal 14-month conflict devastated the region. To this day, it has the highest death rate per capita of any war in American history. The colonists killed an estimated 3,000 Indians and sold another 1,000 into slavery. After more than half a century of fragile peace,

the Pilgrim's pursuit of freedom had helped bring about the conquest and enslavement of the native people who had once sustained them. But the story of the Mayflower and Plymouth may have been forgotten entirely, if not for William Bradford's history of Plymouth Plantation, passed down in his family from one generation to the next. It eventually found its way into a library in Boston, but then vanished in 1777 amid the chaos of the American Revolution. In the 19th century, As tensions escalated between the north and south, historians in New England and Virginia argue passionately over whether the nation's roots lay in Plymouth or to the south and Jamestown, which preceded Plymouth by 13 years.

Then, in 1855, Bradford's missing manuscript was discovered in the Bishop of London's library. Although the bishop refused to return it, he allowed a copy to be published, and it became a literary sensation, sparking a pilgrim craze across the north. In the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, established the holiday of Thanksgiving in honor of the Pilgrim's 1621 harvest and in hopes of unifying the nation and nurturing a national identity.

The Union's victory in the war and New England's cultural dominance in the years that follow helped cement the pilgrim narrative as the quintessential national origin story. And that legend of the battered ship that carried 102 men, women, and children to the shores of Cape Cod

continues to loom large in the national imagination. But beneath the tale of courage and cooperating, lies a more complicated story. The pilgrims were ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, attempting to create a modest, spiritual community according to their own strict rules and religious customs. But in the end, their struggle to adapt to a harsh new world and its pre-existing power dynamics revealed the devastating lengths they were willing to go to in their quest for freedom. From Wonder, this is episode four of our four-part series The Mayflower from American

history tellers. In the next episode, I speak with David Silverman, Professor of History at George Washington University. He's the author of This Land is Their Land, the Wampanog Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the troubled history of Thanksgiving. We'll discuss what the first encounter with the Pilgrims might have been like from the Wampanog perspective. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondry.com

slash survey. American History Tellers is hosted, edited and produced by me, Lindsay Graham for Airship. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazim, sound design by Molly Bach, music by Thrum. This episode is written by Ellie Stanton, edited by Dorian Marina. Senior producers are Elita Rizanski and Andy Beckerman. Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louie for Wondery. Wondery. Hey, basketball fans, Steve Nash here.

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