Status
Call number
Publication
Description
History. Politics. Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML: A page-turning story of the Pilgrims, the courageous band of freedom-seekers who set out for a new life for themselves and forever changed the course of history. Once a year at Thanksgiving, we encounter Pilgrims as folksy people in funny hats before promptly forgetting them. In the centuries since America began, the Pilgrims have been relegated to folklore and children's stories, fairy-tale mascots for holiday parties and greeting cards. The true story of the Pilgrim Fathers could not be more different. Beginning with the execution of two pastors deviating from the Elizabethan Church of England, the Pilgrims' great journey was one of courageous faith, daring escape, and tenuous survival. Theirs is the story of refugees who fled intense religious persecution; of dreamers who voyaged the Atlantic and into the unknown when all other attempts had led to near-certain death; of survivors who struggled with newfound freedom. Loneliness led to starvation, tension gave way to war with natives, and suspicion broke the back of the very freedom they endeavored to achieve. Despite the pain and turmoil of this high stakes triumph, the Pilgrim Fathers built the cornerstone for a nation dedicated to faith, freedom, and thankfulness. This is the epic story of the Pilgrims, an adventure that laid the bedrock for the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and the American identity..… (more)
User reviews
Jay Milbrandt delves into the history of the first group of Separatists and Puritans heading for the new world in 1620. Thanks to the writings of William Bradford who served several times as governor of New Plymouth over the course of thirty-six years, particularly Of Plymouth Plantation, served Milbrandt the most useful documents chronicling the Pilgrim's Journey in England, the flight to Leiden, the Netherlands, their departure from Delfshaven (near Rotterdam), their rough cross-Atlantic voyage, and initial years north of Cape Cod on the coast of modern-day Massachusetts.
They Came for Freedom: The Forgotten, Epic Adventure of the Pilgrims is no true epos, no real heroes out there. Fallible, true to life men and women with a temper, bad habits and pretty strong convictions are the main characters. The narrative is honest and open on the fight for separation of state and church in late medieval England and the harsh resistance to any kind of Reformation in the Church of England. Once landed in America ethical dilemmas occurred. Wasn't the land 'patented' on behalf of the King of England stolen from the Indians? Is divide and conquer a Christian doctrine? Can death penalty be justified? And how strict are state and church separated in the New World?
Somehow - the Fathers believed in God's provision and saw many miracles happen - the New Plymouth enterprise succeeded and became the foundational story for the Constitution and the American identity. The Forgotten, Epic Adventure of the Pilgrims is a commercial sounding subtitle. Are you willing to discover one of the roots of the American society?
The arrest and trial of one Henry Barrow, who defied the Anglican Church’s version of Christianity and maybe the authority of Queen Elizabeth by his dissent, the story of the Separatists who would eventually become the Pilgrims begins. Milbrandt followed the Pilgrims narrative through London, a small village in Nottinghamshire, to the Netherlands, and then across the Atlantic to Cape Cod. But alternating with that of the Pilgrims was the biography of Squanto, whose own life and adventures before the landing of the Mayflower led to him being a pivotal individual for the success of New Plymouth. Once the Pilgrims had landed, Milbrandt merged the two narratives together in a very readable detailed history that went up until the fall of 1623. Although Milbrandt continued his history until 1646, the last 20 years was just a glimpse of tidbits of historical importance.
At around 225 pages of text, Milbrandt’s efforts are particularly good considering that his primary sources were few and even those were slanted to give the colony of Plymouth a good impression. Although several historical inaccuracies did appear, they were mostly naming conventions and not detrimental to the overall book.
While short, They Came for Freedom is a good general history that gives the reader a sense of the real events that later became mythologized in American culture and folklore. Overall it’s a nice, readable book about a topic most American know little able.
We know that during the voyage, to the New World, ships suffered from
Thus our national day of Thanks was built on the purpose of healing wounds and making our nation tranquil.
Honestly, I have been re-reading this read for awhile as it is heavy in dialogue and details. It's a historical read, made better by the list of Mayflower passengers, Authors note and Prologue.
Review for Net Galley