WHY THEY LEFT ENGLAND
What conflict with the Church of England pushed the Pilgrims to leave?
They were pressured and punished for refusing to follow the official church.
How long did the Mayflower voyage last?
66 days
What did the Pilgrims expect the land to look like?
Warm weather, good farmland.
Name one major survival issue the Pilgrims faced.
Cold winter, sickness, lack of food, no shelter.
Who were the Wampanoag?
The Native nation living in the region long before the Pilgrims.
Why didn’t the Netherlands work as a permanent home for the Pilgrims?
They still felt limited and feared losing their English identity.
Give two hardships passengers experienced on the ship.
Storms, rotten food, sickness, overcrowding.
What did they actually discover when they arrived?
Freezing November weather, rocky soil, no homes or crops.
Why was lack of food such a severe threat?
Winter prevented planting, and they arrived with almost no supplies.
Name one way the Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims survive.
Teaching corn farming, fishing, or local survival skills.
Name the year the Pilgrims sailed to North America.
1620
Why were the living conditions especially dangerous for families?
Crowded spaces and illness spread quickly.
How did geography shape their ability to settle quickly?
Rocky land and cold weather made farming and building homes difficult.
How did unfamiliar land hurt their chances of survival?
They didn’t know how to farm the soil, where to fish, or what resources to use.
What was the purpose of the Mayflower Compact?
To create just and equal laws and maintain order before leaving the ship.
Identify one push factor and one pull factor that influenced the Pilgrims’ migration.
Push: religious persecution. Pull: freedom / a fresh start.
Explain why the voyage was risky without maps or weather reports.
They couldn’t predict storms or know where they were heading, increasing danger.
Why were the Pilgrims’ expectations so inaccurate?
They had no prior information or realistic understanding of New England.
Which issue—weather, food, disease, or tools—was the biggest threat? Explain your reasoning.
food shortages, freezing temperatures, or disease.
Why did the Pilgrims need rules before settling on land?
People disagreed, and there was no government waiting for them—they needed unity to survive winter.