101884 | UNITED STATES & NETHERLANDS. Pilgrims/the Mayflower bronze Medal.

101884  |  UNITED STATES & NETHERLANDS. Pilgrims/the Mayflower bronze Medal. Issued 1920. Commemorating the 300th anniversary of the "Pilgrim Fathers" and the Mayflower (59mm, 77.77 g, 12h). By C. J. van der Hoef.

 

THE PILGRIM FATHERS / 1620 1920 / 300 JARIGE HERDENKING, frontal view of the Mayflower, with oval shield at stern; to left, shield with arms of the Netherlands; to right, shield with stars and stripes / THE SPOT WHERE JOHN ROBINSON LIVED TAUGHT AND DIED / JAN PЄSУNSHOF, facade of the Jan Pesynhof Almshouse in Leiden, where John Robinson resided. Edge: Plain.

 

Rulau E79A. Gem Mint State. Olive-brown surfaces, with a sublime matte nature.

 

Seeking a freedom from religion and a separation from the Church of England, those who would become known as the pilgrims and who would form a fledgling settlement in what is now Massachusetts, departed England and first set up in Leiden in the Dutch Republic, where religious freedoms were allowed. While there, the pilgrims received leadership from John Robinson, who is regarded as one of the "Pilgrim Fathers," along with Robert Browne and Henry Barrow. A group of 102 pilgrims set out for the New World in the fall of 1620, hoping to establish a new promised land, though they arrived in the area that is now Cape Cod in mid-November, a month later than expected. Given the lack of knowledge of the area as well as basic survival skills and food gathering/harvesting, half of the colony did not survive the initial harsh winter. Were it not for assistance provided by local indigenous peoples, it is quite possible that the entire group of pilgrims would have died from exposure, disease, and hardship. The following fall, in commemoration of their arrival, the remaining pilgrims celebrated with a feast of thanksgiving, along with many local natives, in what has now been declared the initial Thanksgiving, serving as the forerunner to the national holiday.

 

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