BNOB: "Mayflower" by Nathaniel Philbrick

(What does BNOB mean?)

<

This is the second of three Philbrick naval history books I will write brief notes on at this blog.  The first BNOB was on Sea of Glory, and was my second favorite of the three.  My favorite one - "In the Heart of the Sea" - will be reviewed at this site in a week or two.

Although "Mayflower" was my least favorite of the three big Philbrick works, it is still an excellent read chock full of action, struggle, success, failure, etc.  The title is appropriate since it tells of the 1620 Mayflower voyage and the Pilgrims settling Plymouth colony.  One of the broad, intriguing elements of the book is how Philbrick sorts between fact and myth in comparing what is truly historically documented versus how we've mythologized it for 2nd grade history.

For instance, it is difficult to substantiate that they stepped off the boat onto a rock, they did not immediately encounter Indians, the colonists were not all Pilgrims, not all was peaceful between Pilgrims and Indians, and the first Thanksgiving did not occur until their 10th month there.  Squanto, although a key English-speaking link and ally for the Pilgrims, is also not as noble and heroic as the grade school storied portray him.

The book recounts the increasing pressures upon religious freedom that compelled Pilgrims and Separatists to flee.  It then describes how the Mayflower was secured as the ship and the harrowing journey they experienced.  It does a good job describing the simplicity and significance of the Mayflower Compact.  Then, for the next 150 pages, the book recounts their experiences at self-government, food acquisition, and Indian encounters, with the principal character being William Bradford, who become the colonial governor at a very young age.

The second half of the book recounts King Philip's War of the 1670's and another key figure of Plymouth - Benjamin Church.  This war occurred between colonists and several tribes (but not all) of Indians.  The name of the war comes from a chief (or sachem) of the Pokanokets - Philip - who was not truly a king, but was referred to as one by the regions inhabitants.  Philip was the younger son of Massasoit - an earlier Pokanoket sachem who was a key ally to the Pilgrims of the 1620's. 

The course of public school U.S. history generally goes like this: Columbus - Jamestown - Mayflower - French/Indian War - Revolution, but the period between the Mayflower and the Revolution is full of interesting people and events.  It is in this period that the very significant King Philip's War occurred.  Based upon a percentage of the number of people killed (both colonial and Indian), this war had 5-6 times more fatalities than the War for Independence, and was 2-3 times bloodier than the Civil War.  The colonists win this war when Church surrounds King Philip and a member of Church's forces kills him.

This book is well worth the read; I would give it an 8 out of 10.