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Mayflower Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Mayflower Quizzes, Trivia

Mayflower Trivia

Mayflower Trivia Quizzes

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6 Mayflower quizzes and 65 Mayflower trivia questions.
1.
  The Voyage of the Mayflower   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Have you ever been curious about the events revolving around the voyage of the Mayflower? This quiz not only will focus on this famed voyage, undertaken in the year 1620, but its preparations and aftermath. Enjoy!
Tough, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Apr 12 11
Tough
thejazzkickazz gold member
2606 plays
2.
  U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is all about the Pilgrims and their journey to America.
Average, 10 Qns, kdizogg, May 24 10
Average
kdizogg
3563 plays
3.
  The Puritans Are Coming!   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Let's check out the Massachusetts Bay colony founders and see what made them tick.
Tough, 15 Qns, obiwan04, Jun 09 12
Tough
obiwan04 gold member
1062 plays
4.
  The Pilgrims    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Hey, I teach American History at Carter Middle. This quiz is about the quest of the Pilgrims.
Average, 10 Qns, garvol, Jun 14 12
Average
garvol
1842 plays
5.
  The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The 102 Separatists who sailed from England to New England in 1620 were a small band of adventurers. I hope you will enjoy some of the trivia of their journey and life.
Average, 10 Qns, asm1, May 27 11
Average
asm1
1757 plays
6.
  The Mayflower, Its Occupants and Crew    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
How much do you know about the Mayflower, its passengers, and the voyage? Test your knowledge in this quiz.
Tough, 10 Qns, Redlass, Jan 22 21
Tough
Redlass
Jan 22 21
1251 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What was the primary occupation of the Pilgrims when they lived in Holland?

From Quiz "The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower"





Mayflower Trivia Questions
1. The English Puritans began their Massachusetts colony in the 1630s, but just what were they trying to "purify"?

From Quiz The Puritans Are Coming!

Answer: the Church of England

The Puritans in the 1560s and 1570s arose to protest the Church of England for having too many influences of the Catholic Church. The Puritans wanted to eliminate all "man-made" religious practices and return to a purified New Testament church.

2. The Separatists who would travel on the Mayflower lived in Holland for 12 years. Besides religious freedom, what was a reason they decided to leave?

From Quiz The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower

Answer: Their children were assimilating into the Dutch culture.

The Separatists were afraid they were losing their English culture as their children spoke more Dutch than English and learned Dutch customs as their way of doing things.

3. In 1624, King James I didn't like a certain government body in the colonies. He revoked the charter of the Virginia Company, which made Virginia a Royal Colony. What was the governmental body he detested?

From Quiz U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims

Answer: House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the first representative government in the colonies. It was started in 1619 under the authorization of the London Company, and allowed the settlers to meet and represent themselves.

4. The Pilgrims left on September 6, 1620. What was the name of the smaller boat that was loaded, but did not make the trip?

From Quiz The Pilgrims

Answer: Speedwell

It was the "Speedwell". The Speedwell broke down and did not make the perilous trip. Most of the colonists wanted to go to Virginia, but hurricane type winds pushed the boat to the coast of Massaschusetts and "the rest is history".

5. Everyone knows that the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims to America and that's why we all get to pig out on a Thursday in November. But where else did the Mayflower sail?

From Quiz The Mayflower, Its Occupants and Crew

Answer: Norway

In 1609, the Mayflower was hired to take hats, hemp, herring, salt, tar, wine, and vinegar to Norway. It arrived a month late. (It took longer than expected to load it, plus there was stormy weather - and the person who hired it had been thrown in jail because he had defaulted on his debts).

6. A month before the Mayflower made its landing at Plymouth Rock, it had made a landing at another site in what is now Massachusetts. At which spot in modern Massachusetts did the Mayflower first land on November 21, 1620?

From Quiz The Voyage of the Mayflower

Answer: Provincetown

Provincetown is located out on the tip of the Cape Cod Peninsula, clearly not a suitable location for settlement since fresh water is not readily available there. The entire voyage, from Plymouth, England to Provincetown, took about two months and it took the Mayflower crew an additional month to settle on the New Plymouth location.

7. While the Spanish were distracted by the Dutch in the early 1600s, they loosened their grip on _________________, which the English were more than happy to pick up.

From Quiz U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims

Answer: the West Indies

The English claimed many small West Indian islands as their own in the 1600s, and gained the very large prize of Jamaica in 1655.

8. How many people left Plymouth, England on this perilous journey?

From Quiz The Pilgrims

Answer: 102

102 passengers left Plymouth. Two died and one baby was born. There was 101 passengers who docked onto "Plymouth Rock". Contrary to popular belief, there were only 37 Separtists. The rest was the crew of the ship and hired protectors.

9. There was one other ship that was hired to accompany the Mayflower but it turned out to be a leaky vessel that wasn't deemed seaworthy for the arduous trip across the Atlantic. What was the name of this rickety tub?

From Quiz The Mayflower, Its Occupants and Crew

Answer: Speedwell

In 1620, both the Mayflower and the Speedwell attempted to make a trip to America. Unfortunately, the Speedwell was leaking. They put in to port and eventually abandoned the Speedwell and packed the passengers and cargo onto the Mayflower.

10. According to their first governor, John Winthrop, the Puritan colony in North America would be like what to the rest of the world?

From Quiz The Puritans Are Coming!

Answer: "a city upon a hill"

Winthrop believed that the world was watching the Puritan experiment. If it failed, the world would scorn and ridicule Puritanism, but if it succeeded, the Puritan way would spread through England and, eventually, throughout the world. Pretty heavy burden to lay on the colonists!

11. What did the Pilgrims do to pass the time during the voyage?

From Quiz The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower

Answer: Read the Bible and sang hymns

When they weren't seasick, the Pilgrims practiced activities of their faith. The ship was crowded and there was not enough water for washing or bathing.

12. What was the main source of the West Indies' economy?

From Quiz U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims

Answer: sugar cane

Sugar cane was known as a rich man's crop, due to the intense labor required to pick and refine it - not to mention that one must own a lot of land to be profitable. Profit was not a problem after the advent of the slaves, however.

13. Who was the "hired protector" of the Pilgrims?

From Quiz The Pilgrims

Answer: Myles Standish

Myles Standish was the mercenary hired by the pilgrims to protect them from the wilds of the new frontier.

14. The Mayflower's captain owned another ship before he got the Mayflower. The ship, named after his wife, was called:

From Quiz The Mayflower, Its Occupants and Crew

Answer: Josian

It seems the owner of the Mayflower, Christopher Jones, traded the Josian to Robert Burton of Leigh for the Mayflower.

15. The Puritans' first wave arrived in 1630 and set up their colony northwest of Plymouth Colony, which had been founded by Separatists in 1620. What was the major difference between the two groups?

From Quiz The Puritans Are Coming!

Answer: The Separatists wanted to break completely with the Church of England, while the Puritans merely wanted to purify it.

The Puritans were almost as appalled at the Separatists as the Church of England officials were. Both groups saw the Separatists as radicals and troublemakers who wanted to destroy the Church of England, not reform it as the Puritans wanted to do.

16. When the Mayflower landed first at Provincetown, what did the women go ashore to do?

From Quiz The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower

Answer: launder their clothes

There was concern for the safety of the passengers, since this was an unknown land, with evidence of previous occupation. The women and children were not allowed to stray away from the shore. They washed the clothes and then returned to the Mayflower.

17. What group did Charles I push out of England? He thought that if they defied him as their spiritual leader, they would defy him as their political leader.

From Quiz U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims

Answer: Separatists

The Separatists are very dedicated Puritans. They believed that only "visible saints", somebody who has felt grace in their souls, could be admitted into the church. They did not like the Church of England because there the "saints" had to share a seat with the "damned."

18. Where were the Pilgrims originally headed to?

From Quiz The Pilgrims

Answer: Virginia

The Pilgrims were headed toward the colony of Virginia. The ship encountered hurricanes and had to take their sails down and anchor. The result was a broken beam in the middle of the boat that was fixed with a giant screw and two beams.

19. On what day did the Mayflower leave Plymouth, England?

From Quiz The Mayflower, Its Occupants and Crew

Answer: September 6, 1620

After the unsuccessful attempt earlier in the summer to get to America with the Speedwell, the Mayflower finally left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620.

20. Originally, the Mayflower mission to America had included two ships, rather than just the one. What was the name of the Mayflower's sister ship that was originally intended to accompany it on the two-month voyage?

From Quiz The Voyage of the Mayflower

Answer: Speedwell

The Speedwell, a rather smaller ship, initially carried about half the Plymouth colonists. After two attempts to disembark with the Mayflower, the Speedwell was forced to turn back to Plymouth (England) because it had sprung a leak. The result was that the Mayflower took on the additional passengers (though some were left behind) and some of the cargo, and made the voyage solo, a very courageous endeavor for the 102 passengers!

21. What kind of government did the Puritans set up in their new colony?

From Quiz The Puritans Are Coming!

Answer: a theocracy, where only male church members could vote

The colony's charter gave all adult men the right to vote, but the Puritans leadership soon restricted the vote to male church members.

22. Who was the Pilgrim military leader?

From Quiz The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower

Answer: Myles Standish

Myles Standish had been a soldier while living in Holland. Paul Revere, Nathaniel Greene, and George Washington were all Revolutionary War leaders.

23. After leaving England in 1608, where did the Separatists go?

From Quiz U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims

Answer: Holland

The Separatists first went to the Netherlands. After a few years, they got scared that their children were becoming "Dutchified" and wanted to go to America.

24. The Pilgrims' survival and safe arrival in the New World is celebrated by a holiday. Name this holiday. (Hint: it is in November).

From Quiz The Pilgrims

Answer: Thanksgiving

A year later the Pilgrims held have a feast to thank God for His bounty. President Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday in 1863 when he felt the country needed a celebration. Franklin Roosevelt changed it to the last Thursday in November because he wanted to boost the nation's economy.

25. The Mayflower left England with 102 passengers. How many passengers arrived in Plymouth Harbor?

From Quiz The Mayflower, Its Occupants and Crew

Answer: 102

102 left England and 102 arrived at Cape Cod. Oceanus Hopkins was born and a servant boy died. Two children conceived during the voyage were born post arrival - Peregrine White and the Allerton baby. A crew member also died, but he wasn't one of the passengers.

26. Among the individuals transported to Plymouth aboard the Mayflower were many Calvinists who had been living in exile in which European country?

From Quiz The Voyage of the Mayflower

Answer: Holland

These exiles were led by William Bradford and William Brewster, and had fled to Holland, a state sympathetic to Calvinists at the time, from the repression they felt in England. The Speedwell had brought these colonists to Plymouth, England, but they eventually made their way across the ocean aboard the Mayflower due to the problems with the Speedwell mentioned in the previous question's notes.

27. When it came to writing laws for their new colony, where did the Puritans take many laws from?

From Quiz The Puritans Are Coming!

Answer: Old Testament

Puritans loved the strict, no-nonsense laws of the Old Testament and often copied them word for word into Puritan statutes.

28. What was the primary occupation of the Pilgrims when they lived in Holland?

From Quiz The Impossible Journey of the Mayflower

Answer: Tradesmen

The Pilgrims included a carpenter, a cooper, merchants, a doctor and other middle class occupations. They expected to farm and fish in New England.

29. While arriving on the Mayflower, the Pilgrims expected to find themselves in ______________, but actually found that they are near ____________________.

From Quiz U.S. History [2] : The Pilgrims

Answer: Virginia, Cape Cod

The Pilgrims had negotiated with the Virginia Company to lease them land within its jurisdiction, but a storm blew the Mayflower off course and they ended up near Cape Cod.

30. Deriving their perspective from their recent experiences in England, Massachusetts Puritans treated their ministers in what fashion?

From Quiz The Puritans Are Coming!

Answer: They valued their learning and religious guidance, but would not let them hold political office

Puritans rejected the power that Church of England ministers had exercised in England and limited their political influence by denying them political office. Furthermore, church members held the power to hire and fire each minister.

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