By Selena

  Once a long time ago there was a place that had no name yet...It was Massachusetts. This retell explains what happened there.

     In the 1600's King James I was the King of England and everyone had to belong to his religion, known as the Church of the English.  If they didn’t follow King James I rules they would lose their homes, go to jail or even get hanged. 

     A group of Puritans called Pilgrims left England and sailed to what we call now America.  The Pilgrims hoped to be free to practice their own religion in America.  The Pilgrims had planned to settle in the colony of Virginia. In September 70 adults, 32 children, some chickens and two dogs went to the colony of Virginia on a big ship called the Mayflower.  Wind blew throughout the day and throughout the night and blew the ship off course.  The Pilgrims landed in a place called Plymouth.  Half of the Pilgrims didn’t survive the first winter in Plymouth.  By the springtime there were only about 50 colonists left, and half of them were children.

     The Pilgrims struggled to survive over the year. An Indian tribe called the Algonquian Indians had lived in that particular area before the Pilgrims for about a hundred years, way before the Pilgrims came to America. The Indian tribe knew all about the land and the how to grow food. At first the colonists were very scared of the Indians, but then they grew strong and were not afraid of the Indians.

     A big group of Puritans organized a big company called Massachusetts Bay Company.  They also got a charter, meaning they got permission to do something from the King to settle in America. In between 1629 and 1640, more than 20,000 settlers came to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. The Puritans in Massachusetts had very strong religious beliefs.

  Colonists said that the Pequot Indians killed many people. They also said that the Pequot Indians had killed two traders. The Pequot Indians had claimed land that the colonists were settling. 

  A Wampanoag Indian Tribe chief called Metacom stood up to the colonists that were moving into the land and began a fight. The fight lasted till 1676. Metacom was captured instantly and was killed at once. 

   The King of England named King James II said that the colonists couldn't have their own governments.  King James joined all the colonies from Massachusetts to the state of New Jersey together into one dominion called New England. 

     Some of the Puritans started to worry that some of the people  were practicing witchcraft and two people were hanged because they were witches.  A few years later they found out they made a mistake and that witches weren't real. 

     Nowadays in Massachusetts there is a replica of the Mayflower with townspeople that act like Pilgrims. They tell you all about their life way back then. They even dress up like the Pilgrims and even have an accent like the Pilgrims. They even eat like a Pilgrim and they have bowls and plates made out of wood or bone. They might even have a celebration for holidays that the Pilgrims celebrated like Thanksgiving. They'd have big feast!

   I learned that a long time ago, they thought witches were real.  People in Massachusetts hung people if they thought they were really witches!  I also learned that there were two people named King James.  There was a lot to learn about Massachusetts.

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