Saturday, November 18, 2006

Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story about the Mayflower

The History Channel will present this 3-hour TV show starting on Sunday, 19 November at 8 PM Eastern, 5 PM Pacific?). The show's description is:

Most of the people whom we now know as "the Pilgrims" made their way from England to the city of Leiden, Holland, a place of religious tolerance. They found religious freedom, but faced extreme financial hardship.

A bold decision is made to move to America. In the late summer of 1620 The Mayflower sets sails carrying 102 English settlers and 30 sailors. Over the next four months, about half of the settlers and sailors die of scurvy and weather-related illness.

An English speaking Indian, Samoset, visits the settlers and his visit leads to the signing of a peace treaty. By the Fall of 1621, the English decide to celebrate their harvest with a feast which is attended by at least 90 Wampanoags. That peace will last 40 years. This show features elaborate dramatic reenactments from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events of the early 1600s.


The History Channel link provides other times for the Premiere of the show. There is also a DVD for purchase of the show.

I can hardly wait to see this show, since several of my ancestors survived the crossing and the early years. However, I'll have to catch it at one of the alternate times, since my Chargers play at 5 PM Pacific on Sunday.

UPDATE: Thanks to Chris Dunham, I found the link to Caleb Johnson's review of this film at http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/DesperateCrossingReview.php. He rated it 4.75 out of 5, and said "this documentary is absolutely the best documentary ever made about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, the Wampanoag, and the founding of Plymouth Colony. It is well researched, well written, well produced, and a pleasure to watch."

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