Plymouth Adventure

Here you, come here. You with the Mayflower?

Master's mate, Coppin's my name.

These passengers for the Mayflower?

Aye.

- Any on board? - None aboard.

Hmm.

They want to pray this way instead of this way.

And they don't kneel. They pray standing up.

They calls it religious freedom.

For that they're sailing into the black sea of darkness.

Have you searched that cargo?

Or been spending time watching the ways of the dissenters.

- We have searched the cargo. - Ah.

Here you. What's your name?

Samuel Fuller. William Button.

John Carver. My wife.

Stephen Hopkins. My wife. My children.

My bondsmen.

William Bradford. My wife.

And you?

- Mary Brewster. - Love Brewster

Rafa Brewster.

- Wife of William Brewster? - Yes.

Where's your husband?

I came from Holland with the others on the Speedwell there.

- And we've had no word. - Speak up!

Did your husband come with you on the Speedwell?

I've not seen him these many months.

Brewster's not been among us. He fled from Holland months ago.

He's believed to be dead.

A voyage into the New World alone?

By the goodness of my neighbor, Mr. Bradford, my sons and I--

Why're we being questioned? We're all cleared for departure.

Except William Brewster. We want your leader.

The rest of you may go and good riddance to you.

Passenger for the Mayflower?

Gilbert Winslow. I'm just down from London.

May I give you a word of advice?

This Brewster, this leader of the dissenters

if you're wise, you'll force him to go with us.

It'll be easier to let him sink there than keep him locked up

in prison until he starves to death.

This man won't starve to death, he'll hang.

And there's five crowns reward for the fellow who turns him in.

- Five crown, eh? - Hmm.

What's he look like?

Old man, white hair.

Well, I must do something about this.

These are the years of wonder on earth

when a man may go beyond the world's rim

and live to see marvels

if he can keep his feet dry and the ship from sinking.

Why are you going?

I'm going because I've nothing better to do.

I wanna see for myself whether it's a new world

or only the backside of the old one.

- Does it take money to go? - If it did, I wouldn't be here.

I'm an impoverished tutor.

Not quite a gentleman, but no worse than the others.

Uh, there's not a drop of blue blood among us all.

Scarcely a shilling.

Who pays for the ship and the provisions?

The investors.

A Mr. Weston representing the Virginia Company.

It passes me how Mr. Weston and his investors

expect to get their money back.

They do and a profit.

We're drawing up a Compact.

In exchange for the money we'll give our labor

for five days of every week for seven years in the New World.

We'll harvest crops, trap furs, dry fish

and the profits will be theirs.

And for the other two days of each week

we shall be permitted to work for ourselves.

- 'Mayflower passengers.' - It's a rich country.

Two days a week is enough

if you expect to find gold in your dooryard.

Seems to be going aboard.

We sail tomorrow.

They're waiting only to hire two more sailors and a, uh..

...a carpenter.

- Good day to you... carpenter. - Good luck.

Back water.

In oars.

Cargo loading is smooth, Mr. Coppin?

Aye, Captain. But we'd be loaded deep.

Fools taking their wives and children with them.

Keep them out of my way. Get aboard!

There's a gentleman from London been asking for you.

- Where? - Yonder.

The one in the brown velvet.

Sailing in the morning?

- You came to say me goodbye? - Later.

Mr. Weston.

Captain Jones.

Won't you sit down?

So, we meet at last, Captain Jones.

Our correspondence has been most satisfactory

but as I wrote to you I have a small matter

I wish to discuss with you in person.

Not too small to bring you from London to Southampton.

In confidence, Captain.

What is your opinion of your passengers?

You're paying me to transport them, Mr. Weston.

They're a rabble.

A rabble of poppers

running to some notions of wealth and adventure

because they believe the tall tales

they've heard of the New World.

And others running from the Church of England.

Because they've got new notions as to how to say their prayers.

But there's one thing to be said for them.

They'll make good settlers

because they've nothing to come back to.

They've sold their homes, spent their last shilling

on equipage for the New World.

As for the religious dissenters

they're very earnest and determined to see it through.

Now when you have even a small group like that, Captain

they're likely to infect the rest with their zeal.

So, they can say their prayers standing on their heads

if they have a mind to.

'If they but build me a settlement here.'

'I don't understand, you must be mistaken.'

'The Virginia Company owns a tract in this region.'

That's... south of the 41st parallel.

That's where the sackers are to be landed.

Uh, do you know this other tract? The Cape Cod region?

That's owned by another company. The New England Company.

Captain Jones, you are to take your passengers to New England.

But that's hundreds of miles

north of the region agreed upon by all parties.

A 100 pounds.

And another 100 when you return.

The passengers are not to know

their destination has been changed.

Naturally, there'll be nothing in writing between us.

And if ever in the future you speak of it

I'll call you a liar to your face.

Let us by all means have a gentlemen's agreement.

What troubles you, Captain?

Do you care where these people land?

I don't care if they land in hell. No, that isn't it.

But there's another man who'll have to know about this.

My mate, Coppin. He's a good navigator.

If we sail above the 41st parallel, he's bound to know it.

Coppin, will have to be told.

I see. Yes, he'll have to be paid.

- I'll see he's-- - 'Is Captain Jones here?'

You're Captain Jones of the Mayflower, sir?

I'm a carpenter.

I'm a good carpenter, sir.

I've worked on the building of ships and I have built houses.

And I'm a Barallete too. A trained cooper.

I can read and write a letter

and I'm an orphan and not married.

Oh, how interesting.

I've never been to sea, sir, but I-I am a carpenter.

You're a carpenter. You've also had a drink too many.

Oh, not today, sir.

Then what in the name of blathering bills

are you talking about?

I'm told you're hiring a carpenter.

Not I. I have a full crew.

I've had the same ship's carpenter for five years.

- Oh. - It's not a ship's carpenter.

It's the passengers. They're still short three men.

They're putting 'em on today.

They'll pay someone to tend to their barrels on the voyage

and help them build houses in the New World.

Sign on for one year, then return or stay as you will.

See Mr. Martin at the Old Inn. He'll give you papers to sign.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir, Captain.

- Get on with you. - Yes, sir.

I'll put in a word for you with Martin.

- What's your name? - John, sir. John Alden.

We're lucky we shipping on the Mayflower.

This Speedwell is a tub of bones and she's rigged all wrong.

But she's our consort vessel. She's sailing with us.

Aye, and she's oversparred.

Her ballast won't take it, she'll be giving trouble.

But the settlers are keeping her for a year in the New World.

- How many person she carrying? - About 30 I think.

Captain of the Mayflower never carried no passengers before.

Ha ha. He hates 'em.

- He's a blister, that man. - Aye, he's a hard master.

But a good sailor. You'll ride easy on this ship.

You there.

You.

Passengers were told to stay in the waist deck.

I'm not a passenger. I'm not a sailor.