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A Prank Led to America’s First Nominated Female to Office, and Other Lesser Known American History Facts

Khalid Elhassan December 13, 2019 33 min

33. Setback After Setback

Pilgrims boarding the Mayflower. Encyclopedia Britannica

The Mayflower and the Speedwell sailed from England to the New World on August 5^th, 1620. However, the Mayflower’s sister ship proved unfortunately named, being neither speedy nor well. The Speedwell began leaking, so the Pilgrims docked in Dartmouth for repairs. They set out again on August 21^st, but after a few days at sea, the Speedwell began leaking again.

The voyage’s leaders came to the conclusion that the Speedwell was simply not up to the task of crossing the Atlantic, and decided to leave her in England, continuing on across the ocean to the New World in the Mayflower. So after transferring supplies from the Speedwell, the Mayflower finally set out on September 6^th — over a month behind schedule. It would prove to be an arduous voyage.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.