USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -When Pilgrims and other settlers set out on the ship for America in 1620, they intended to lay anchor in northern Virginia. But after treacherous shoals and storms drove their ship off course, the settlers landed in Massachusetts instead, near Cape Cod, outside of Virginia’s jurisdiction.

Detailed explanation-2: -After more than two months (66 days) at sea, the Pilgrims finally arrived at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620.

Detailed explanation-3: -The choice to land was due in part to treacherous shoals and breakers facing Mayflower Captain Christopher Jones off the coast of Cape Cod-but it was also due in large part to a dangerous shortage of beer.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia and the Hudson River (today New York) was their intended destination. They had received good reports on this region while in the Netherlands. The Mayflower was almost right on target, missing the Hudson River by just a few degrees.

Detailed explanation-5: -Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor on December 16, 1620 and the colonists began building their town.