What the Pilgrims Saw at Cape Cod in 1620: Forests, Coastlines, and the Wampanoag

When the *Mayflower* anchored off **Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, on November 11, 1620 (O.S.)**, the 102 passengers and ~30 crew encountered a landscape both abundant and daunting.

The Physical Landscape

• Dense, Primeval Forest: Towering **oak, white pine, red maple, beech, hickory** covered the sandy glacial moraines. The forest floor was thick with undergrowth; travel was difficult. Clearing for homes and fields was backbreaking labor.
• Varied Coastline: **Sandy beaches** (backshore), **glacial erratics & kettle ponds** (kames/kettles), **salt marshes** (Great Marshes), and **tidal flats**. The *Mayflower* first tried to sail south to Hudson River but turned back due to shoals and riptides off Monomoy—providentially finding the protected **Plymouth Harbor** (discovered Dec 16).
• Teeming Waters: **Cod** (namesake), **herring, bass, mackerel, lobster, clams, oysters**. The Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims to plant corn with herring as fertilizer.

The Human Landscape: The Wampanoag

• Patuxet Village: The Pilgrims settled on the cleared site of **Patuxet**, a Wampanoag village depopulated by the **1616–1619 epidemic** (likely leptospirosis) that killed 50–90% of coastal New England Natives.
• First Contact: **Samoset** (Abenaki, learned English from fishermen) walked into Plymouth March 1621 saying "Welcome, Englishmen." He brought **Tisquantum (Squanto)**, the last Patuxet survivor, fluent in English (kidnapped 1614, sold in Spain, freed, worked in London, returned 1619).
• Alliance: **Massasoit (Ousamequin)**, Wampanoag sachem, signed a mutual defense treaty with Governor Carver (March 1621). Squanto taught survival: corn/beans/squash ("Three Sisters"), fishing, foraging, navigation.

Pilgrim Perspective

Bradford wrote: *"A hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men."* Yet they saw **providence** in the cleared land, the harbor, the friendly Natives, and the resources. They built **Plimoth Plantation** on Wampanoag ground—a foothold that became a colony.