Speedwell (1577 ship)
Delftshaven by Adam Willaerts c. 1620
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Veronica sp. (speedwell) |
| Launched | 1577 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 60 tons |
Speedwell was a 60-ton
Swiftsure
Speedwell was built in 1577, under the name Swiftsure, as part of English preparations for war against Spain. She participated in the fight against the Spanish Armada. During the Earl of Essex's 1596 Azores expedition she served as the ship of his second in command, Sir Gelli Meyrick. After hostilities with Spain ended, she was decommissioned in 1605, and renamed Speedwell, after the UK wildflower but also a play on words for its desired ability.
Speedwell
Captain Blossom, a Leiden Separatist, bought Speedwell in July 1620.[1] They then sailed under the command of Captain Reynolds to Southampton, England to meet the sister ship, Mayflower, which had been chartered by merchant investors (again Captain Blossom). In Southampton they joined with other Separatists and the additional colonists hired by the investors. Speedwell was already leaking. The ships lay at anchor in Southampton almost two weeks while Speedwell was being repaired and the group had to sell some of their belongings, food and stores, to cover costs and port fees.[2]
The two ships began the voyage on 5 August 1620, but Speedwell was found to be taking on water, and the two ships put into
Prior to the voyage, Speedwell had been refitted in
Eleven people from Speedwell boarded Mayflower, leaving 20 people to return to London (including Cushman) while a combined company of 102 continued the voyage. For a third time, Mayflower headed for the New World. She left Plymouth on September 6 1620 and entered Cape Cod Bay on 11 November. Speedwell's replacement, Fortune, eventually followed, arriving at Plymouth Colony one year later on 9 November 1621. Philippe de Lannoy on Speedwell made the trip.
The ship was apparently in use by the Royal Navy in 1624 when it was used by Royal Navy Captain John Chudleigh (MP for Lostwithiel) to transport the German commander Ernst von Mansfeld to London.[6]
Under the ownership of Captain John Thomas Chappell, the Speedwell sailed again on May 28, 1635 from Southampton, finally arriving in Virginia. The ship then returned to England and was then refitted and sold.
Speedwell in art
Speedwell in fiction
A
References
- ^ a b "The Voyage of the Mayflower & Speedwell", Pilgrim Hall Museum
- ^ "Mayflower – the Southampton story", Southampton City Council[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Ames 1907, Chapter II.
- ^ Philbrick, Nathaniel (2007). Mayflower. Penguin Publishing.
- ^ Ames 1907, Appendix VIII.
- ^ "Chudleigh , Sir John (c. 1584–1634 ?), of Stretchleigh/Strashleigh, Ermington, Devon. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Embarkation of the Pilgrims | Architect of the Capitol".
- ^ "Pilgrim Hall Museum - Collections - History Paintings". Archived from the original on 11 January 2013.
- ^ "A Spurious Brood". Phil Revell. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ISBN 978-0595348978. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ISBN 978-1476618197. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ISBN 978-1310993787. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
Sources
- Ames, Azel (1907). The Mayflower and her Log. New York: Houghton, Mifflin – via Gutenberg Project.
- White, Henry (1859). Indian Battles: with Incidents in the Early History of New England. New York: D.W. Evans & Co.
- Bradford, William (1908). "The 8. Chap.". In Davis, William T. (ed.). Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606–1646. Original Narratives of Early American History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 87. ISBN 978-0722266441.
- Harvey, Robert Paton (1982). "Where Currant Bushes Grew: An Introduction to the Sackville Fultzes". Nova Scotia Historical Review. 2 (1): 12.