The Mayflower and Historical Culture in Britain, 1620–2020

Abstract

In 2020 the Anglo-American world marked the 400th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic Mayflower voyage with a programme of activities. Intensive and focused interest in the story of the Mayflower is not a new phenomenon—especially in the United States, where it is the bedrock of the nation’s ‘origin story’. But the tale of the Pilgrims has historically also captured the British imagination. This article outlines a chronology for understanding the cultural importance in Britain of this voyage, from the New England chroniclers to the postcolonial critiques of historians today. In between, it offers a thematic analysis of the different groups which could use the story in their construction of morality and identity, from Romanticists and abolitionists to Anglo-American diplomats and civic boosters. Understanding the afterlife of the voyage in this long perspective, we argue, provides us with a more nuanced understanding of how ideas of history develop and evolve within broader arenas of politics and civil society. We use the concept of historical culture: an approach that is attuned to the interplay between memory, public history, heritage and popular history, and across forms of media (novels, plays, film) and spaces of interaction (cities, politics, movements). As the vogue for commemoration continues to exert power in Britain and beyond, and so does an increasing demand for more critical approaches to historical redress, we thus develop a critical framework that understands the powerful draw of ‘history’—both past and present.