Billington apparently fed information to the men, though he denied it as soon as the governor caught wind of the scheme. Committing The First American MurderĪntonio Gisbert/Wikimedia Commons The Pilgrims leaving the Old World for the New World in 1620.Ī few years later, in 1624, the Pilgrims expelled two men from the colony for criticizing strict religious policies. Pilgrims described his act of insubordination as “the first offense since arrival” and made Billington the first to commit a crime in Plymouth Colony. He was held in “contempt of the Captain’s lawful command” and tied by his neck and heels for punishment. But then, in March 1621, John Billington refused to perform military duty at the colony. John Billington scrawled his name on the Mayflower Compact on Nov. The document established rules for the already struggling colony, including a declaration that the colonists should create “laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices.” The “strangers” didn’t want to live under Pilgrim rules, but the Pilgrims quickly wrote the Mayflower Compact to call order. The family’s troublemaking reputation only grew stronger in Plymouth Colony. The religious separatists clashed with the non-religious “strangers,” like Billington. Wikimedia Commons An illustration of two early Pilgrim settlers. The explosion would have surely destroyed the Mayflower. As Plymouth governor William Bradford described it, “several strangers made discontented and mutinous speeches.”Īdditionally, Billington’s son Francis nearly sank the ship when he shot off a musket and nearly struck a powder keg. At the end of the 10-week sea voyage, Billington participated in a mutiny attempt. But the ship landed in Massachusetts, a mistake that would cost many of them their lives in the first season.įrom the beginning, Billington earned a reputation as a troublemaker. The Mayflower planned to land in Virginia, where the Pilgrims could set up their own government and the “strangers” could join the colony at Jamestown. The other passengers, called “strangers” by the Pilgrims, were simply seeking a better life. In fact, of the 102 passengers on the ship, only 37 claimed to be fleeing persecution. Harkening from Lincolnshire, Billington did not number himself among the Pilgrims seeking religious freedom in the new world. Jean Leon Gerome Ferris/Library of Congress In 1620, the Pilgrims and “the strangers” signed the Mayflower Compact, which set the new colony on a path toward self-governance.īorn in 1580, John Billington was already in his 40s when he set sail on the Mayflower.
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