Done with the Indian village, we walked through an exhibition hall full of 17th century replica pottery.

It was a bit odd. But there was a still…

And an 8 handed mug…

So that probably explains it. That, and the fact water was often polluted so they drank mostly beer and/or alcohol.

Onward to the colonist’s settlement….

First, the fort which commanded the high ground.

With it’s wonderful old cannons.

Then down into the settlement.

It was explained to us that all the employees would be playing the parts of characters based on the original inhabitants, wearing authentic clothing and speaking in the language of the period. We were encouraged to interact with them as such.

Before visiting here I was under the impression that the Pilgrims came to the new world to escape religious persecution. And while that’s true to an extent, it’s not the whole story. They actually fled to the Netherlands first, which explains all the windmills you see in this part of the country.

Read about it here.

The settlers in Plymouth were actually sponsored by England to colonize America. They were given ship’s passage and supplies and were expected to send back goods (mostly furs and pelts) to repay the investment. After 7 years of this, they were granted land… something working class people had no hope of obtaining back home.

Of course nothing went as planned. They were supposed to land in New York, but they landed in Massachusetts. They were supposed to land in September, but they landed in December.

They were supposed to fish for food, but there were no fisherman. They were supposed to build a town, but there were no trained carpenters.

Piss poor planning if you ask me.

Hell, a large percentage of them didn’t even live through the first winter.

But they’d brought some livestock…

And as we know, managed to survive if not yet thrive.

This fellow was trying to frame a window.

On the exterior of this house.

And if you think the Indians had it bad, imagine 15 people living and sleeping in here at a time.

Check out the slight list of the house on the far right. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the husband had a hand in it’s construction.

Personally, I loved the roofs…

Fashioned from rolled reeds, they begged to be petted.

In the next house we found this fellow, and the husband initiated a conversation.

I’m guessing the man had stage experience, because he was seriously deep in character.

Working there must be an interesting job.