Before the Pilgrims hired her, the Mayflower, a merchant vessel, was in the wine trade with France, and, before that, in the fish trade with Norway.

The Pilgrims did not happen upon an unknown frontier. The waters off New England were fished by the English for at least 100 years before the Pilgrims landed.

The Pilgrims did not name Plymouth, New England. Captain John Smith explored the New England coast in 1614 and gave his map to Prince Charles (who later became King Charles). Charles put English names on the map, such as Plymouth and the Charles River.

The turkey, native to the Americas, was a familiar barnyard fowl in England brought to Europe 100 years earlier by the Spanish.

Courtesy Plimoth Plantation Education Department.