In 1609, a fleet of English ships set out to rescue the dying colony of Jamestown, but a hurricane interrupted their journey. The Sea Venture, one of the ships, ran aground on Bermuda's jagged beach after three days of struggling to stay afloat. All the other ships made it to the shores of Virginia, except for one. A smaller ship disappeared into the ocean, carrying all its crew down with it.
The ship's 150 passengers and crew survived and built two smaller boats to reach Jamestown, where Thomas Gates was to become the new governor. However, Stephen Hopkins, one of the passengers, challenged Gates' authority, triggering a power struggle that lasted for months, with Hopkins nearly executed for mutiny. Eventually, the survivors constructed two seaworthy vessels and made it to Jamestown, surviving over nine months on the isolated island paradise.
Two years later, Shakespeare's play, “The Tempest”, premiered in London on November 1, 1611. The play's plot involves a shipwreck on an island and a power struggle between the leader and his subjects, including one crewmember named Stephano. The similarities between the play and the real-life story of Stephen Hopkins are not coincidental. After the Sea Venture passengers reached Jamestown, William Strachey wrote a letter detailing their ordeal, including the power struggle between Gates and Hopkins. Shakespeare likely read Strachey's account, leading many scholars to believe that Hopkins inadvertently inspired the character of Stephano in “The Tempest”, creating an unusual connection between Shakespeare and the Pilgrims of Plymouth.
