A Pilgrim Becomes a Shakespearean Star

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.

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“Deliver me out of the mire, that I sink not: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.”

(Psalm 69:14; 1599 Geneva Bible)

The Wreck of the Cursed Little James

In 1623, the ship Little James set off from England with more supplies and immigrants for Plymouth Colony. Immediately the young Captain Altham faced challenges. After a one-week delay in the fog, the food supplies began spoiling. The crew blamed passenger John Jenney for neglecting the provisions, as he was busy with his pregnant wife who later gave birth on the voyage. 

The crew was further angered when the captain refused to plunder a nearby French vessel. After a slow, grueling voyage, the Little James finally arrived in Plymouth on August 5, 1623. The agitated crew protested their contract and refused to cooperate with their superiors, so Plymouth's Governor Bradford promised their pay to maintain peace. 

Come springtime, while the Little James was on a fishing assignment, the crew mutinied, forcing the captain off the ship to retrieve food supplies. On April 10, 1624, as Captain Altham returned with provisions, a furious storm slammed the ship against the rocks. The shipmaster John Bridges drowned, two crewmembers were killed, and all cargo was lost.

After costly repairs, the Little James was returned to England to recoup financial losses. Three years later, just south of England, the James was captured by pirates. The cargo was stolen and the shipmaster and crew were sold into slavery. Nothing is heard of the Little James after that. 

Looking back on the misfortune of the James, William Bradford wrote, "I fear the Adventurers did over-pride themselves in her, for she had ill success."

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“Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold sorrow? for spoiling, and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.”

(Habakkuk 1:3; 1599 Geneva Bible)