27. Weird as it Sounds, if Not for a Beer Shortage, We Might be Talking about the New York Pilgrims Today
When the Pilgrims set sail, their initial destination had been a Virginia Colony island teeming with wildlife and natural resources. The site had a huge natural harbor, and a navigable river that led deep into the interior. The Virginia Colony’s borders in 1620 were not the same as those of today’s Virginia. Back then, the Virginia Colony’s northern boundary was about 225 miles farther north than Virginia’s current border. The island where the Pilgrims had intended to establish their colony is today called Manhattan.
Instead, the lack of beer led them to explore the coastline of Cape Cod and the nearby mainland region, until they finally decided upon a site. On Christmas Day, 1620, the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Plantation as their new colony, and importantly, the site where they would brew up a fresh batch of beer. Weird as it sounds, if not for the Pilgrims’ running out of beer, we might be referring to them today as the Virginia or Manhattan Pilgrims, instead of the Massachusetts Pilgrims.
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