Colonial Campaigns Club (CCC)

...The Mayflower.

I hope that if you had access to the History Channel's program that was aired on November 23rd. I was surprised by a number of interesting things like the projected numbers of indians that were living in North America at the 1620 arrival of the Pilgrims (50 million!). If you are interested in this subject go to the link listed at the bottom of this posting and you will find some good banter on the pro's and con's of the show.

Here's the History Channels description:

Every American knows the story of the Pilgrims, their courageous voyage on the Mayflower and the first Happy Thanksgiving. But the homogenized and sanitized history learned as children and revisited every Thanksgiving holiday bears faint resemblance to the actual people and dramatic events of that desperate time. This three-hour special from the makers of Witch Hunt and Conquest of America uses dramatic re-enactments based on original source material to bring to life the true story of the Puritans' terrible plight.

Dialog and scenes are from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events of the early 1600s. In addition, some scenes have been reconstructed with unprecedented cooperation from the Wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts. The program features all of the key characters in the Pilgrim saga: chroniclers William Bradford and Edward Winslow, Pastor John Robinson, organizer William Brewster, military leader Myles Standish, protagonist King James I, Massassoit (or chief) Osemequan, translator Squanto, and many more, as well as the wives and family members of the settlers. Many actors used in the re-creations are from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The program is filmed in HD primarily at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, but also at other period-appropriate locations in England, Belgium, Maryland, and Virginia and includes interviews with 15 leading American, Native American and British scholars.


Discussion Thread on the Show:

http://boards.historychannel.com/thread ... 4609397501