Pilgrims to America...

Museums, restaurants and bars in Holland were allowed to reopen (with heavy restrictions on capacity) on June 1. I was itching to get back in a museum, so booked two spaces for June 3. 

In honor of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s departure from the Netherlands and arrival in the New World, the Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden hosted a fantastic special exhibit: Pilgrims to America and the Limits of Freedom.  

This brilliantly colorful map of the Lowlands called Leo Belgicus was from 1617. 

View of Leiden was painted by Jan van Goyen in 1650, 30 years after the Mayflower sailed, but it was included in the exhibit because it shows the view of Leiden as it would have been seen by the Pilgrims when they first moved from Amsterdam to Leiden in 1609 (they had only lived in Amsterdam for about one year).

The Green Market from 1660 shows the Weigh House (the large white building) where the Pilgrims first arrived in Leiden from Amsterdam on a ferry, likely pulled by horses from the shore, on May 1, 1609.

I’m always amazed at the intricate detail of old maps; this world map dates from 1661.

Another painting by Van Goyen, this one was View of the Vliet near Voorschoten from 1642. The Pilgrims departed Leiden from the Rapenburg canal and headed south down the Vliet canal to the nearest seaport at Delfshaven (now part of Rotterdam). It’s crazy to realize that we walk along the Vliet all the time. 

This painting by Adam Willaerts depicts The Departure of the Pilgrims from Delfshaven. As it was painted in 1620, it is possible that the artist actually witnessed the Pilgrims board the Speedwell for England. The inclusion of military gear implies that the they were ready to fight if necessary.