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LOL !!! - Well That Explains A Lot... The Pilgrims Landed At Plymouth Rock Because...
They Were About To Run Out Of BeerLet's rewind to 1620: the Pilgrims had been at sea for nearly two months and were off-course by the time they sighted land. While they had set a course for the Virginia colony (already established on a permanent basis some 13 years before), they had ended up in New England, and they had a problem—they were running out of beer.
Laugh all you want, but this was no small matter—water aboard ship was likely to become brackish and potentially deadly, while beer remained drinkable. Captain Christopher Jones recognized the need to preserve the dwindling stocks for his sailors on the return journey (which would be far too dangerous to undertake until the following spring), and so the passengers were encouraged to land near the top of Cape Cod.
These instructions did not go down well with the Pilgrims; William Bradford complained that he and his companions "were hastened ashore and made to drink water, that the seamen might have the more beer."
Once on land, the new settlers remained suspicious of the local water, given that few (if any) were accustomed to drinking fresh water, and unrest reigned. Bradford was called upon to negotiate with the captain, who remained anchored in the harbor with his crew for the winter, but he was rebuffed and told that he would not receive more beer "not even if he were their own father." But with the harsh weather conditions, the Pilgrims were back aboard ship very shortly—and on Christmas day they were even allowed some of the beer, although half the settlers would still die over the course of that first winter.
So far, so good—but beer writer Bob Skilnik notes...
Laugh all you want, but this was no small matter—water aboard ship was likely to become brackish and potentially deadly, while beer remained drinkable. Captain Christopher Jones recognized the need to preserve the dwindling stocks for his sailors on the return journey (which would be far too dangerous to undertake until the following spring), and so the passengers were encouraged to land near the top of Cape Cod.
These instructions did not go down well with the Pilgrims; William Bradford complained that he and his companions "were hastened ashore and made to drink water, that the seamen might have the more beer."
Once on land, the new settlers remained suspicious of the local water, given that few (if any) were accustomed to drinking fresh water, and unrest reigned. Bradford was called upon to negotiate with the captain, who remained anchored in the harbor with his crew for the winter, but he was rebuffed and told that he would not receive more beer "not even if he were their own father." But with the harsh weather conditions, the Pilgrims were back aboard ship very shortly—and on Christmas day they were even allowed some of the beer, although half the settlers would still die over the course of that first winter.
So far, so good—but beer writer Bob Skilnik notes...
More: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/11/beer-myths-corn-pilgrims-first-beer-thanksgiving-lager-prohibition-history.html
