Plymouth's Global Origins: A Preliminary Foray.

This article situates the origins of the Plymouth colony in a global context that encompasses Anglo-Dutch realignment in Europe and around the world and simultaneous ventures in the Indian Ocean and South America. The global milieu that shaped Plymouth emerged during the era of the Twelve Years' Truce (1609–21) between Spain and the United Provinces, which sparked intense jostling among European states for alliances within and beyond Europe as the end of the truce loomed. Changing Anglo-Dutch relations in the global context of the truce produced three episodes in 1619 that, considered together, shed new light on why the English left Leiden when and how they did. Buffeted by changes beyond their control that they deplored and dimly comprehended, these English migrants were not religious visionaries but embodiments of collateral damage who landed in a place inhabited by people likewise enduring challenging transitions. Considering Plymouth's origins in a global framework suggests new periodizations, new geographic vantage points, and fresh perspectives on the Anglo-Wampanoag collision that ensued in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]