Finding the Footsteps of the Pilgrims in Holland
Kirk Cameron travels the path of the Pilgrims, researching the arduous journey that led them to the New World. ::
Most people know actor Kirk Cameron from the hit ’80s-era TV show Growing Pains and for his movie roles in Left Behind and Fireproof. In his new documentary, Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure, Cameron travels America and the world to trace the origins of our country.
The places he visits are off -the-beaten path historical sites that appeal to travelers with a patriotic interest. Here, exclusively for Newsmax, the star relates to writer Troy Anderson his trip to the Pilgrims’ temporary home in Holland, where they lived before their history- changing voyage to America.
BY KIRK CAMERON T
he pilgrims fled a tyrannical English king and an oppressive church in 1608 for the only nation on
earth that off ered religious freedom: Holland. At the time, much of Europe was engulfed in brutal wars of religion. Tens of thousands of people, including ministers, were being butchered in the streets of France, Germany, and Scotland. In Holland, the Pilgrims found a
respite from this bloody mayhem. The Pilgrims escaped to
Amsterdam, a haven for Separatist groups, religious dissenters, and other exiles. They relocated in 1609 to Leiden, a university town, home to painter Rembrandt van Rijn. Retracing the Pilgrim’s path, I
took a ferry to Leiden where they established a church under their pastor, John Robinson. I met my friend Marshall Foster, president of the World History Institute, and we toured the historical sites where the Pilgrims lived for 12 years.
HOLLAND
printing religious books. As the revolutionary printers of their time, they smuggled into England and Scotland subversive pamphlets detailing Separatist beliefs in false bottoms of wine barrels. Of course, King James was furious.
AMSTERDAM LEIDEN NETHERLANDS
In 1618, he ordered his troops to fi nd and destroy the Pilgrim press. It took his soldiers a year and a half, but they located it and shut it down. Facing arrest, the Pilgrims obtained a land patent in the Virginia territory where they could start over from scratch. But to do this, they had to sneak
This includes the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, the magnifi cent church Pieterskerk, and William Brewster Alley. Robinson is buried at Pieterskerk where a monument reads: “We are all, in all places, strangers and pilgrims.” The museum off ers a Pilgrim tour (www.
rootsweb.ancestry.com/~netlapm). The hard work eventually paid off , helping them set up a business
back into the lion’s den of England to organize their grand escape. They hired two ships, the Mayfl ower and the Speedwell. On July 22, 1620, the Pilgrims
boarded the Speedwell in Holland and sailed to England to meet up with the Mayfl ower. On Sept. 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and roughly 30 crew members, the Mayfl ower started its trip across the Atlantic. The voyage was supposed to take
PIETERSKERK The storied, late-Gothic church is home to John Robinson, buried in 1625.
two weeks, but wound up lasting 66 days. Halfway across the ocean, storms with 30-foot waves pounded the ship. During the long journey, one of the ship’s main beams cracked. The captain told them to prepare to meet their creator. They prayed. Recalling they had brought along a giant iron screw, they used it to hoist the beam and saved the ship. Shortly afterward they landed near Plymouth, starting a new era of faith and freedom.
AUGUST 2012 | NEWSMAX MAXLIFE 81
CAMERON/GETTY IMAGES / MAP/ISTOCKPHOTO / PIETERSKERK/VALENTIJN MÜNZER
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