In 2020 is het 400 jaar geleden dat de Pilgrims als groep vertrokken uit Leiden. Via het schip de Mayflower begonnen zij een kolonie in de Verenigde Staten. Aldaar werd het verhaal enorm groot,...Show moreIn 2020 is het 400 jaar geleden dat de Pilgrims als groep vertrokken uit Leiden. Via het schip de Mayflower begonnen zij een kolonie in de Verenigde Staten. Aldaar werd het verhaal enorm groot, maar hoe heeft is de herinnering in Leiden ontstaan en waar is het begonnen? Dat proces, de ontwikkeling van de herinnering aan de Pilgrims in Leiden, zal geanalyseerd en verklaard worden in deze scriptie, van 1620 tot nu.Show less
Contemporary notions of the Pilgrims, the English Separatists resident in Leiden from 1609-1620 before sailing on the Mayflower to Virginia, have been continually shaped and prodded by heritage...Show moreContemporary notions of the Pilgrims, the English Separatists resident in Leiden from 1609-1620 before sailing on the Mayflower to Virginia, have been continually shaped and prodded by heritage discourses. In this dissertation, two predominate forces are identified as refashioning heritages of the Pilgrims by selectively recording history to meet present-day concerns: independent nonconformist churches, in particular Congregationalists, and modern nation-states. With anxieties of losing tradition, these actors in conjunction have utilised historical narratives of the religious émigrés to reinforce and redefine social identities - creating an overly-simplistic and easy to follow religious past. Through this claims-making, the sense that the Pilgrims were insular and removed during their stay in Leiden has emerged. By pinpointing how these discourses came to be formed in the 19th and 20th centuries, and where from, this work attempts to cast the Pilgrims in a more interconnected light. Returning to the well-known writings of key individuals, as well as archival materials, a reinterpreted open dialogue between the Pilgrims’ leadership and other religious communities in the city will be identified.Show less
