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Traditionally classical historians have felt a need to 'ennoble' the world, morally improving the listener by teaching good examples to follow.
In The History Channel's impressive new 3-hour doc "Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower", the film-makers take a more positivist approach to 'history', focusing on fact as much as possible, dispelling popular myths surrounding the story of America's first 'Pilgrims' and their settlement in the 'New World'.
Based on documented accounts of actual events, using an effective integration of dramatization, narration and interviews, "Desperate Crossing" reveals that the Pilgrims were regarded as 'fanatics' in England (later Holland) for rebelling against established Catholic traditions, and that their voyage to America was as much for 'economic' reasons as it was to flee religious persecution; the 'Mayflower' ship was not an exclusively Pilgrim ship, the Pilgrims being in the minority, approx. 35 out of 102; the holiday of 'Thanksgiving' began with 90 Wampanoag native warriors, weakened from disease brought about by previous European settlements, showing up unannounced with their wives and children at the Pilgrim's camp; and although the Pilgrims were basically decent and pious, some were also into theft and grave robbing;
Dramatic recreation of events in "Desperate Crossing" are effectively realized by actors from England's Royal Shakespeare Company, offering a fresh view of the era, interspersed with a balance of interviews from both historians and descendants of the original Wampanoag natives.
"Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower" premieres Sunday Nov 19, 8/7 PM on The History Channel.Click here for more "History Channel"
