<P> The events surrounding the founding and history of Plymouth Colony have had a lasting effect on the art, traditions, mythology, and politics of the United States of America, despite its short history of fewer than 72 years . </P> <P> The earliest artistic depiction of the Pilgrims was actually done before their arrival in America; Dutch painter Adam Willaerts painted a portrait of their departure from Delfshaven in 1620 . The same scene was repainted by Robert Walter Weir in 1844, and hangs in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol building . Numerous other paintings have been created memorializing various scenes from the life of Plymouth Colony, including their landing and the "First Thanksgiving", many of which have been collected by Pilgrim Hall, a museum and historical society founded in 1824 to preserve the history of the Colony . </P> <P> Several contemporaneous accounts of life in Plymouth Colony have become both vital primary historical documents and literary classics . Of Plimoth Plantation by William Bradford and Mourt's Relation by Bradford, Edward Winslow, and others are both accounts written by Mayflower passengers that provide much of the information which we have today regarding the trans - Atlantic voyage and early years of the settlement . </P> <P> Benjamin Church wrote several accounts of King Philip's War, including Entertaining Passages Relating to Philip's War, which remained popular throughout the 18th century . An edition of the work was illustrated by Paul Revere in 1772 . The Sovereignty and Goodness of God provides an account of King Philip's War from the perspective of Mary Rowlandson, an Englishwoman who was captured and spent some time in the company of Native Americans during the war . Later works, such as "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, have provided a romantic and partially fictionalized account of life in Plymouth Colony . </P>

Why the founders of the plymouth were called pilgrims