1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: I'm editor Candice Gibson, joined today as always by Josh Clark. 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: Josh with the Canna Fresca in the studio. Yeah. I 5 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: asked our producer Jerry if I could bring it in 6 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: and she said yes. I was trying to sound like 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: a game of clue, in which she traced out a murderer. 8 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: Oh gotcha, that's funny that you bring that up, because 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: I have a question about murder. It's a murder. Most 10 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: fowl actually murder, he spoke. Yeah. So I was looking 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: at some crime statistics during lunch, which I usually do 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: UH and I found out that the murder rate in 13 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: the US declined by one point one percent in two 14 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: thousand seven. Did you know that that's excellent news? It is, 15 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: it's good news. The bad news is about seventeen thousand 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: people still lost their lives at the hands of somebody else. 17 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: But if you really look at the UH these lists 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: of statistics, the US ranks some four per capita in 19 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: UH in murders. India's at the first they had like 20 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: thirty four thousand murders, but they also have like a billion, 21 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: you know, citizens, so it kind of works out. Uh. 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: And I started thinking, you know, India has been around 23 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: a really long time, uh, and there's probably been so 24 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: many murders. We have no idea who committed the first 25 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: murder in India, right, yeah, but we actually know who 26 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:29,759 Speaker 1: did that. In the US. I know you're a fan 27 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: of a first some number of ones and top tens 28 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: and things like that, we actually know that John Billington 29 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: was the very first murderer in America. That is exactly right. 30 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: His Uh, he had a pretty checkered past, right, he did. 31 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: He he came over on the Mayflower originally, but he 32 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: wasn't a Puritan by anyone stretch of the imagination. He 33 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: was actually in the group called the strangers, right, The 34 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: people aboard the Mayflower divided themselves into the Saints and 35 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: strangers groups. And essentially, if you were a saint and 36 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: then that you are a Puritan, you are escaping religious persecution. 37 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: If you were a stranger, however, you've even coming over 38 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: for more mercenary means, or perhaps you just wanted to 39 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: start life anew or make some money mercenary means. Yes, 40 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: Oh gotcha, I thought you meant like to, you know, 41 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: just kill, kill, kill, that kind of thing, like John Billington's. 42 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: Ah yeah, back to him, you know their troubles that 43 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't just Mr John Billington' that was that was 44 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: a handful his whole family, just cause headache after a 45 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: headache for the Puritans in Plymouth Colony. Right even on 46 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: the way over on the Mayflower Um, one of his 47 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: sons started firing his father's gun in a closed room 48 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: with an open keg of black powder. Could have just 49 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: torn the ship, the ship to shreds. Luckily it didn't, 50 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: and as far as I know, the boy probably got 51 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: a pretty sound thrashing for it. And it gets worse 52 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: because once they actually landed at Plymouth, essentially John Billington 53 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: refused to serve in the local militia. Yeah, which I 54 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: think they count as America's crime. Yeah. Yeah. He Miles 55 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: Standish actually tried to create a conscription forced military service 56 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: and Mr Billington would have nothing to do with it. 57 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: And he was apparently not much of a team player well, 58 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: and the reason for that may be attributed to the 59 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: fact that he didn't align all of his beliefs with 60 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: the Puritan lifestyle, and all of the leaders, the elected 61 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: leaders at least, were of Puritan background, and he saw 62 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: things a little bit different like he he definitely did. 63 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: He was accused of basically an anti government conspiracy, A 64 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: moved to top all the Puritan leaders. Um. And, like 65 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: I said, he wasn't the only Billington who was kind 66 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: of problematic. One of his sons wandered off, gets himself 67 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: captured by Native Americans, and like a search and rescue 68 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: party of ten men had to go out and find 69 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: him a couple of weeks. Yeah, they actually located him 70 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: near Cape Cod so it wasn't just h and aimless wandering. 71 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: He really kind of booked it and then he got captured. 72 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: They took him pretty far away exactly, so they had 73 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: to go rescue him. They put all their lives in jeopardy. 74 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: They they they put the colonists lives in jeopardy by alerting, 75 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: you know, their presence to these to these tribes who 76 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: had no idea who they were there. Um And uh 77 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 1: So Billington's eventually gets this horrible reputation around there. Uh 78 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth Colony, hates him. I 79 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: mean just can't stand him, or his family finds him profane. 80 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: I think he says he calls him a knave, which 81 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: means a scoundrel. Um Bradford. If Bradford doesn't like you, 82 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: you're probably in big trouble. Although I don't think Bradford 83 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 1: made much trouble for Billington's. I think Billington made it 84 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: for himself. Right. There was this guy named William Newcoman, 85 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,599 Speaker 1: and he was actually a newcomer to the colonies. Yeah, 86 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: he didn't know, you know, what the score was with 87 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: the Billington's. And apparently one day is out on Billington's 88 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: property and and gets in a quarrel with him, and 89 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: Billington shoots him and kills him. Right, America's first murder. 90 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: So now Billington has America's first crime by refusing forced conscription. 91 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: He is America's first murderer, and he pulls a total 92 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: trifecta by becoming the first person ever executed by the 93 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: state in the New World. Um, he is hanged, and 94 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: even after he's dead and buried, his family continues to 95 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: make trouble. His daughter, Dorcas is his granddaughter. Dorcas thank You, 96 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 1: is accused of fornication. Uh, his wife is accused and 97 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 1: charge of slander for another unrelated crime. She ends up 98 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: in the stocks and is whipped. Um and basically his 99 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 1: whole family just continues to reak havoc on Plymouth colony. 100 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: It's his legacy, right, But I had heard that Um 101 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,679 Speaker 1: as far as Bradford goes, because he's so disliked Billington, 102 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: he may have painted, you know, a picture of him 103 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: that wasn't a hundred percent accurate. So I guess my 104 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: question to you is is it fact or fiction that 105 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: John Billington's deserves to be reviled as America's first murderer. 106 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 1: It really depends a lot on interpretation of history, And 107 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go ahead and be gutsy and say that 108 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,480 Speaker 1: it's fiction. He does not deserve the onus of being 109 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: America's first murderer, and it just to demystify a lot 110 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,839 Speaker 1: of the facts surrounding him. Like you've mentioned, Bradford was 111 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,600 Speaker 1: no fan of the Billington's. But the Billington's really, if 112 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,039 Speaker 1: you put them in context with the other families in 113 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: Plymouth at this time, they might not have been that bad. 114 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: For instance, when his wife Eleanor was accused of slander. 115 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: No one ever recorded what it was, as she said, 116 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: And yeah, maybe Dorcas was accused of fornication, but a 117 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 1: lot of other twenties something for fornicating to some, even 118 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: with animals, definitely does bring things into perspective, into perspective. Actually, 119 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: and with John Billington himself, we're not really sure, you know, 120 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: if he was just finally pushed to his limits apparently 121 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: newcomen as a newcomer, he he was, you know, sort 122 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: of after a land grab. He didn't really have a 123 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: lot of property of his own because he wasn't on 124 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: the first shipment of pilgrims over to Plymouth, and so 125 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: he knew that Billington was rather despised among his fellow townspeople. 126 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: And so we take advantage of trespassing on Billington's property 127 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: and sort of picking fights with him. So so what 128 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: you're saying newcoman was no you know, babe in the woods, 129 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: no innocent doe wide perfect precisely, precisely, And so when 130 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: Billington had finally had it up to his eyeballs, he 131 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: sort of lured him into the woods. They picked a fight, 132 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: he was shot. But again, history is pretty fuzzy on 133 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: this point. We don't know if he was shot point 134 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: blank in the head, if he was shot in the 135 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: shoulder and got an infection and died a couple of 136 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: days later. But Billington ultimately paid the price. And as 137 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: far as his family legacy, you know, you remember how 138 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: John Jr. Wandered off and met up with the American 139 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: Indian When he came back, at records that he was 140 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: hung with beads, So he's wearing the mark of the 141 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: American Indian tribes. And maybe some people looked askew at 142 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: him and thought, we're not quite sure about this. Is 143 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: he Is he in some sort of secret contact with them? 144 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: But ultimately some historians think that John Junior Billington paved 145 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: diplomatic inroads with the American Indian tribe. I guess that's 146 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: true by basically forcing contact by wandering off on emmy 147 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: and be rescued. Right, So was it a peaceful that 148 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: they hand him over peacefully? I guess then, yeah, they did. 149 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: They did. And you know, it's funny because today the 150 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: Mayflower Society is one of the most elite organizations that 151 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: you can be a member of a side of you know, 152 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: from something like D. A. R. Or sons of the 153 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: American Revolution. You know, you have to go to a 154 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: lot of genealogical effort to trace back your roots to 155 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: the Pilgrims who came over. And there's a list of 156 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: twenty nine people from whom you can be descended in 157 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: order to claim membership and the Mayflower Society, and John 158 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: Billyton is on that list. So even though he turned 159 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: out to be kind of a rogue, at least in 160 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: the eyes of Bradford, you can still claim lineage from 161 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: him and be a part of this elite organization. Yeah, 162 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,199 Speaker 1: even though the Pilgrims might not have claimed him for 163 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: their own, you can right well, I mean he was 164 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: on the Mayflower Affer all. He did sign the Mayflower Context. 165 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: So well, thank you very much for setting my head straight. 166 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,319 Speaker 1: I'll be a little more objective from now on, Candids. 167 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: It sounds good, as one should always be when being 168 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: the facts of history. You can learn even more about 169 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 1: Billington's Don Billington's Dorcas Eleanor and the whole crew, and 170 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: who was America's first and murderer on how staff works 171 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics. 172 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: Can visit how stuff works dot com. Let us know 173 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: what you think. Send an email to podcast at how 174 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:58,320 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com.