Plymouth << PLIHM uhth >> Colony was the second permanent English settlement in America. The first was Jamestown, which was founded in 1607 in what is now Virginia. The colonists who settled Plymouth Colony arrived from England on a ship called the Mayflower. They became known as Pilgrims because of their wanderings in search of the freedom to practice their particular interpretation of Protestantism. In 1620, they established their colony on the rocky western shore of Cape Cod Bay in southeastern Massachusetts. This region had been called Plimouth on the English adventurer John Smith’s map of New England, drawn in 1614. Plymouth Colony remained independent until 1691, when it became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Today, Plymouth is a popular tourist destination known for its memorials to the Pilgrims. Attractions include Plymouth Rock and the National Monument to the Forefathers. South of town, Plimoth Patuxet Museums operates a living history museum that includes replicas of Plymouth Colony in 1627; a Wampanoag homesite; and the Mayflower II, a replica built as the original Mayflower is thought to have looked.
The founding of Plymouth Colony
The people we now call Pilgrims were Separatists—that is, Puritans who had separated from the Church of England. The government of England arrested and tried the Separatists because of their nonconformity (refusal to belong to the Church of England). In 1608, a group of Separatists moved to the Netherlands. After a few years, some of them became dissatisfied and turned their attention toward North America. They secured financial backing in London and, in 1620, left the Netherlands in a small ship called the Speedwell. The ship stopped in England, and the expedition was joined by non-Separatists to form a group large enough to successfully start a new colony. The group left England in the Speedwell and a larger ship, the Mayflower. The Speedwell proved unseaworthy, and the fleet returned to England twice. Finally, in September 1620, the Mayflower sailed alone from Plymouth, England. It carried 102 passengers, including women and children. 
A rough passage of 65 days brought the Mayflower to Cape Cod on November 20 (November 10, according to the calendar then in use). The Pilgrims had promised to settle somewhere within the limits of the original grant of the Virginia Company of London (see London Company). But errors in navigation led them to the New England region. Adverse winds and the shoals off Cape Cod forced the Mayflower to stay north. The ship anchored in Provincetown harbor inside the tip of Cape Cod on November 21.
The Pilgrim leaders were uncertain of their legal position because they were in the area without authority. They also knew they would need discipline among themselves. To solve these problems, 41 men aboard the Mayflower met and signed the Mayflower Compact, in which they agreed to form a government and to obey its “just and equal laws.” The Pilgrims elected John Carver as their governor.
The landing at Plymouth.
The sea-weary Pilgrims were anxious to learn more about the country. For almost a month, several small groups explored the coast around Cape Cod Bay while the rest remained aboard. One of the groups had to take refuge on an island in Plymouth harbor during a blinding snowstorm. On Dec. 21, 1620, this group landed at Plymouth. There they found a stream with clear water, some cleared land, and a high hill that could be fortified. This site was once a Wampanoag village, but a smallpox epidemic had wiped out all of its residents about three years before the colonists arrived. The Pilgrims decided that this would be their new home. The Mayflower sailed across Cape Cod Bay and anchored in Plymouth harbor on December 26.
The first year
was a difficult one for the Pilgrims. Poor and inadequate food, strenuous work, and changing weather made the settlers susceptible to sickness. The colony lost about half its members that first winter. 
But help came one spring morning, when a Pemaquid leader walked into the village and introduced himself as Samoset. He later returned with Squanto. Samoset and Squanto introduced the Pilgrims to Massasoit, the sachem (chief) of the Wampanoag tribe that controlled all southeastern Massachusetts. Carver and the chief exchanged gifts and arranged a treaty of peace. Soon afterward, the Mayflower sailed for England, leaving the Pilgrims. After Carver died in April 1621, William Bradford became governor of the colony.
The Pilgrims, under Squanto’s direction, caught alewives (a fish in the herring family) and used them as fertilizer in planting corn, pumpkins, and beans. They also hunted and fished for food. Following the bountiful harvest of 1621, the Pilgrims held a three-day feast similar to the “harvest home” festivals held in England. Massasoit and 90 Wampanoag joined the 50 or so colonists in food and sports. The food included fowl provided by the colonists and venison (deer meat) provided by the Wampanoag. The feast inspired the holiday celebrated in the United States as Thanksgiving.
Life in Plymouth Colony
Throughout much of its history as an independent colony, Plymouth’s status was only partly legal at best. The Plymouth Colony’s original patent (grant for a large area of land) required that the colony be settled within the land claimed by the Virginia Company of London. The area around Cape Cod—where Plymouth Colony was actually established—was well north of that area, making the colony’s patent void. The Plymouth settlers later requested and received a temporary patent from the newly organized Council for New England. This patent was made permanent in 1629, but the council disbanded six years later. The Plymouth Colony never received a royal patent or a royal charter. Plymouth Colony remained small throughout the seven decades of its independent existence. By 1690, its population was only about 7,000.
Government.
The men who signed the Mayflower Compact were the freemen of the colony. They, along with any newly chosen freemen, met once a year to discuss the problems of the colony. This body, called the General Court, elected the governor and his assistants, made laws, and levied taxes. In outlying towns, the freemen held town meetings to elect their own officers and settle town matters. Beginning in 1639, these towns sent representatives to the General Court at Plymouth.
Economic life.
The Pilgrims had organized a joint-stock company with some London merchants to finance their voyage. They agreed to put the results of their labor into a common fund, which would provide the necessities of life for the settlers. At the end of seven years, all the profits and property were to be divided among the financiers and the settlers. This experiment did not work out, however, and in 1623, the colony allowed settlers to farm individual plots. The London merchants in 1627 agreed to sell their interest in the company to the Pilgrims, who finished paying off the debt in 1648.
The Pilgrims at first expected to make a profit from fishing, but they were not successful. They then turned to fur trading for profit. When other Puritans settled Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1630, the Pilgrims developed a prosperous trade in corn and cattle with them.
The honored ones.
William Bradford, the second governor of Plymouth, wrote a history of the Pilgrims’ adventure aboard the Mayflower. He listed the ship’s passengers as follows:
Mr. John Carver; Kathrine, his wife; Desire Minter; & 2. man-servants, John Howland, Roger Wilder; William Latham, a boy; & a maid servant, & a child yt was put to him, called Jasper More. Mr. William Brewster; Mary, his wife; with 2. sons, whose names were Love & Wrasling; and a boy was put to him called Richard More; and another of his brothers. The rest of his childeren were left behind, & came over afterwards. Mr. Edward Winslow; Elizabeth, his wife; & 2. men servants, caled Georg Sowle and Elias Story; also a litle girle was put to him, caled Ellen, the sister of Richard More. William Bradford, and Dorothy, his wife; having but one child, a sone, left behind, who came afterward. Mr. Isaack Allerton, and Mary, his wife; with 3. children, Bartholmew, Remember, & Mary; and a servant boy, John Hooke. Mr. Samuell Fuller, and a servant, caled William Butten. His wife was [left] behind, & a child, which came afterwards. John Crakston, and his sone, John Crakston. Captin Myles Standish, and Rose, his wife. Mr. Christopher Martin, and his wife, and 2. servants, who were Salamon Prower and John Langemore. Mr. William Mullines, and his wife, and 2. children, Joseph & Priscila; and a servant, Robart Carter. Mr. William White, and Susana, his wife, and one sone, caled Resolved, and one borne a ship-board caled Perigriene; & 2. servants, named William Holbeck & Edward Thomson. Mr. Steven Hopkins, & Elizabeth, his wife, and 2. children, caled Giles, and Constanta, a doughter, both by a former wife; and 2. more by this wife, caled Damaris & Oceanus; the last was borne at sea; and 2. servants, called Edward Doty and Edward Litster. Mr. Richard Warren; but his wife and childeren were lefte behind, and came afterwards. John Billinton, and Elen, his wife; and 2. sones, John & Francis. Edward Tillie, and Ann, his wife; and 2. children that were their cossens, Henery Samson and Humillity Coper. John Tillie, and his wife; and Eelizabeth, their dougter. Francis Cooke, and his sone John. But his wife & other children came afterwards. Thomas Rogers, and Joseph, his sone. His other children came afterwards. Thomas Tinker, and his wife, and a sone. John Rigdale, and Alice, his wife. James Chilton, and his wife, and Mary, their dougter. They had an other doughter, yt was maried, came afterward. Edward Fuller, and his wife, and Samuell, their sonne. John Turner, and 2. sones. He had a doughter came some years after to Salem, wher she is now living. Francis Eaton, and Sarah, his wife, and Samuell, their sone, a yong child. Moyses Fletcher, John Goodman, Thomas Williams, Digerie Preist, Edmond Margeson, Peter Browne, Richard Britterige, Richard Clarke, Richard Gardenar, Gilbart Winslow. John Alden was hired for a cooper, at South-Hampton, wher the ship victuled; and being a hopefull yong man, was much desired, but left to his owne liking to go or stay when he came here; but he stayed, and maryed here. John Allerton and Thomas Enlish were both hired, the later to goe mr [master] of a shalop here, and ye other was reputed as one of ye company, but was to go back (being a seaman) for the help of others behind. But they both dyed here, before the shipe returned. Ther were allso other 2. seamen hired to stay a year here in the country, William Trevore, and one Ely. But when their time was out, they both returned. These, bening aboute a hundred sowls, came over in this first ship; and began this worke, which God of his goodnes hath hithertoo blesed; let his holy name have ye praise.
Although 102 Pilgrims sailed from England, one died and another was born during the voyage. So 102 reached the harbor at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. Four more died and one was born there. The group that landed at Plymouth consisted of 99 Pilgrims.
Later years.
Massachusetts Bay Colony’s superior harbor at Boston helped draw trade and settlers from Plymouth Colony. Boundary and trade disputes increased among the colonies that had formed in the area. The Pilgrims also faced the danger of attack by nearby Native Americans and Dutch and French colonists. In 1643, Plymouth Colony joined the Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven colonies in forming the New England Confederation. This alliance worked to settle disputes and provide for the common defense.
Peace between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag ended in 1675. Grievances had been brewing for years over issues of land and the administration of justice. But a war was finally sparked by the executions, in Plymouth, of two Wampanoag convicted of killing John Sassamon, a Wampanoag who was a Christian. One by one, each of the New England colonies joined in the fighting. On the Native Americans’ side, the fighting was led by Massasoit’s son, Metacom. Metacom was also known as King Philip, and the war became known as King Philip’s War (see Philip, King). Relative to population, the war became one of the bloodiest in American history.
Metacom was killed in 1676, and the war in southern New England ended. Fighting in northern New England continued until 1678. Ultimately, the war destroyed half of the English settlements in New England. In 1686, King James II of England tried to reassert control over the colonies by combining Plymouth and the rest of New England, New York, and New Jersey into the Dominion of New England. But the dominion proved unpopular and was disbanded in 1689. In 1691, Plymouth became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
