139-804: Old Colony has the following meanings: Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton, Massachusetts Old Colony Housing Project in Boston, Massachusetts Old Colony League , a high school athletic conference in Massachusetts Old Colony Memorial , a weekly newspaper based in Plymouth, Massachusetts Old Colony Railroad in southeastern Massachusetts Old Colony Lines (MBTA) , branches of
278-493: A United States Supreme Court income tax decision Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Old Colony . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Colony&oldid=1115251325 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
417-571: A boy named John Billington became lost for some time in the woods around the colony. It was reported that he was found by the Nausets , the same tribe on Cape Cod from whom the Pilgrims had unwittingly stolen corn seed the prior year upon their first explorations. The colonists organized a party to return Billington to Plymouth, and they agreed to reimburse the Nausets for the corn which they had taken in return for
556-510: A brief contract known as the Mayflower Compact , promising cooperation among the settlers "for the general good of the Colony unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." It organized them into what was called a "civill body politick," in which issues would be decided by voting, the key ingredient of democracy. It was ratified by majority rule, with 41 adult male Pilgrims signing for
695-565: A campaign against Puritanism and the Separatists. He suspended 300 ministers and fired 80 more, which led some of them to found more Separatist churches. Robinson, Clifton, and their followers founded a Brownist church, making a covenant with God "to walk in all his ways made known, or to be made known, unto them, according to their best endeavours, whatsoever it should cost them, the Lord assisting them". Archbishop Hutton died in 1606 and Tobias Matthew
834-462: A central church. The Separatist movement was controversial. Under the Act of Uniformity 1559 , it was illegal not to attend official Church of England services, with a fine of one shilling (£0.05; about £24 today) for each missed Sunday and holy day. The penalties included imprisonment and larger fines for conducting unofficial services. The Seditious Sectaries Act 1592 was specifically aimed at outlawing
973-544: A community of their own, or at least be free from the bonds by which the Plymouth colonists were enslaved. A letter addressed to the colonists and signed by thirteen of the merchants recited these facts and urged acceptance of the new comers on the specified terms." The new arrivals were allotted land in the area of the Eel River known as Hobs Hole , which became Wellingsley, a mile south of Plymouth Rock. In September 1623, another ship arrived carrying settlers destined to refound
1112-443: A defensive cannon would be stationed. Also important in choosing the site was the fact that the prior villagers had cleared much of the land, making agriculture relatively easy. Fresh water for the colony was provided by Town Brook and Billington Sea . There are no contemporaneous accounts to verify the legend, but Plymouth Rock is often hailed as the point where the colonists first set foot on their new homeland. The area where
1251-644: A feast which included numerous types of waterfowl, wild turkeys, and fish procured by the colonists, and five deer brought by the Wampanoags. After the departure of Massasoit and his men, Squanto remained in Plymouth to teach the Pilgrims how to survive in New England, such as using dead fish to fertilize the soil. For the first few years of colonial life, the fur trade was the dominant source of income beyond subsistence farming, buying furs from Natives, and selling to Europeans. Governor Carver suddenly died shortly after
1390-404: A few recently cultivated fields showing corn stubble. They came upon an artificial mound near the dunes which they partially uncovered and found to be an Indian grave. Farther along, a similar mound was found, more recently made, and they discovered that some of the burial mounds also contained corn. The colonists took some of the corn, intending to use it as seed for planting, while they reburied
1529-464: A formal treaty of peace after exchanging gifts. This treaty ensured that each people would not bring harm to the other, that Massasoit would send his allies to make peaceful negotiations with Plymouth, and that they would come to each other's aid in a time of war. The Mayflower set sail for England on April 5, 1621, after being anchored for almost four months in Plymouth Harbor . Nearly half of
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#17328454694581668-621: A group of Protestant Separatists initially known as the Brownist Emigration, who came to be known as the Pilgrims . The colony established a treaty with Wampanoag Chief Massasoit which helped to ensure its success; in this, they were aided by Squanto , a member of the Patuxet tribe. Plymouth played a central role in King Philip's War (1675–1678), one of several Indian Wars , but the colony
1807-411: A house at Wessagussett under the pretense of sharing a meal and making negotiations. Standish and his men then stabbed and killed them. Standish and his men pursued Obtakiest, a local sachem, but he escaped with three prisoners from Wessagussett; he then executed them. Within a short time, Wessagussett was disbanded, and the survivors were integrated into the town of Plymouth. Word quickly spread among
1946-726: A land patent from the Plymouth Company in June 1619. They had declined the opportunity to settle south of Cape Cod in New Netherland because of their desire to avoid the Dutch influence. This land patent allowed them to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River . They sought to finance their venture through the Merchant Adventurers , a group of businessmen who principally viewed the colony as
2085-520: A lesser-known disease called leptospirosis . The absence of any serious Indian opposition to the Pilgrims' settlement may have been a pivotal event to their success and to English colonization in America. Popham Colony , also known as Fort St. George, was organized by the Plymouth Company (unrelated to Plymouth Colony) and founded in 1607. It was settled on the coast of Maine and was beset by internal political struggles, sickness, and weather problems. It
2224-571: A letter from the Merchant Adventurers chastising the colony for failure to return goods with the Mayflower that had been promised in return for their support. The Fortune began its return to England laden with £500 worth of goods (equivalent to £78,000 in 2010, or $ 118,799 at PPP ), more than enough to keep the colonists on schedule for repayment of their debt. However, the Fortune was captured by
2363-405: A main beam to crack, and the possibility was considered of turning back, even though they were more than halfway to their destination. However, they repaired the ship sufficiently to continue by using a "great iron screw" brought along by the colonists (probably a jack to be used for either house construction or a cider press). Passenger John Howland was washed overboard in the storm, but he caught
2502-595: A means of making a profit. Upon arriving in America, the Pilgrims began working to repay their debts. Using the financing secured from the Merchant Adventurers, the Colonists bought provisions and obtained passage on the Mayflower and the Speedwell . They had intended to leave early in 1620, but they were delayed several months due to difficulties in dealing with the Merchant Adventurers, including several changes in plans for
2641-737: A new settlement in the New World and arranged with investors to fund them. They established Plymouth Colony in 1620, where they erected Congregationalist churches. The Puritans' later establishment of the Massachusetts Bay colony eventually became more powerful in the area; but the Pilgrims' story nevertheless became a central theme in the history and culture of the United States. Around 1605 congregations in Nottinghamshire , England led by John Robinson , Richard Clyfton , and John Smyth quit
2780-418: A patent to settle this area, and some passengers began to question their right to land, objecting that there was no legal authority to establish a colony and hence no guarantee of retaining ownership over any land that they had improved. In response to this, a group of colonists drafted and signed the Mayflower Compact while still aboard the ship as it lay at anchor, which became the first governing document for
2919-584: A retaliatory raid by Pequot warriors on the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut , where some 30 English settlers were killed. This led to a further retaliation, where a raid led by Captain John Underhill and Captain John Mason burned a Pequot village to the ground in Mystic , killing 300 Pequots. Plymouth Colony had little to do with the actual fighting in the war. When it appeared that the war would resume, four of
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#17328454694583058-461: A settlement site. They rejected several sites, including one on Clark's Island and another at the mouth of the Jones River , in favor of the site of a recently abandoned settlement which had been occupied by the Patuxet tribe. The location was chosen largely for its defensive position. The settlement would be centered on two hills: Cole's Hill, where the village would be built, and Fort Hill, where
3197-561: A skirmish with Indians known as the "First Encounter" near Eastham, Massachusetts . The colonists decided to look elsewhere, having failed to secure a proper site for their settlement, and fearing that they had angered the Indians by taking their corn and firing upon them. The Mayflower left Provincetown Harbor and set sail for Plymouth Harbor. The Mayflower dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor on December 16 and spent three days looking for
3336-473: A slave for a group of Spanish monks, then as a freeman in England. He had returned to New England in 1619, acting as a guide to explorer Capt. Robert Gorges , but Massasoit and his men had massacred the crew of the ship and had taken Squanto. Samoset returned to Plymouth on March 22 with a delegation from Massasoit that included Squanto; Massasoit joined them shortly after, and he and Governor Carver established
3475-548: A time, he arranged for a congregation to meet privately at the Scrooby manor house. Services were held beginning in 1606 with Clyfton as pastor, John Robinson as teacher, and Brewster as the presiding elder. Shortly after, Smyth and members of the Gainsborough group moved on to Amsterdam. Brewster was fined £20 (about £5,453 today ) in absentia for his non-compliance with the church. This followed his September 1607 resignation from
3614-409: A top-sail halyard trailing in the water and was pulled back on board. One crew member and one passenger died before they reached land. A child was born at sea and named Oceanus . The Mayflower passengers sighted land on November 9, 1620 after enduring miserable conditions for about 65 days, and William Brewster led them in singing Psalm 100 . They confirmed that the area was Cape Cod within
3753-499: A vessel named the Sparrow arrived carrying seven men from the Merchant Adventurers whose purpose was to seek out a site for a new settlement in the area. Two ships followed shortly after carrying 60 settlers, all men. They spent July and August in Plymouth before moving north to settle in Weymouth, Massachusetts , at a settlement which they named Wessagussett . The settlement of Wessagussett
3892-607: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth ) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America , after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony . It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith . The settlement served as
4031-528: Is estimated that the entire population of the colony at the point of its dissolution was around 7,000. For comparison, it is estimated that more than 20,000 settlers had arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony between 1630 and 1640 (a period known as the Great Migration ), and the population of all New England was estimated to be about 60,000 by 1678. Plymouth was the first colony in the region, but it
4170-488: Is to be noted as a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people, that they thus got seed to plant corn the next year, or they might have starved; for they had none, nor any likelihood of getting any, till too late for the planting season. By December, most of the passengers and crew had become ill, coughing violently. Many also were suffering from the effects of scurvy . There had already been ice and snowfall, hampering exploration efforts, and nearly half of
4309-562: The Five Articles of Perth which were seen in Scotland as an attempt to encroach on their Presbyterian tradition. Brewster published several pamphlets that were critical of this law, and they were smuggled into Scotland by April 1619. These pamphlets were traced back to Leiden, and the English authorities unsuccessfully attempted to arrest Brewster. English ambassador Dudley Carleton became aware of
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4448-411: The Mayflower returned to England. William Bradford was elected to replace him and went on to lead the colony through much of its formative years. As promised by Massasoit, numerous Natives arrived at Plymouth throughout the middle of 1621 with pledges of peace. On July 2, a party of Pilgrims led by Edward Winslow (who later became the chief diplomat of the colony) set out to continue negotiations with
4587-457: The Mayflower . It remained with the Pilgrims when the Mayflower returned to England. On November 15, Captain Myles Standish led a party of 16 men on an exploratory mission, during which they disturbed an Indian grave and located a buried cache of Indian corn. The following week, Susanna White gave birth to son Peregrine White on the Mayflower . He was the first child born to the Pilgrims in
4726-464: The Narragansett Bay and completely omitted most of the New England coast. European fishermen had also been plying the waters off the New England coast for much of the 16th and 17th centuries. Frenchman Samuel de Champlain had explored the area extensively in 1605. He had specifically explored Plymouth Harbor , which he called "Port St. Louis", and he made an extensive and detailed map of it and
4865-425: The Pilgrims . The core group (roughly 40 percent of the adults and 56 percent of the family groupings) were part of a congregation led in America by William Bradford and William Brewster . They began to feel the pressures of religious persecution while still in the English village of Scrooby , near East Retford , Nottinghamshire. In 1607, Archbishop Tobias Matthew raided homes and imprisoned several members of
5004-480: The Plymouth Council for New England received its charter. It was expected that this area could be fished profitably, and it was not under the control of the existing Virginia government. A second change was known only to parties in England who did not inform the larger group. New investors had been brought into the venture who wanted the terms altered so that half of the settled land and property would revert to
5143-451: The Speedwell forced the expedition to return again to England, this time to the port of Plymouth . The Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy; some passengers abandoned their attempt to emigrate, while others joined the Mayflower , crowding the already heavily burdened ship. Later, it was speculated that the crew of the Speedwell had intentionally sabotaged the ship to avoid having to make
5282-418: The Speedwell suffered significant leakage, which required the ships to immediately put in at Dartmouth . The leakage was partly caused by being overmasted and being pressed too much with sail. Repairs were completed, and a further delay ensued as they awaited favorable winds. The two ships finally set sail on August 23; they traveled only 200 miles (320 km) beyond Land's End before another major leak in
5421-501: The Wampanoag people and was abandoned about three years earlier following a plague that killed all of its residents. The "Indian fever" involved hemorrhaging and is assumed to have been fulminating smallpox . The outbreak had been severe enough that the colonists discovered unburied skeletons in the dwellings. The exploratory party returned to the Mayflower , which was anchored twenty-five miles (40 km) away, having been brought to
5560-525: The indentured servants . Among the Strangers were Myles Standish , who was the colony's military leader; Christopher Martin , who had been designated by the Merchant Adventurers to act as shipboard governor during the trans-Atlantic trip; and Stephen Hopkins , a veteran of a failed colonial venture that may have inspired Shakespeare 's The Tempest . The group who later became the Leiden Leaders after
5699-519: The "great hope, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world." Edward Winslow 's list was similar. In addition to the economic worries and missionary possibilities, he stressed that it was important for the people to retain their English identity, culture, and language. They also believed that the English Church in Leiden could do little to benefit
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5838-485: The 102 passengers (74 males and 28 females). Included in the company were 13 male servants and three female servants, along with some sailors and craftsmen hired for short-term service to the colony. At this time, John Carver was chosen as the colony's first governor. It was Carver who had chartered the Mayflower and his is the first signature on the Mayflower Compact, being the most respected and affluent member of
5977-748: The Brownists. Under this policy, London Underground Church members were repeatedly imprisoned from 1566, and then Robert Browne and his followers were imprisoned in Norfolk during the 1580s. Henry Barrow, John Greenwood, and John Penry were executed for sedition in 1593. Browne had taken his followers into exile in Middelburg , and Penry urged the London Separatists to emigrate in order to escape persecution, so after his death they went to Amsterdam. The Archbishop of York, Matthew Hutton , displayed some sympathy to
6116-746: The Cape Cod area, relations were poor following a visit several years earlier by Thomas Hunt . Hunt kidnapped 20 people from Patuxet (the site of Plymouth Colony) and another seven from Nausett, and he attempted to sell them as slaves in Europe. One of the Patuxet men was Squanto , who became an ally of the Plymouth Colony. He had escaped slavery and made his way to England, where he became fluent in English. He ultimately returned to America, only to discover that his entire village had died from plague. Continuing westward,
6255-484: The Church of England to form Separatist congregations. These held Brownist beliefs—that true churches were voluntary democratic congregations, not whole Christian nations—as taught by Robert Browne , John Greenwood , and Henry Barrowe . As Separatists, they held that their differences with the Church of England were irreconcilable and that their worship should be independent of the trappings, traditions, and organization of
6394-676: The Dutch East India Company. Slade was also a spy for the English Ambassador, and the Pilgrims' plans were therefore known both at court and among influential investors in the Virginia Company's colony at Jamestown. Negotiations were broken off with the Dutch, however, at the encouragement of English merchant Thomas Weston , who assured them that he could resolve the London Company delays. The London Company intended to claim
6533-561: The Dutch in settling the area. Other tribes in the area sided with the English, including the Narragansetts and Mohegans , who were the traditional enemies of the Pequots. The event that sparked formal hostilities was the capture of a boat and the murder of captain John Oldham in 1636, an event blamed on allies of the Pequots. In April 1637, a raid on a Pequot village by John Endicott led to
6672-645: The Dutch language and customs, and some also entered the Dutch Army. They also were still not free from the persecutions of the English Crown. English authorities came to Leiden to arrest William Brewster in 1618 after he published comments highly critical of the King of England and the Anglican Church . Brewster escaped arrest, but the events spurred the congregation to move farther from England. The congregation obtained
6811-534: The English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts ( John Smith had named this territory New Plymouth in 1620, sharing the name of the Pilgrims' final departure port of Plymouth, Devon ). The Pilgrims' leadership came from the religious congregations of Brownists or Separatists, who had fled religious persecution in England for
6950-689: The French before she could deliver her cargo to England, creating an even larger deficit for the colony. In July 1623, two more ships arrived: the Anne under the command of Captain "Master" William Peirce and Master John Bridges, and the Little James under the command of Captain Emanuel Altham. These ships carried 96 new settlers, among them Leideners, including William Bradford 's future wife Alice and William and Mary Brewster's daughters Patience and Fear. Some of
7089-586: The Indians are run away from their habitations". The only positive effect of Standish's raid seemed to be the increased power of the Massasoit-led Wampanoag tribe, the Pilgrims' closest ally in the region. A second ship arrived in November 1621 named the Fortune , sent by the Merchant Adventurers one year after the Pilgrims first set foot in New England. It arrived with 37 new settlers for Plymouth. However,
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#17328454694587228-613: The Indigenous tribes of Standish's attack; many Natives abandoned their villages and fled the area. As noted by Philbrick: "Standish's raid had irreparably damaged the human ecology of the region ... It was some time before a new equilibrium came to the region." Edward Winslow reports in his 1624 memoirs Good News from New England that "they forsook their houses, running to and fro like men distracted, living in swamps and other desert places, and so brought manifold diseases amongst themselves, whereof very many are dead". The Pilgrims lost
7367-599: The Leiden colonists, after a canal ride from Leyden of about seven hours. It reached Southampton , Hampshire , and met with the Mayflower and the additional colonists hired by the investors. With final arrangements made, the two vessels set out on August 5 ( Old Style )/August 15 (New Style). Soon after, the Speedwell crew reported that their ship was taking on water, so both were diverted to Dartmouth, Devon . The crew inspected Speedwell for leaks and sealed them, but their second attempt to depart got them only as far as Plymouth , Devon . The crew decided that Speedwell
7506-472: The Leiden group's religion would not receive official recognition. Preparations then stalled because of the continued problems within the London Company, and competing Dutch companies approached the congregation with the possibility of settling in the Hudson River area. David Baeckelandt suggests that the Leiden group was approached by Englishman Matthew Slade, son-in-law of Petrus Placius, a cartographer for
7645-787: The MBTA commuter rail system in Massachusetts Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School , a full-time, Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, Massachusetts Old Colony (bakery) , a cookie company in Lake Bluff, Illinois Old Colony (soft drink) , a soft drink in Puerto Rico Old Colony Mennonites , a Mennonite group, many of which live across North America Old Colony Trust Co. v. Commissioner ,
7784-437: The Netherlands to England, then on to America where it would be kept for the fishing business, with a crew hired for support services during the first year. The larger ship Mayflower was leased for transport and exploration services. The Speedwell was originally named Swiftsure . It was built in 1577 at 60 tons and was part of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. It departed Delfshaven in July 1620 with
7923-430: The New England colonies (Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut , New Haven , and Plymouth) formed a defensive compact known as the United Colonies of New England . Edward Winslow was already known for his diplomatic skills, and he was the chief architect of the United Colonies. His experience in the United Provinces of the Netherlands during the Leiden years was key to organizing the confederation. John Adams later considered
8062-415: The New England territory recommended by Weston. They attempted to sail the ship around the cape towards the Hudson River , but they encountered shoals and difficult currents around Cape Malabar (the old French name for Monomoy Island ). They decided to turn around, and the ship was anchored in Provincetown Harbor by November 11/21. The charter was incomplete for the Plymouth Council for New England when
8201-455: The New World. The shallop was finished on November 27, and a second expedition was undertaken using it, under the direction of Mayflower master Christopher Jones . Thirty-four men went, but the expedition was beset by bad weather; the only positive result was that they found an Indian burial ground and corn that had been intended for the dead, taking the corn for future planting. A third expedition along Cape Cod left on December 6; it resulted in
8340-608: The Pilgrim passengers died during the first winter. Explorations resumed on December 6/16. The shallop party headed south along the cape, consisting of seven colonists from Leiden, three from London, and seven crew; they chose to land at the area inhabited by the Nauset people (the area around Brewster , Chatham , Eastham , Harwich , and Orleans ) where they saw some people on the shore who fled when they approached. Inland they found more mounds, one containing acorns which they exhumed, and more graves, which they decided not to disturb. They remained ashore overnight and heard cries near
8479-443: The Popes authoritie and popish religion to be established. Many Puritans had hoped that reforms and reconciliation would be possible when James came to power which would allow them independence, but the Hampton Court Conference of 1604 denied nearly all of the concessions which they had requested—except for an authorized English translation of the Bible . The same year, Richard Bancroft became Archbishop of Canterbury and launched
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#17328454694588618-436: The Puritan cause, writing to Robert Cecil , Secretary of State to James I in 1604: The Puritans though they differ in Ceremonies and accidentes, yet they agree with us in substance of religion, and I thinke all or the moste parte of them love his Majestie, and the presente state, and I hope will yield to conformitie. But the Papistes are opposite and contrarie in very many substantiall pointes of religion, and cannot but wishe
8757-421: The United Colonies to be the prototype for the Articles of Confederation , which was the first attempt at a national American government. Metacomet was the younger son of Massasoit and the heir of Massasoit's position as sachem of the Pokanokets and supreme leader of the Wampanoags. He was known to the colonists as Philip, and he became sachem upon the sudden death of his older brother Wamsutta in 1662, who
8896-427: The area explored by Hudson before the Dutch could become fully established, and the first Dutch settlers did not arrive in the area until 1624. Weston did come with a substantial change, telling the Leiden group that parties in England had obtained a land grant north of the existing Virginia territory to be called New England . This was only partially true; the new grant did come to pass, but not until late in 1620 when
9035-437: The beach to fetch firewood and attend to long-deferred personal hygiene. Myles Standish was an English soldier from Chorley whom the colonists had met while in Leiden, and they had asked him to join them as their military adviser. He and Christopher Jones led several exploratory trips ashore while awaiting the shallop's repair. They encountered an old European-built house and iron kettle, left behind by some ship's crew, and
9174-526: The boy. This negotiation did much to secure further peace with the tribes in the area. During their dealings with the Nausets over the release of John Billington, the Pilgrims learned of troubles that Massasoit was experiencing. Massasoit, Squanto, and several other Wampanoags had been captured by Corbitant , sachem of the Narragansett tribe. A party of ten men under the leadership of Myles Standish set out to find and execute Corbitant. While hunting for him, they learned that Squanto had escaped and Massasoit
9313-415: The building progressed, 20 men always remained ashore for security purposes while the rest of the work crews returned each night to the Mayflower . Women, children, and the infirm remained on board the Mayflower , and many had not left the ship for six months. The first structure was a common house of wattle and daub , and it took two weeks to complete in the harsh New England winter. In the following weeks,
9452-410: The capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts . At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of what is now the southeastern portion of Massachusetts . Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore , including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock . Plymouth Colony was founded by
9591-420: The chief. The delegation also included Squanto, who acted as a translator. After traveling for several days, they arrived at Massasoit's village of Sowams near Narragansett Bay . After meals and an exchange of gifts, Massasoit agreed to an exclusive trading pact with the Plymouth colonists. Squanto remained behind and traveled throughout the area to establish trading relations with several tribes. In late July,
9730-410: The colonial adult male population is estimated to have died during the war, a rather large percentage by most standards. The impact on the Native Americans was far higher, however. So many were killed, fled, or shipped off as slaves that the entire Indigenous population of New England fell by 60 to 80 percent. Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) The Pilgrims , also known as the Pilgrim Fathers , were
9869-440: The colonists departed England (it was granted while they were in transit on November 3/13). They arrived without a patent; the older Wincob patent was from their abandoned dealings with the London Company. Some of the passengers, aware of the situation, suggested that they were free to do as they chose upon landing, without a patent in place, and to ignore the contract with the investors. The Leiden congregants, therefore, drafted
10008-405: The colonists settled had been identified as "New Plymouth" in maps which John Smith published in 1614. The colonists elected to retain the name for their own settlement, in honor of their final point of departure from Plymouth, Devon . On December 21, 1620, the first landing party arrived at the site of Plymouth . Plans to build houses, however, were delayed by bad weather until December 23. As
10147-411: The colony should be governed by "just and equal laws," and those who signed it promised to keep those laws. The group remained on board the ship through the next day for prayer and worship, as it was a Sunday. They finally set foot on land at Provincetown on November 13. The first task was to rebuild a shallop , a shallow draft boat that had been built in England and disassembled for transport aboard
10286-463: The colony. The intent of the compact was to establish a means of governing the colony, though it did little more than confirm that the colony would be governed like any English town. It did, however, serve the purpose of relieving the property concerns of many of the settlers. This social contract was written and signed by 41 male passengers . It was modeled on the church covenants that Congregationalists used to form new congregations. It made clear that
10425-411: The company were dead by the end of February, with deaths still rising. Coles Hill became the first cemetery, on a prominence above the beach, and they allowed grass to overgrow the graves for fear that the Indians would discover how weakened the settlement had actually become. Between the landing and March, only 47 colonists had survived the diseases that they contracted on the ship. During the worst of
10564-460: The congregation were showing signs of early aging, compounding the difficulties which some had in supporting themselves. A few had spent their savings and given up and returned to England, and the leaders feared that more would follow and that the congregation would become unsustainable. The employment issues made it unattractive for others to come to Leiden, and younger members had begun leaving to find employment and adventure elsewhere. Also compelling
10703-618: The congregation. The congregation left England in 1608 and moved to the Netherlands, settling first in Amsterdam and then in Leiden . In Leiden, the congregation gained the freedom to worship as they chose, but Dutch society was unfamiliar to them. Scrooby had been an agricultural community, whereas Leiden was a thriving industrial center, and they found the pace of life difficult. The community remained close-knit, but their children began adopting
10842-556: The country who refused to attend Anglican services. William Brewster was a former diplomatic assistant to the Netherlands. He was living in the Scrooby manor house while serving as postmaster for the village and bailiff to the Archbishop of York . He had been impressed by Clyfton's services and had begun participating in services led by John Smyth in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire . After
10981-411: The encampment. The following morning, they were attacked by Indians who shot at them with arrows. The colonists retrieved their firearms and shot back, then chased them into the woods but did not find them. There was no more contact with them for several months. The Indians were already familiar with the English, who had intermittently visited the area for fishing and trade before Mayflower arrived. In
11120-451: The failed colony at Weymouth, and they stayed temporarily in Plymouth. In March 1624, a ship arrived bearing a few additional settlers and the first cattle. A 1627 division of cattle lists 156 colonists divided into twelve lots of thirteen colonists each. Another ship arrived in August 1629, also named the Mayflower , with 35 additional members of the Leiden congregation. Ships arrived throughout
11259-453: The group in Southampton, including William Brewster, who had been in hiding for the better part of a year, and a group of people known to the Leiden congregation as "The Strangers." This group was largely made up of people recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide practical assistance to the colony and additional hands to work for the colony's ventures. The term was also used for many of
11398-448: The group. The Mayflower Compact is considered to be one of the seeds of American democracy, and historians have called it the world's first written constitution. Thorough exploration of the area was delayed for more than two weeks because the shallop or pinnace (a smaller sailing vessel) which they brought had been partially dismantled to fit aboard the Mayflower and was further damaged in transit. Small parties, however, waded to
11537-409: The harbor on December 16/26. The Pilgrims evaluated the nearby sites and selected a hill in Plymouth (so named on earlier charts) on December 19/29. The Pilgrims began construction immediately, with the first common house nearly completed by January 9/19, 20 feet square and built for general use. At this point, each single man was ordered to join himself to one of the 19 families in order to eliminate
11676-436: The investors at the end of the seven-year contract. Also, there had been a provision in the original agreement that allowed each settler to have two days per week to work on personal business, but this provision was dropped from the final agreement without the knowledge of the Pilgrims. Amid these negotiations, William Brewster found himself involved with religious unrest emerging in Scotland. In 1618, King James had promulgated
11815-494: The language barrier; for those, accommodation was constructed on an estate bought by Robinson and three partners. Bradford wrote of their years in Leiden: For these & other reasons they removed to Leyden, a fair & bewtifull citie, and of a sweete situation, but made more famous by ye universitie wherwith it is adorned, in which of late had been so many learned man. But wanting that traffike by sea which Amerstdam injoyes, it
11954-423: The larger community there. At the same time, there were many uncertainties about moving to such a place as America, as stories had come back about failed colonies. There were fears that the native people would be violent, that there would be no source of food or water, that they might be exposed to unknown diseases, and that travel by sea was always hazardous. Balancing all this was a local political situation which
12093-473: The larger portion of the congregation, and Brewster was to lead the American congregation. The church in America would be run independently, but it was agreed that membership would automatically be granted in either congregation to members who moved between the continents. With personal and business matters agreed upon, the Pilgrims procured supplies and a small ship. Speedwell was to bring some passengers from
12232-493: The leaking was caused by a loose board. Of the 120 combined passengers on the two ships, 102 were chosen to travel on the ship with the supplies consolidated. Of these, about half had come by way of Leiden, and about 30 of the adults were members of the congregation. The reduced party finally sailed successfully on September 6 ( Old Style )/September 16 (New Style), 1620. Initially the trip went smoothly, but under way they were met with strong winds and storms. One of these caused
12371-531: The mainland and surveyed the area that ultimately became the settlement. The anniversary of this survey is observed in Massachusetts as Forefathers' Day and is traditionally associated with the Plymouth Rock landing tradition. This land was especially suited to winter building because it had already been cleared, and the tall hills provided a good defensive position. The cleared village was known as Patuxet to
12510-481: The men were too infirm to work; 45 out of 102 pilgrims died and were buried on Cole's Hill . Thus, only seven residences and four common houses were constructed during the first winter out of a planned 19. By the end of January, enough of the settlement had been built to begin unloading provisions from the Mayflower . The men of the settlement organized themselves into military orders in mid-February, after several tense encounters with local Indians, and Myles Standish
12649-421: The merging of ships included John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, William Brewster, and Isaac Allerton. The departure of the Mayflower and Speedwell was beset by delays. Further disagreements with the Merchant Adventurers held up the departure in Southampton. A total of 120 passengers finally departed on August 5 – 90 on the Mayflower and 30 on the Speedwell . Leaving Southampton,
12788-446: The midst of the settlement and proclaimed, "Welcome, Englishmen!" It was during this meeting that the Pilgrims learned how the previous residents of Patuxet had died of an epidemic. They also learned that an important leader of the region was Wampanoag Indian chief Massasoit , and they learned about Squanto (Tisquantum) who was the sole survivor from Patuxet. Squanto had spent time in Europe and spoke English quite well. Samoset spent
12927-415: The military and economic benefits of being close to an established colony. Robert Cushman and John Carver were sent to England to solicit a land patent. Their negotiations were delayed because of conflicts internal to the London Company, but ultimately a patent was secured in the name of John Wincob on June 9 ( Old Style )/June 19 (New Style), 1619. The charter was granted with the king's condition that
13066-489: The most were faine to flie & leave their howses & habitations, and the means of their livelehood. The Pilgrims moved to the Netherlands around 1607–08 and lived in Leiden , Holland, a city of 30,000 inhabitants. Leiden was a thriving industrial center, and many members were able to support themselves working at Leiden University or in the textile, printing, and brewing trades. Others were less able to bring in sufficient income, hampered by their rural backgrounds and
13205-453: The murder. Philip had already begun war preparations at his home base near Mount Hope where he started raiding English farms and pillaging their property. In response, Governor Josiah Winslow called out the militia, and they organized and began to move on Philip's position. Philip's men attacked unarmed women and children in order to receive a ransom. One such attack resulted in the capture of Mary Rowlandson . The war continued through
13344-405: The need to build any more houses than absolutely necessary. Each extended family was assigned a plot one-half rod wide and three rods long for each household member, then each family built its own dwelling. They brought supplies ashore, and the settlement was mostly complete by early February. When the first house was finished, it immediately became a hospital for the ill Pilgrims. Thirty-one of
13483-425: The night in Plymouth and agreed to arrange a meeting with some of Massasoit's men. Massasoit and Squanto were apprehensive about the Pilgrims, as several men of his tribe had been killed by English sailors. He also knew that the Pilgrims had taken some corn stores in their landings at Provincetown. Squanto himself had been abducted in 1614 by English explorer Thomas Hunt and had spent five years in Europe, first as
13622-533: The older colony might offer better security and trade opportunities; however, they also felt that they should not settle too near, since that might inadvertently duplicate the political environment back in England. The London Company administered a territory of considerable size in the region, and the intended settlement location was at the mouth of the Hudson River (which instead became the Dutch colony of New Netherland ). This plan allayed their concerns of social, political, and religious conflicts, but still promised
13761-414: The original 102 passengers had died during the first winter. As William Bradford wrote, "of these one hundred persons who came over in this first ship together, the greatest half died in the general mortality, and most of them in two or three months' time". Several of the graves on Cole's Hill were uncovered in 1855; their bodies were disinterred and moved to a site near Plymouth Rock. In November 1621,
13900-441: The passengers decided to return north to Cape Cod Bay and abandon their original landing plans. The Pilgrims were not the first Europeans in the area. John Cabot 's discovery of Newfoundland in 1497 had laid the foundation for the extensive English claims over the east coast of America. Cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi made one of the earliest maps of New England c. 1540 , but he erroneously identified Cape Breton with
14039-514: The passengers who arrived on the Anne were either unprepared for frontier life or undesirable additions to the colony, and they returned to England the next year. According to Gleason Archer, "those who remained were not willing to join the colony under the terms of the agreement with the Merchant Adventurers. They had embarked for America upon an understanding with the Adventurers that they might settle in
14178-429: The period between 1629 and 1630 carrying new settlers, though the exact number is unknown; contemporaneous documents indicate that the colony had almost 300 people by January 1630. In 1643, the colony had an estimated 600 males fit for military service, implying a total population of about 2,000. The estimated total population of Plymouth County was 3,055 by 1690, on the eve of the colony's merger with Massachusetts Bay. It
14317-570: The pilgrims celebrated a feast of thanksgiving which became known in the 19th century as "The First Thanksgiving ". The feast was probably held in early October 1621 and was celebrated by the 53 surviving Pilgrims, along with Massasoit and 90 of his men. Three contemporaneous accounts of the event survive: Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, Mourt's Relation probably written by Edward Winslow, and New England's Memorial by Plymouth Colony Secretary (and Bradford's nephew) Capt. Nathaniel Morton . The celebration lasted three days and featured
14456-739: The postmaster position, about the time that the congregation had decided to follow the Smyth party to Amsterdam. Scrooby member William Bradford of Austerfield kept a journal of the congregation's events which was eventually published as Of Plymouth Plantation . He wrote concerning this time period: But after these things they could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted & persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken & clapt up in prison, others had their houses besett & watcht night and day, & hardly escaped their hands; and
14595-515: The rest of 1675 and into the next year. The colonists were constantly frustrated by the Native Americans' refusal to meet them in pitched battle. They employed a form of guerrilla warfare that confounded the English. Captain Benjamin Church continuously campaigned to enlist the help of friendly Native Americans to help learn how to fight on an even footing with Philip's warrior bands, but he
14734-409: The rest of the settlement slowly took shape. The living and working structures were built on the relatively flat top of Cole's Hill, and a wooden platform was constructed atop nearby Fort Hill to support the cannon that would defend the settlement. During the winter, the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly from lack of shelter, diseases such as scurvy , and general conditions on board ship. Many of
14873-552: The rest. William Bradford later recorded in his book Of Plymouth Plantation that, after the shallop had been repaired, They also found two of the Indian's houses covered with mats, and some of their implements in them; but the people had run away and could not be seen. Without permission they took more corn, and beans of various colours. These they brought away, intending to give them full satisfaction when they should meet with any of them—as about six months afterwards they did. And it
15012-511: The second winter, he helped design and organize the construction of a large palisade wall surrounding the settlement. Standish led two early military raids on Indian villages: the raid to find and punish Corbitant for his attempted coup, and the killing at Wessagussett called "Standish's raid". The former had the desired effect of gaining the respect of the local Indians; the latter only served to frighten and scatter them, resulting in loss of trade and income. The first major war in New England
15151-541: The settlers of the town. The proximate cause of the conflict was the death of a Praying Indian named John Sassamon in 1675. Sassamon had been an advisor and friend to Philip; however, Sassamon's conversion to Christianity had driven the two apart. Accused in the murder of Sassamon were some of Philip's most senior lieutenants. A jury of twelve Englishmen and six Praying Indians found the Native Americans guilty of murder and sentenced them to death. To this day, some debate exists whether King Philip's men actually committed
15290-410: The shallop's mast and rudder were broken by storms and the sail was lost. They rowed for safety, encountering the harbor formed by Duxbury and Plymouth barrier beaches. They remained at this spot for two days to recuperate and repair equipment. They named it Clark's Island for a Mayflower mate who first set foot on it. They resumed exploration on Monday, December 11/21 when the party crossed over to
15429-515: The ship had arrived unexpectedly and also without many supplies, so the additional settlers put a strain on the resources of the colony. Among the passengers of the Fortune were several of the original Leiden congregation, including William Brewster 's son Jonathan, Edward Winslow's brother John, and Philip Delano (the family name was earlier "de la Noye") whose descendants include President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . The Fortune also carried
15568-468: The ship. One death occurred, that of William Button. After two months at sea, they sighted land on November 9, 1620, off the coast of Cape Cod . They attempted to sail south to the designated landing site at the mouth of the Hudson but ran into trouble in the region of Pollock Rip , a shallow area of shoals between Cape Cod and Nantucket Island . With winter approaching and provisions running dangerously low,
15707-422: The site as "New Plimouth." In the Mayflower settlers' first explorations of Cape Cod, they came across evidence that Europeans had previously spent extensive time there. They discovered remains of a European fort and uncovered a grave that contained the remains of both an adult European male and an Indian child. The Mayflower anchored at Provincetown Harbor on November 11, 1620. The Pilgrims did not have
15846-516: The situation and began pressuring the Dutch government to extradite Brewster, and the Dutch responded by arresting Thomas Brewer the financier in September. Brewster's whereabouts remain unknown between then and the colonists' departure, but the Dutch authorities did seize the typesetting materials which he had used to print his pamphlets. Meanwhile, Brewer was sent to England for questioning, where he stonewalled government officials until well into 1620. He
15985-452: The small, 106 feet (32 m) long ship. The seas were not severe during the first month in the Atlantic but, by the second month, the ship was being hit by strong north-Atlantic winter gales, causing it to be badly shaken with water leaks from structural damage. There were many obstacles throughout the trip, including multiple cases of seasickness and the bending and cracking of a main beam of
16124-467: The surrounding lands. He showed the Patuxet village (where the town of Plymouth was later built) as a thriving settlement. However, an epidemic wiped out up to 90 percent of the Indians along the Massachusetts coast in 1617–1619, including the Patuxets, before the arrival of the Mayflower . The epidemic has traditionally been thought to be smallpox, but a recent analysis has concluded that it may have been
16263-632: The third expedition, during which Standish fired the first recorded shot by the Pilgrim settlers in an event known as the First Encounter. Standish had training in military engineering from the University of Leiden , and it was he who decided the defensive layout of the settlement when they finally arrived at Plymouth. He also organized the able-bodied men into military orders in February of the first winter. During
16402-515: The tolerance of 17th-century Holland in the Netherlands. They held many of the same Calvinist religious beliefs as Puritans , but unlike Puritans (who wanted a purified established church ), Pilgrims maintained that their congregations should separate from the English state church , which led to them being labelled Separatists . After several years living in exile in Holland, they determined to establish
16541-465: The trade in furs which they had enjoyed with the local tribes, and which was their main source of income for paying off their debts to the Merchant Adventurers. Rather than strengthening their position, Standish's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony, as attested by William Bradford in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers: "we had much damaged our trade, for there where we had most skins
16680-471: The treacherous trans-Atlantic voyage. The delays had significant consequences; the cost of the repairs and port fees required that the colonists sell some of their vital provisions. More importantly, the late-autumn voyage meant that everyone had to spend the coming winter on board the Mayflower off Cape Cod in increasingly squalid conditions. The Mayflower departed Plymouth , England , on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members in
16819-540: The university, and Robinson enrolled in 1615 to pursue his doctorate. There he participated in a series of debates, particularly regarding the contentious issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism (siding with the Calvinists against the Remonstrants ). Brewster acquired typesetting equipment about 1616 in a venture financed by Thomas Brewer, and began publishing the debates through a local press. The Netherlands, however,
16958-746: The voyage and financing. The congregation and the other colonists finally boarded the Speedwell in July 1620 in the Dutch port of Delfshaven . Speedwell was re-rigged with larger masts before leaving Holland and setting out to meet Mayflower in Southampton, England , around the end of July 1620. The Mayflower was purchased in London. The original captains were Captain Reynolds for Speedwell and Captain Christopher Jones for Mayflower . Other passengers joined
17097-442: The war that bears his name. Throughout July 1676, Church's band captured hundreds of Native American warriors, often without much of a fight, though Philip eluded him. Church was given permission to grant amnesty to any captured Native Americans who would agree to join the colonial side, and his force grew immensely. Philip was killed by a Pocasset Indian, and the war soon ended as an overwhelming colonial victory. Eight percent of
17236-500: Was a land whose culture and language were strange and difficult for the English congregation to understand or learn. They found the Dutch political situation to be unstable, and their children were becoming more and more Dutch as the years passed. The congregation came to believe that they faced eventual extinction if they remained there. By 1617, the congregation was stable and relatively secure, but there were ongoing issues which needed to be resolved. Bradford noted that many members of
17375-465: Was abandoned in 1608. Captain John Smith of Jamestown had explored the area in 1614 and is credited with naming the region New England. He named many locations using approximations of Indian words. He gave the name "Accomack" to the Patuxet settlement on which the Pilgrims founded Plymouth, but he changed it to New Plymouth after consulting Prince Charles , son of King James. A map published in his 1616 work A Description of New England clearly shows
17514-462: Was also known as Alexander. Indian leaders such as Philip resented the colonists' increasing land acquisitions, and they looked for a means to slow or reverse it. Of specific concern was the founding of the town of Swansea , which was located only a few miles from the Wampanoag capital at Mount Hope . The General Court of Plymouth began using military force to coerce the sale of Wampanoag land to
17653-462: Was appointed as his replacement. He was one of James's chief supporters at the 1604 conference, and he promptly began a campaign to purge the archdiocese of non-conforming influences, including Puritans, Separatists, and those wishing to return to the Catholic faith. Disobedient clergy were replaced, and prominent Separatists were confronted, fined, and imprisoned. He is credited with driving people out of
17792-432: Was back in power. Standish and his men had injured several Native Americans, so the colonists offered them medical attention in Plymouth. They had failed to capture Corbitant, but the show of force by Standish had garnered respect for the Pilgrims and, as a result, nine of the most powerful sachems in the area signed a treaty in September, including Massasoit and Corbitant, pledging their loyalty to King James. In May 1622,
17931-540: Was constantly rebuffed by the Plymouth leadership who mistrusted all Native Americans, thinking them potential enemies. Eventually, Governor Winslow and Plymouth military commander Major William Bradford (son of the late Governor William Bradford) relented and gave Church permission to organize a combined force of English and Native Americans. After securing the alliance of the Sakonnets, he led his combined force in pursuit of Philip, who had thus far avoided any major battles in
18070-541: Was designated as the commanding officer. By the end of the month, five cannons had been defensively positioned on Fort Hill. John Carver was elected governor to replace Governor Martin. On March 16, 1621, the first formal contact occurred with the Indians. Samoset was an Abenaki sagamore who was originally from Pemaquid Point in Maine . He had learned some English from fishermen and trappers in Maine, and he walked boldly into
18209-512: Was in danger of becoming unstable. The truce was faltering in the Eighty Years' War , and there was fear over what the attitudes of Spain might be toward them. Possible destinations included Guiana on the northeast coast of South America where the Dutch had established Essequibo colony, or another site near the Virginia settlements. Virginia was an attractive destination because the presence of
18348-594: Was much smaller than Massachusetts Bay Colony by the time that they merged. Myles Standish was the military leader of Plymouth Colony from the beginning. He was officially designated as the captain of the colony's militia in February 1621, shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower in December 1620. He organized and led the first party from the Mayflower to set foot in New England, an exploratory expedition of Cape Cod upon arrival in Provincetown Harbor. He also led
18487-399: Was not so beneficiall for their outward means of living & estats. But being now hear pitchet they fell to such trads & imployments as they best could; valewing peace & their spirituall comforte above any other riches whatsoever. And at length they came to raise a competente & comforteable living, but with hard and continuall labor. William Brewster had been teaching English at
18626-493: Was short-lived, but it provided the spark for an event that dramatically changed the political landscape between the local tribes and the settlers. Reports reached Plymouth of a military threat to Wessagussett, and Myles Standish organized a militia to defend them. However, he found that there had been no attack. He therefore decided on a pre-emptive strike, an event which historian Nathaniel Philbrick calls "Standish's raid". He lured two prominent Massachusett military leaders into
18765-693: Was the Pequot War of 1637. The war's roots go back to 1632, when a dispute arose between Dutch fur traders and Plymouth officials over control of the Connecticut River Valley near Hartford . Representatives from the Dutch East India Company and Plymouth Colony both had deeds which claimed that they had rightfully purchased the land from the Pequots . A sort of land rush occurred as settlers from Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies tried to beat
18904-468: Was the possibility of missionary work in some distant land, an opportunity that rarely arose in a Protestant stronghold. Bradford lists some of the reasons for which the Pilgrims felt that they had to leave, including the discouragements that they faced in the Netherlands and the hope of attracting others by finding "a better, and easier place of living", the children of the group being "drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses", and
19043-544: Was ultimately convicted in England for his continued religious publication activities and sentenced in 1626 to a 14-year prison term. Not all of the congregation were able to depart on the first trip. Many members were not able to settle their affairs within the time constraints, and the budget was limited for travel and supplies; also, the group decided that the initial settlement should be undertaken primarily by younger and stronger members. The remainder agreed to follow if and when they could. Robinson would remain in Leiden with
19182-597: Was ultimately merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay . Despite the colony's relatively short existence, Plymouth holds a special role in American history. The social and legal systems of the colony became closely tied to their religious beliefs, as well as to English custom. Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of Brownists (a sect of English Protestant dissenters ) who came to be known as
19321-403: Was untrustworthy, and her owners sold her; the ship's master and some of the crew transferred to the Mayflower for the trip. William Bradford observed that the Speedwell seemed "overmasted", thus putting a strain on the hull; and he expressed suspicions that crew members might have deliberately caused it, allowing them to abandon their year-long commitments. Passenger Robert Cushman wrote that
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