The Plymouth Colony

1. The Plymouth Colony

2. The Plymouth Company • In 1606, King James I chartered two companies: • The Virginia Company of London • The Plymouth Company • While the Virginia Company of London eventually became successful and founded Jamestown, the Plymouth Company was not as successful. • In 1607, they tried to establish a colony on the coast of Maine. • By 1609, they had already abandoned the colony. • It was inactive and abandoned until 1620.

3. Council for New England • In 1620, the Plymouth Company was reorganized. • The king issued a new charter for a new company called the Council of New England. • They were given the power to take control of the area where Plymouth was, an area that was now called New England. • While the Virginia Company had been full of rich merchants, the Council of New England was made up of people who came from royalty. • They wanted to hand out manors and pieces of land (fiefs) to their 40 members. • They were unsuccessful because the Pilgrims and the Massachusetts Bay Company ruined their plans. • The Council for New England was dissolved, and the Pilgrims and the Massachusetts Bay Company took over the area.

4. The Massachusetts Bay Company • By 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company had control over the area that is now Boston. • They were Puritans who were trying to separate themselves from the Church of England. • They wanted to “purify” the church, but since they couldn’t do that, they moved away instead. • They believed that they were chosen by God to live godly lives and keep a close relationship with him.

5. Pilgrims • Another group of people trying to leave England for religious reasons were the pilgrims. • They wanted to live a better life with more religious freedom. • They were Separatists, a religious group that wanted to break away from the Church of England and form their own churches because they thought the Church of England was corrupt (bad/evil). • They asked a company to pay for their journey (pilgrimage) to North America. • 102 colonists were sent on the Mayflower to America in 1620. 35 of them were pilgrims and the rest were people that had been hired by the company to protect the company’s interests (money and supplies). • The company that was paying for their pilgrimage was interested in making more money overseas.

6. The Mayflower • The Pilgrims were supposed to be on both The Mayflower and another ship called Speedwell. • Speedwell turned out to be a bad ship and couldn’t last in rough waters, so The Mayflower took the Pilgrims alone. • The Mayflower was originally supposed to end up in a large area of Virginia, closer to the Jamestown settlement. • After 66 days at sea fighting rough seas and storms, it ended up near present day Massachusetts in November before they decided to go further and settled in the abandoned settlement of Plymouth by Christmas.

7. The Mayflower Compact • Before the 102 settlers left the boat for the shores of Plymouth, the leaders of the Pilgrim group, created The Mayflower Compact. • It was very short – around 200 words. • It acted like a government document and outlined the laws and regulations that the leaders expected the settlers of Plymouth to follow. • The compact was signed by all of the male passengers onboard. • After it was signed, it was immediately put into effect, meaning it basically became law. • John Carver, who helped organize the pilgrimage, was also named the governor of the new colony.

8. Owners or Thieves? • Although The Mayflower Compact gave the settlers expectations and rules, it did not deal with the fact that they settled on land that still technically belonged to the Council for New England. • Eventually, the Pilgrims had to contact the Council for New England and get the land granted to them so they could settle there legally in 1621. • While they were settled there, the Mayflower Compact remained law. • The Mayflower Compact eventually became important in helping to write the Declaration of Independence and to set up the democracy we have today.

9. Massachusetts Bay Colony • In 1691, The Mayflower Compact was dissolved (done away with) when the Massachusetts Bay Company took over Plymouth. • They combined Plymouth with an area of present-day Maine and called it all by the same name – the Massachusetts Bay Colony. • However, Plymouth is still considered one of the first permanent settlements in the area that is now New England.

10. What about the Pilgrims and Indians? • The story about the Indians (Native Americans) and the Pilgrims sharing a fancy dinner isn’t true. • What really happened is that the colony of Plymouth had a good harvest (lots of food) during their first year settling. • When they were celebrating their harvest, they were shooting off guns and cannons. • This alerted nearby Native Americans, who showed up ready to fight. • A translator had to explain that they were celebrating. • The Native Americans stayed at the settlement for days to make sure that this was true, and they ended up helping protect the settlers. • They also hunted together and helped make the settlers slightly less nervous about this new land. • They did not eat together for one day, but several days, and it was nothing like the fake Thanksgiving story being told most often.