on the southern bank of the
Humber estuary Around 1605, congregations in
Nottinghamshire, England led by
John Robinson,
Richard Clyfton, and
John Smyth quit 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 a central church. was one of the most influential Pilgrim leaders. He negotiated the treaty with the Wampanoags, he was the Pilgrims' representative to their financial backers in England, and served as governor of Plymouth Colony. This portrait of him is the only portrait of a Pilgrim that was painted from life. It hangs in the
Pilgrim Hall Museum in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. 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 £ 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 £ today)
in absentia for his non-compliance with the church. This followed his September 1607 resignation from 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 the most were faine to flie & leave their howses & habitations, and the means of their livelehood. 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 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 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 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. in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the only house in which one of the Pilgrims lived that still stands. The house was built by Jabez Howland. His parents, Pilgrims
John Howland and his wife,
Elizabeth Tilley Howland, lived with Jabez and his family in this house in their senior years. The house is now a museum. The Netherlands, however, 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.
Decision to leave Holland 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 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 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 the "great hope, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world." 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 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.
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 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. The London Company intended to claim 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 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 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.
Preparations 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 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 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.
Voyage . 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 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).
Atlantic crossing 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 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 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.
Arrival in America 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 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 Mayflower Compact The charter was incomplete for the Plymouth Council for New England when the colonists departed England (it was granted while they were in transit on November 3/13). The Leiden congregants, therefore, drafted 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 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 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.
First landings 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 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 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 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 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 the Pilgrim passengers died during the first winter.
First contact 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 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 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.
Settlement 's 1605 map of Plymouth Harbor showing the Wampanoag village of Patuxet, with some modern place names added for reference. The star marks the approximate location of the Plymouth Colony. commemorates the landing of the
Mayflower in 1620 Continuing westward, 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 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 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 away, having been brought to 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 the need to build any more houses than absolutely necessary. When the first house was finished, it immediately became a hospital for the ill Pilgrims. Thirty-one of 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 the sickness, only six or seven of the group were able to feed and care for the rest. In this time, half the
Mayflower crew also died.
William Bradford became governor in 1621 upon the death of
John Carver. On March 22, 1621, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with
Massasoit of the
Wampanoags. Bradford surrendered the patent of
Plymouth Colony to the
freemen in 1640, minus a small reserve of three tracts of land. He served as governor for 11 consecutive years, and was elected to various other terms before his death in 1657. The colony contained
Bristol County,
Plymouth County, and
Barnstable County, Massachusetts. The
Massachusetts Bay Colony was reorganized and issued a new charter as the
Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691, and Plymouth ended its history as a separate colony. ==Etymology==