The History of the Mayflower

THE MAYFLOWER

The vessel in which the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the New World in 1620.
As originally conceived, the expedition included another vessel, the Speedwell, but the
latter proved unseaworthy. The Mayflower, about 180 gross tons and carrying 101
passengers, finally got under way from Plymouth, England, on Sept. 16, 1620. The ship
was headed for Virginia, where the colonists had been authorized to settle. As a result of
stormy weather and navigational errors, the vessel failed to make good its course, and
on November 21 the Mayflower rounded the end of Cape Cod and dropped anchor off
the site of present-day Provincetown, Mass.

The Mayflower remained anchored for the next few weeks while a party from the ship
explored Cape Cod and its environs in search of a satisfactory site for the colony.
Peregrine White, the first European child born in New England, was delivered on the
Mayflower in the interim. On December 21, an area having been selected, the Pilgrims
disembarked from the Mayflower near the head of Cape Cod and founded Plymouth,
the first permanent settlement in New England.

The Pilgrims were probably more than 800 km (500 mi) northeast of their intended
destination in Virginia. The patent for their settlement in the New World, issued by the
London Co., was no longer binding, and some among the passengers desired total
independence from their shipmates. To prevent this, 41 of the adult male passengers,
including John Alden, William Bradford, William Brewster, John Carver, Myles
Standish, and Edward Winslow, gathered in the cabin of the Mayflower and formulated
and signed the Mayflower Compact; all adult males were required to sign. The
Mayflower Compact was the first constitution written in America. It consolidated the
passengers into a "civil body politic," which had the power to frame and enact laws
appropriate to the general good of the planned settlement. All colonists were bound to
obey the ordinances so enacted. This compact established rule of the majority, which
remained a primary principle of government in Plymouth Colony until its absorption by
the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691.

MAYFLOWER COMPACT

The threat of James I to "harry them out of the land" sent a band of religious dissenters
from England to Holland in 1608. They were known as Separatists because they wished
to cut all ties with the established church. In 1620, some of them, known now as the
Pilgrims, joined with a larger group in England to set sail on the Mayflower for the New
World. A joint stock company financed their venture.

In November, they sighted Cape Cod and decided to land an exploring party at
Plymouth Harbor. A rebellious group picked up at Southampton and London troubled
the Pilgrim leaders, however, and to control their actions 41 Pilgrims drew up the
Mayflower Compact and signed it before going ashore. The voluntary agreement to
govern themselves was America's first written constitution. It reads as follows:
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of
our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France
and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and
the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern
Parts of Virginia; do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God
and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick,
for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by
Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances,
Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and
convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due
Submission and Obedience.

November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and
Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620.