Where was the Plymouth Colony Background to the
Where was the Plymouth Colony?
Background to the Plymouth Settlement • In the early 17 th century, religion was all-important in daily life • The Church of England was relatively new (1534), and the forms of worship relatively prescriptive. • Puritanism developed as early as 1564 (first use of the term) as English Protestants who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church had not been fully reformed and needed to become more protestant. • With very limited religious freedom a group of separatists on the fringe of the Puritans decided to go to Holland to live & worship freely. • About 125 people settled in Leiden in 1608. • By 1620 the group realised they couldn’t stay as their children were becoming Dutch (horrors!): they decided on the New World.
Background to the Plymouth Settlement: the Virginia Company • By the early 1600’s the New World had been well visited by many Europeans. The location of Plymouth had been previously surveyed by Captain John Smith in 1614. • In 1606 King James set up the Virginia Company to oversee the colonisation effort of North America. Privately funded by the sale of shares, they issued “patents” to people interested in profiting from the natural resources in the New World. (One wonders by what right this was done). • The Pilgrims obtained a patent by June 1619. • A group of London merchants led by Thomas Weston financed the venture on the Mayflower which set sail, initially from Southampton in late July, and eventually leaving from Plymouth on 6 th September 1620 (Julian calendar). • Only 50 of the 102 persons on board were Pilgrims.
The 1606 grants by James I to the Virginia and Plymouth companies of London. The overlapping area (yellow) was granted to both companies on the condition that neither found a settlement within 100 miles (160 km) of the other. Jamestown is noted by "J. " The Spanish settlement of Saint Augustine, the French settlements of Québec and Port Royal (R, 1605), and Popham (Po 1607) are also shown.
Background to the Plymouth Settlement: arrival in the New World • After a harsh 65 -day voyage they arrived, off-course, near Cape Cod. Two people had died. They couldn’t make it to where they were supposed to go. • Possibly because they didn’t have “permission” to land where they were, before getting off the ship they drew up a Civil Covenant, the Mayflower Compact, to bind themselves together in and govern their new Colonial enterprise. They elected a Governor, John Carver (one of the Pilgrims who died within a year). • They landed at Province Town on 11 th November 1620 but only some passengers got off to do some exploration • They finally landed at Plymouth Rock on 20 th December 1620. The rock gave a great view but it was a poor harbour with shallow water: the Mayflower had to anchor a mile off! • The Mayflower left for England on April 5 th 1621, taking only a month to return. She returned with a ballast of stone (doubtless great disappointment).
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the The Loyal. Mayflower Subjects of Compact 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 advancements 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 another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; 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. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11 th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of
Background to the Plymouth Settlement: the early years • During the first winter, half the settlers died. They were now just 50 people. • Governor Carver died in April 1621 and William Bradford was elected leader. He wrote an account of all that happened and died in 1657. • By March 1621 the Pilgrims had established friendly relations with the first Indians that they met: a tribe called Pokanokets (or Wampanoag) led by a warrior called Massasoit. The Pilgrims’ survival in the first year was due to their help. • The Indians all about were generally much weakened and reduced in numbers (some tribes by 90%) due to diseases (possibly Bubonic plague) brought by earlier European visitors during 1617 -1619. • At the end of November 1621 a second ship, the Fortune, arrived with 37 passengers. It returned to England with Beaver skins and oak. The colony now had 68 men and 16 women. They had built only 7 houses plus 4 buildings for common use during the year.
Migration from England allowed the colony to grow, albeit slowly. • By 1624 the population was 124 • By 1637 it was 549 • By 1643 the settlers had founded nine additional towns • By 1691 the population had reached just 7, 000.
Background to the Plymouth Settlement: further growth • The fur trade was profitable and allowed the colony to pay off their debt to the London merchants by 1627 when the Pilgrim leaders broke with them. • Each colonist was initially given 100 acres of land, with 1, 500 reserved for common use. • Plymouth was now a self-governing entity based entirely on the Mayflower compact and patents issued in 1621 and 1630 by the Council for New England, a joint-stock company given a royal charter to found colonial settlements by King James in November 1620. These legitimised the existence of and defined the size of the colony.
Background to the Plymouth Settlement: Indian relations • The first encounters with the Wampanoags in 1621 were peaceful and a mutual defence agreement was established with their chief, Massasoit. • An English-speaking Indian named Squanto was instrumental in helping the settlers initially. He had been taken by Captain John Smith back on England some years earlier where he learned English. • By the late 1630 s the New England colonies were expanding and encroaching on Indian territory which led to the bloody Pequot War in 1637. • Plymouth joined with Massachusetts and Connecticut in forming the New England Confederation in 1643 for mutual defence. • The last great war was King Philip’s or Metacom’s war in 1675. He was the son of Massasoit. By 1676 the Indian leaders were captured and executed and hundreds were sold into slavery in the West Indies.
Background to the Plymouth Settlement: Plymouth’s Demise • The 1675 -6 Indian war stirred the Crown’s already growing interest in the New England Colonies • In 1686 James II consolidated all of New England, plus New York and New Jersey into one viceroyalty, the Dominion of New England. • But Catholic James II was deposed and protestant William of Orange and Mary were not interested in the Dominion. • A new charter for Massachusetts was issued in 1691 but not for the much smaller Plymouth colony. • Plymouth was absorbed into Massachusetts ending the colony’s seventy -year period as an independent colony. • For whatever reason it is today seen as the founding settlement of the USA.
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