Fact 2: When was John Carver born? He was born in 1576

Fact 3: Where was John Carver born? He was born in London, England

Fact 4: John Carver was a wealthy London merchant who became interested in new religious ideas

Fact 5: He joined the Protestant Separatist movement and travelled from England to Holland to avoid religious persecution under King James I.

Fact 6: John Carver settled in Leiden in Holland and married Catherine (White) Leggatt sometime after 1599. They had 2 children but they both died in infancy

Fact 7: Whilst in Leiden, John Carver met many other Puritans (Separatists) who believed in a pure Christian church, with no vestige of the Catholic religion.

Fact 8: A group of the dissenting Puritans, Separatists, had met in the north of England and shared a meeting place at Scrooby Manor but left England for Holland to escape religious prosecution.

Fact 9: John Carver shared the same beliefs and religion of the Scrooby Separatists and joined their community in Leiden

Fact 10: John Carver and Robert Cushman, the Puritan Chief Agent, went to London to act as agents on behalf of the congregation.

Fact 11: They obtained a patent was secured from the Virginia Company in the name of John Wincob on June 9, 1619. The charter was granted with the condition that the Leiden group's religion would not receive official recognition

Fact 12: John Carver and Robert Cushman were also given the responsibility to secure supplies and provisions for the arduous voyage

Fact 13: By 1619, 2 ships called the Mayflower and Speedwell, were leased to take the Leiden separatists, including John Carver, to North America

Fact 14: September 6, 1620: The Mayflower left Plymouth bound for North America. There were 102 passengers on board, living in cold, and dark conditions

Fact 15: The voyage on the crowded Mayflower would take 66 days.

Fact 16: The passengers were not all Puritans and the voyagers fell into 2 groups referred to as the "Strangers" and the "Saints".

Fact 17: The "Saints" and the "Strangers" realised that if they did not work together, they could all die in the wilderness so they came to an agreement on how they would live in the new colony - the document was signed by the men and was called the Mayflower Compact.

Fact 18: The signers of the Mayflower Compact served as the initial government of the colony by electing a governor, enacting laws and admitting others to membership.

Fact 19: The man who was elected as the Governor was John Carver

Fact 20: The notion of self-government had been established in the colonies by the signing of the Mayflower Compact.

Fact 21: In November of 1620 the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Bay.

Fact 22: One of the leading Puritans, John Carver, was elected the first governor of the Plymouth Settlement

Fact 23: The conditions were terrible and the colonists had to find a way to survive. Some of the men including John Carver and William Bradford volunteered to explore the surrounding areas - an extremely dangerous task

Fact 24: The next two expeditions were made on the Mayflower

Fact 25: December 6, 1620: The explorers located present day Plymouth Bay and found some land that had been previously cleared by Native Indians.

Fact 26: December 20, 1620: The colonists moved to the site of the settlement and started to build the first house on Christmas Day.

Fact 27: A terrible epidemic hit many of the colonists. Forty-five of the 102 Pilgrims died that first winter and were buried on Cole's Hill

Fact 28: March 16, 1621: The first formal contact, led by their Governor John Carver, with the Native American Indians. The colonists, pledged peace with Wampanoag Native American Indians led by Chief Massasoit.

Fact 29: April 1621: Governor John Carver collapses and dies. John Carver is elected Governor of the Plymouth Settlement

Fact 30: July 1621: The Native American Indians taught the colonists farming techniques and helped them to survive in the colony.

Fact 31: November 1621: The first Thanksgiving was a sad and solemn affair. Only 53 pilgrims were alive to give thanks to God. Only four adult women had survived to celebrate the First Thanksgiving

Fact 32: By 1623 there were 32 houses and 180 residents at the Plymouth Settlement

Fact 33: In 1630 the Massachusetts Colony was established led by Governor John Winthrop

Fact 34: 1691: The Plymouth Settlement was de-established 1691