The Scrooby Puritans made the decision to move to America after reading about the travels and experiences of John Smith in Jamestown in the Generall Historie of Virginia and The True Travels…of Captain John Smith
On the voyage to the new colony 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 Plymouth Colony - the document was signed by the men and was called the Mayflower Compact. The Pilgrims & the Mayflower
The Mayflower Compact served as the basis for the government of the colony by electing a governor, enacting laws and ensuring that there would be law and order in the colony.
John Carver, was elected the first governor of the Plymouth Colony
In November of 1620 the Mayflower ship and the Pilgrims landed in the New World
Their landing place is unsuitable so some of the colonists explore the surrounding area for a better site for the settlement - they are attacked by the Nauset tribe of Indians but no one is hurt
Peregrine White (November 20, 1620 – July 20, 1704) was the first English child born to the Pilgrims in the Plymouth Colony
December 6, 1620: The Plymouth colonists locate present day Plymouth Bay on land that had been previously cleared by Native Indians. They later discovered that it was the Pokanoket Indian village of Patuxet that had been wiped out by an epidemic.
During their third expedition they were attacked in camp early one morning by the Nauset tribe of Indians. Shots and arrows were exchanged, but in the end nobody was injured and the Nauset fled back into the woods.
December 20, 1620: The colonists moved to the site of the settlement and started to build the first house on Christmas Day, 1620.
A terrible epidemic kills half of the Plymouth Colony. 45 of the 102 Pilgrims died that first winter and were buried on Cole's Hill.
February 17, 1621: There next concern at Plymouth Colony was with the Native Indians who had been sighted several times.
The Pokanoket Indians were a leading tribe of the Wampanoag Nation. Their territory was extensive, and known to the Pilgrims before they arrived in the Plymouth Colony. Other tribes such as the Massachusett and the Narragansett also ventured into these territories
One of the leading colonists, William Bradford, had heard that the powerful Pokanoket Indians bore "an inveterate malice to the English". Their desire of revenge had been sparked by Thomas Hunt of the Jamestown Colony who had captured some peaceful Pokanoket Indians and murdered them on his ship.
March 16, 1621: The colonists had a meeting with the Indians and pledged peace with the Pokanoket, Wampanoag Native American Indians led by Chief Massasoit. One of the Indians, Tisquantum aka Squanto, was able to speak English.
April 1621: Governor John Carver dies and William Bradford is elected Governor of the Plymouth Settlement.
July 1621: The Pokanoket Native American Indians feel sympathy for the people in the Plymouth Colony and teach them farming techniques and help the colonists to survive
The military leader, Myles Standish and the new Governor William Bradford had the difficult task of reacting to threats against both the Pilgrims and the Pokanoket Indians from tribes such as the Massachusett, Nauset and Narragansett tribes.
November 1621: The first Thanksgiving was a solemn affair. Only 53 pilgrims were alive to give thanks. The Pokanoket was the tribe of the Wampanoag Nation that had the "first Thanksgiving" with the Pilgrims.
In November 1621 a second ship, the Fortune, is sent by the Merchant Adventurers. The ship arrived with 37 new settlers who were mostly friends and relatives of the colonists
The death of two Massachusett chiefs during an altercation with Captain Myles Standish of Plymouth Colony in 1623 caused the Massachusett to avoid further contact with the colonists
In July 1623 Two More Ships arrive with more settlers for the Plymouth Colony
By 1623 there were 32 houses and 180 residents at the Plymouth Colony
In 1625, another group of English settlers settled in Mount Wollaston (nicknamed Merrymount) in what is now Quincy, Massachusetts, about 27 miles (43 km) north of the Plymouth Colony
Merrymount was led by Thomas Morton. The behaviour of these new colonists was totally unacceptable to the Puritans and Myles Standish led an expedition to arrest Morton and oust the "unpuritanical" colonists
In 1626 Isaac Allerton, was successful in negotiating new terms with the Merchant Adventurers, and the settlers in the Plymouth Colony paid off their debt to the Merchant Adventurers.
In 1627 each family in the colony were allocated large farms along the shore of the present-day towns of Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury and Marshfield
In 1628 English forces captured a French Trading Post and turned it over to Plymouth Colony.
In 1630 the Massachusetts Colony was established led by Governor John Winthrop
In 1635, the French mounted a small expedition and reclaimed the lucrative trading post settlement from the English.
The General Court of the Plymouth Colony instituted a legal code, the first in North America, on October 4, 1636. It guaranteed citizens a trial by jury
Myles Standish was unable to defeat the French and asked the Massachusetts Colony for help - but they refused. This is indication of the animosity that building up between the two colonies in Massachusetts.
In 1686, the entire region was reorganized under a single government known as the Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England included the colonies of Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. In 1688 New York, West Jersey, and East Jersey were added.
in April 1688 Plymouth Colony revolted and withdrew from the Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England was dissolved during the Glorious Revolution of 1688
A new charter was issued, annexing Plymouth Colony to Massachusetts Bay Colony. The official date of the proclamation ending the existence of Plymouth Colony was October 17, 1691
The new charter was not put into force until the arrival of the new charter on May 14, 1692 |
