The Mayflower Compact
The coast of New England was no unknown shore. During the years from 1607
to 1620, while settlers were founding permanent colonies at Jamestown and
in Bermuda, explorers and fishermen, both English and French, had skirted
its headlands and penetrated its harbors. In 1614, John Smith, the famous
Virginia pioneer, who had left the service of the London Company and was
in the employ of certain London merchants, had explored the northern coast
in an open boat and had given the region its name. These many voyages and
ventures at trading and fishing served to arouse enthusiasm in England for
a world of good rivers and harbors, rich soil, and wonderful fishing, and
to spread widely a knowledge of the coasts from Newfoundland to the Hudson
River. Of this knowledge the Pilgrims reaped the benefit, and the captain
of the Mayflower, Christopher Jones, against whom any charge of treachery
may be dismissed, guided them, it is true, to a region unoccupied by
Englishmen but not to one unknown or poorly esteemed. The miseries that
confronted the Pilgrims during their first year in Plymouth colony were
not due to the inhospitality of the region, but to the time of year when
they landed upon it; and insufficiently provisioned as they were before
they left England, it is little wonder that suffering and death should
have accompanied their first experience with a New England winter.
This little group of men and women landed on territory that had been
granted to the New England Council and they themselves had neither patent
for their land nor royal authority to set up a government. But some form
of government was absolutely necessary. Before starting from Southampton,
they had followed Robinson's instructions to choose a governor and
assistants for each ship "to order the people by the way "; and now that
they were at the end of their long voyage, the men of the company met in
the cabin of the Mayflower, and drew up a covenant in accordance with
which they combined themselves together into a body politic for their
better ordering and preservation. This compact, signed by forty-one
members, of whom eleven bore the title of "Mister," was a plantation
covenant, the political counterpart of the church covenant which bound
together every Separatist community. It provided that the people should
live together in a peaceable and orderly manner under civil authorities of
their own choosing, and was the first of many such covenants entered into
by New England towns, not defining a government but binding the settlers
to unite politically as they had already done for religious worship. John
Carver, who had been chosen governor on the Mayflower, was confirmed as
governor of the settlement and given one assistant. After their goods had
been set on shore and a few cottages built, the whole body "mette and
consulted of lawes and orders, both for their civil and military
governmente, still adding therunto as urgent occasion in severall times,
and as cases did require."
Of this courageous but sorely stricken community more than half died
before the first winter was over. But gradually the people became
acclimated, new colonists came out, some from the community at Leyden, in
the Fortune, the Anne, the Charity, and the Handmaid, and the numbers
steadily increased. The settlers were in the main a homogeneous body, both
as to social class and to religious views and purpose. Among them were
undesirable members — some were sent out by the English merchants and
others came out of their own accord — who played stool-ball on Sunday,
committed theft, or set the community by the ears, as did one notorious
offender named Lyford. But their number was not great, for most of them
remained but a short time, and then went to Virginia or elsewhere, or were
shipped back to England by the Pilgrims as incorrigibles. The life of the
people was predominantly agricultural, with fishing, salt-making, and
trading with the Indians as allied interests. The partners in England sent
overseas cattle, stock, and laborers, and, as their profits depended on
the success of the settlement, did what they could to encourage its
development. The position of the Pilgrims was that of sharers and partners
with the merchants, from whom they received directions but not commands.
But under the agreement of 1620 with their partners in London, which
remained in force for seven years, the Plymouth people could neither
divide their land nor dispose of the products of their labor, and so
burdensome became this arrangement that in 1623 temporary assignments of
land were made which in 1624 became permanent. As Bradford said, and his
comment is full of wisdom :
The experience that was had in this commone
course and condition, tried sundrie years, and that amongst
godly and sober men, may well evince the vanitie of that
conceite of Platos and other ancients, applauded by some of
later times; that the taking away of propertie, and bringing
in communitie into a comone wealth, would make them happy and
florishing; as if they were wiser then God. For this comunitie
(so farr as it was) was found to breed much confusion and
discontent, and retard much imployment that would have been to
their benefite and comforte. For the yong-men that were most
able and fitte for labour and service did repine that they
should spend their time and streingth to worke for other mens
wives and children, with out any recompence. The strong, or
man of parts, had no more in devission of victails and
cloaths, than he that was weake and not able to doe a quarter
the other could; this was thought injuestice. The aged and
graver men to be ranked and equalised in labours, and
victails, cloaths, etc., with the meaner and yonger sorte,
thought it some indignitie and disrespect unto them. And for
mens wives to be commanded to doe servise for other men, as
dresing their meate, washing their cloaths, etc., they deemd
it a kind of slaverie, neither could many husbands well brooke
it. Source: History of Plimouth Plantation, by William Bradford |
Back to: Plymouth and New England Colonies