Mayflower Compact
Encyclopedia
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
. Almost half of the colonists were part of a separatist group seeking the freedom to practice Christianity according to their own determination and not the will of the Anglican Church. It was signed on November 11, 1620 (OS
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
), by 41 of the ship's 101 passengers, while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor
Provincetown Harbor
Provincetown Harbor is a large natural harbor located in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The harbor is mostly 30 to deep and stretches roughly one mile from northwest to southeast and two miles from northeast to southwest, i.e., one large, deep bowl with no dredged channel necessary for...
within the hook at the northern tip of Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
.
Reasons for the Compact
The Mayflower was originally bound for the mouth of the Hudson RiverHudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, in land granted in a patent from the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
to the London Virginia Company. The decision was made instead to land farther north, in what is now Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. This inspired some of the "strangers" (colonists who were not members of the congregation of religious dissenters leading the expedition) to proclaim that since the settlement would not be made in the agreed-upon Virginia territory, they "would use their own liberty; for none had power to command them...." To prevent this, many of the other colonists decided to establish a government. The Mayflower Compact was based simultaneously upon a majoritarian
Majoritarianism
Majoritarianism is a traditional political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society...
model (even though the signers were not in the majority) and the settlers' allegiance to the king. It was in essence a social contract
Social contract
The social contract is an intellectual device intended to explain the appropriate relationship between individuals and their governments. Social contract arguments assert that individuals unite into political societies by a process of mutual consent, agreeing to abide by common rules and accept...
in which the settlers consented to follow the compact's rules and regulations for the sake of survival.
In November 1620, the Mayflower landed at Plymouth, named after the major port city in Devon, England from which the Mayflower sailed. The settlers named their settlement "Plimoth" or "Plimouth", old English spellings of the name.
Text
Although the original document has been lost, three versions exist from the 17th century: printed in Mourt's RelationMourt's Relation
The book Mourt's Relation was written primarily by Edward Winslow, although William Bradford appears to have written most of the first section...
(1622), which was reprinted in Purchas his Pilgrimes (1625), hand written by William Bradford
William Bradford (1590-1657)
William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation...
in his journal Of Plimoth Plantation (1646), and printed by Bradford's nephew Nathaniel Morton
Nathaniel Morton
Capt. Nathaniel Morton was a Separatist settler of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, where he served for most of his life as Plymouth's secretary under his uncle, Governor William Bradford...
in New-Englands Memorial (1669). The three versions differ slightly in wording and significantly in spelling, capitalization and punctuation. William Bradford wrote the first part of Mourt's Relation, including the compact, so he wrote two of the three versions. The wording of those two versions is indeed quite similar, unlike that of Morton. Bradford's hand written manuscript is kept in a vault at the State Library of Massachusetts.
| 1622 | IN the name of God, Amen. We whose names are vnder-written, the loyall Subiects of our dread soveraigne |
|---|---|
| 1646 | In y name of God Amen· We whose names are vnderwriten, the loyall subjects of our dread soueraigne |
| 1669 | In the Name of God, Amen. We whose Names are under-written, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Soveraign |
| 1622 | Lord King I, by the grace of God of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c. |
| 1646 | Lord King James by y grace of God, of great Britaine, franc, & Ireland king, defender of y faith, &c. |
| 1669 | Lord King James, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defendor of the Faith, &c. |
| 1622 | Having vnder-taken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and honour of our King and Countrey, |
| 1646 | haueing vndertaken, for y glorie of God, and aduancemente of y Christian faith and honour of our king & countrie, |
| 1669 | Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our K[i]ng and Countrey, |
| 1622 | a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the Northerne parts of V, doe by these presents solemnly & mutually in the |
| 1646 | a voyage to plant y first colonie in y Northerne parts of Virginia· doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in y |
| 1669 | a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents solemnly and mutually, in the |
| 1622 | presence of God and one of another, covenant, and combine our selues together into a civill body politike, for our better |
| 1646 | presence of God, and one of another, couenant & combine our selues togeather into a ciuill body politick; for our better |
| 1669 | presence of God and one another, Covenant and Combine our selves together into a Civil Body Politick, for our better |
| 1622 | ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by vertue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame |
| 1646 | ordering & preseruation & furtherance of y ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof, to enacte, constitute, and frame |
| 1669 | ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid: and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute and frame |
| 1622 | such iust and equall Lawes, Ordinances, acts, constitutions, offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet |
| 1646 | such just & equall lawes, ordinances, Acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete |
| 1669 | such just and equal Laws, O[r]dinances, Acts, Constitutions and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet |
| 1622 | and convenient for the generall good of the Colony: vnto which wee promise all due submission and obedience. |
| 1646 | & conuenient for y generall good of y colonie: vnto which we promise all due submission and obedience. |
| 1669 | and convenient for the general good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. |
| 1622 | In witnesse whereof we haue here·vnder suscribed our names. Cape Cod 11. of November, in the yeare of the raigne of our |
| 1646 | In witnes wherof we haue herevnder subscribed our names at Cap-Codd y ·11· of Nouember, in y year of y raigne of our |
| 1669 | In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our Names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our |
| 1622 | soveraigne Lord King I, of England, France, and Ireland 18. and of Scotland 54. Anno Domino 1620. |
| 1646 | soueraigne Lord king James, of England, france, & Ireland y eighteenth and of Scotland y fiftie fourth. An: Dom. ·1620· |
| 1669 | Soveraign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty fourth, Anno Dom. 1620. |
| Note | All occurrences of long s Long s The long, medial or descending s is a form of the minuscule letter s formerly used where s occurred in the middle or at the beginning of a word, for example "ſinfulneſs" . The modern letterform was called the terminal, round, or short s.-History:The long s is derived from the old Roman cursive... , ſ or  , have been replaced by modern s. |
| Mourt (1622) | Bradford (1646) | Morton (1669) |
|---|---|---|
| and honour | and honour | and the honour |
| one of another | one of another | one another |
| to enact | to enacte | do enact |
| offices | and offices | and Officers |
| here vnder | hereunder | hereunto |
| Cape Cod 11. | at Cap-Codd y 11. | at Cape Cod the eleventh |
| in the yeare of the raigne | in y year of y raigne | in the Reign |
| 18. | y eighteenth | the eighteenth |
| 54. | y fiftie fourth | the fifty fourth |
The 'dread sovereign' referred to in the document used the archaic definition of dread—meaning awe and reverence (for the King), not fear. Also, as noted above, the document was signed under the Old Style Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, since England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
until 1752. The Gregorian date would be November 21.
Signers
The following list of 41 male passengers who signed was supplied by Bradford's nephew Nathaniel MortonNathaniel Morton
Capt. Nathaniel Morton was a Separatist settler of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, where he served for most of his life as Plymouth's secretary under his uncle, Governor William Bradford...
in his 1669 New England's Memorial. The two earlier versions of the compact, Mourt's Relation (1622) and Bradford's manuscript Of Plimoth Plantation (1646), do not give a list of signers.
The same list in the same order but with some corrections was provided by Thomas Prince in his 1736 A Chronological History of New-England in the form of Annals. Prince added the title Mr. to ten names, which he found in a list at the end of Governor Bradford's folio manuscript: Carver, Winslow, Brewster, Isaac Allerton, Samuel Fuller, Martin, Mullins, White, Warren, and Hopkins. He attributed the lack of Mr. Bradford to Bradford's modesty. He also added Capt. to Standish. He corrected the spelling of five names: John Crackston, Moses Fletcher, Degory Priest, Richard Briterige, and Ed Dotey. In addition, he spelled Francis Cook and Richard Clarke. However William Bradford
William Bradford (1590-1657)
William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation...
's journal Of Plymouth Plantation
Of Plymouth Plantation
Written over a period of years by the leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation is the single most complete authority for the story of the Pilgrims and the early years of the Colony they founded...
is definitive that both Francis Cooke and Richard Clarke had an "e" at the end of their last names.