Mayflower Compact and Plymouth Colony Government
Historic Document Called for Democratic Self Determination
Oct 1, 2009 Rosemary E. Bachelor
This very short agreement personified the reasons these pilgrims left England and sought religious freedom in America. The essence is this: In England, they were not free to practice their religion, nor could they govern themselves. They could not shape their own destiny.
Text of the Mayflower Compact
The text of the document is brief. It reads:
“In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of 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 advancement of the Christian faith, and honor 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 of another, covenant and combine our selves 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 hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November [New Style, November 21], in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.”
Government: Plymouth Colony vs England
Although the puritans were dissenters, the Mayflower Compact text in some ways demonstrates a connection to England and its king. Indeed, these founders of the Plymouth Colony were still under the jurisdiction of King James. The new colony belonged to England.
The difference between their former life in England and the one the pilgrims chose in America is partially due to the distance and lack of real time communication between the two continents. It was convenient for the king to have them outside of England where they could not easily criticize the Church of England in the presence of its officials and parishioners, nor could they easily attract more followers. In addition, the self-governing that they were permitted to do was meant to relate only to strictly local issues and needs.
The king had not foreseen that American colonists would come up with a more democratic system and eventually, in a spirit of self determinism, band together with other North American colonies to defy their English protectors.
Mayflower Compact Mentions Virginia
Why does this agreement say they are founding a northern Virginia colony? In 1620, European monarchs did not have clear cut information on the size of North America, accurate measurements of distance between settlements, nor ways of precisely determining what parts of this new land belonged to them. Often, Spain or France claimed ownership of the same land England sent settlers to. The matter is even more complex. England sometimes granted the same land to different English subjects.
Mayflower Compact Signers
Having taken care of this important business, the pilgrims soon began sending groups ashore to scout for an ideal place for their settlement, probably not realizing the significance of the document they had just signed and not knowing they had opened a new chapter of human history.
(Companion articles name the signers of the Mayflower Compact and discuss passengers and their descendants.)
Source: Pilgrim Hall Museum
Replica of the Mayflower
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