The famous ship the Mayflower can be dated back to 1609, when it was used as a merchant ship. In 162o, a Thomas Weston and John Carver hired the Mayflower and the Speedwell to undertake the voyage to plant a colony in Northern Virginia. The Speedwell turned out to be a leaky ship and could not make the famous voyage. Captain Christopher Jones left Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers on September 6, 1620. Of these 102 passengers there was 3 pregnant …showed first 75 words of 299 total…

…showed last 75 words of 299 total…they had sailed farther up the coast to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. For the next month they explored this area, particularly Provincetown Harbor. Because the Pilgrims had no legal right to settle this area, they drew up the Mayflower compact. This created their government. They elected John Carver as their governor. A month later on December 12th, they began exploring Plymouth Harbor, where they settled and established the first English Colony in America that would endure.