Founding1620
Mayflower Departs England
The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity in the New World. After 66 days at sea, the Pilgrims would establish Plymouth Colony and draft the Mayflower Compact.
Why It Matters
The Mayflower voyage and the subsequent Mayflower Compact, in which the Pilgrims agreed to govern themselves by majority rule, planted early seeds of democratic self-governance in America.