Plymouth Colony | |||||||||||
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| 1620–1686 1689–1691 | |||||||||||
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 Plymouth Colony town locations[image reference needed] | |||||||||||
| Status | Self-governing colony of England | ||||||||||
| Capital | Plymouth 41°50′42″N 70°44′19″W / 41.8450°N 70.7387°W | ||||||||||
| Common languages | English | ||||||||||
| Religion | Puritanism | ||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||
• 1620–1621 | John Carver (first) | ||||||||||
• 1689–1692 | Thomas Hinckley (last) | ||||||||||
| Legislature | General Court | ||||||||||
| Historical era | British colonization of the Americas Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640) | ||||||||||
| 1620 | |||||||||||
| 1621 | |||||||||||
| 1636–1638 | |||||||||||
• New England Confederation formed | 1643 | ||||||||||
| 1675–1676 | |||||||||||
• Disestablished, reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay | 1686 1689–1691 | ||||||||||
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Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of what is now the southeastern portion of Massachusetts. Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.[1]: 2
Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of Protestant Separatists initially known as the Brownist Emigration, who came to be known as the Pilgrims. The colony established a treaty with Wampanoag Chief Massasoit which helped to ensure its success; in this, they were aided by Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe. Plymouth played a central role in King Philip's War (1675–1678), one of several Indian Wars, but the colony was ultimately merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Despite the colony's relatively short existence, Plymouth holds a special role in American history. Most of the citizens of Plymouth were fleeing religious persecution and searching for a place to worship as they saw fit, rather than being entrepreneurs like many of the settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. The social and legal systems of the colony became closely tied to their religious beliefs, as well as to English custom.[1]: 2