when did the mayflower set sail from england
Mayflower In early September, western gales began to make the North Atlantic a dangerous place for sailing. The Mayflower's provisions were already quite low when departing Southampton, and they became lower still by delays of more than a month. The passengers had been on board the ship for this entire time, and they were quite worn out and in no condition for a very taxing, lengthy Atlantic journey cooped up in cramped spaces in a small ship. But the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth on September 6, 1620 with what Bradford called "a prosperous wind".[18]
History of Massachusetts The first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, established their settlement at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag.[6] This was the second successful permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. Before heading to the New World, they migrated to Holland to escape the harsh treatment from King James for rejecting England's official church. Although they were allowed some religious liberties in Holland, the liberalism and openness of the Dutch to all styles of life horrified them. They approached the Virginia Company and asked to settle "as a distinct body of themselves" in America. In the fall of 1620, they sailed to North America on the Mayflower, first landing near the tip of Cape Cod (modern-day Provincetown, Massachusetts). Blown north off its course, the Mayflower landed at a site that had been named Plymouth. Since the area was not land that lay within their charter, they created the Mayflower Compact, one of America's first documents of self-governance, prior to landing. The first year was extremely difficult, with inadequate supplies. They also suffered grievously from smallpox and malaria. They were assisted, however, in their time of trouble by the Wampanoag under-chief Massasoit.