There were 102 men, women and children that journeyed on the Mayflower. There were two groups of passengers on the Mayflower. One group who would later be known as “Pilgrims” were a group who originally formed in the town of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire England. but later fled to Leyden, Holland in 1608 because of religious persecution. They were referred to as “Separatists” because they believed the Protestant church should be separate from the Church of England and traditions that carried over from the Catholic church should be removed from the Protestant religion. This put them at odds with the English monarchy as they are the head of the Church of England. They stayed in Holland for 11-12. Fearing another war with Spain and wanting their children to grow up with their customs and not that of their Dutch hosts they departed to start a colony in North America years before departing to the New World.

The other group were referred to by the Separatists as “Strangers” were passengers from various parts of England who were not necessarily part of the religious movement but provided passage money which helped finance the voyage as well as providing skills and labor that would be needed for the new colony. They and the Mayflower joined with the Leyden congregation sailing on the Speedwell in Southhampton England.

Because they did not have the money to finance such a trip, they created a company with a group of London financiers who were called the Merchant Adventurers. These financiers agree to supply ships and supplies in turn the colonist would send fish, timber, furs  back to England for a seven year period.  All the land and houses would also belong to the investors until the end of the seven year period. By 1625, the Plymouth Company ( a group of colonists) had bought all the shares for 1800 pounds and the colonists paid them back over 23 years.

For more information, please see:

pilgrimhall.org

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