<P> The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony . It was written by the male passengers of the Mayflower, consisting of separatist Congregationalists who called themselves "Saints", and adventurers and tradesmen, most of whom were referred to by the Separatists as "Strangers". Later both groups were referred to as Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers . The Separatists were fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England . </P> <P> The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard ship on November 11, 1620 by the Pilgrims . They used the Julian Calendar, also known as Old Style dates, which, at that time, was ten days behind the Gregorian Calendar . Signing the covenant were 41 of the ship's 101 passengers, while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor within the hook at the northern tip of Cape Cod . </P> <P> The Mayflower was originally bound for the Colony of Virginia, financed by the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London . Storms forced them to anchor at the hook of Cape Cod in what is now Massachusetts; it was unwise to continue with provisions running short . This inspired some of the Strangers to proclaim that, since the settlement would not be made in the agreed - upon Virginia territory, they "would use their own liberty; for none had power to command them ." To prevent this, the Pilgrims chose to establish a government . The Mayflower Compact was based simultaneously upon a majoritarian model (taking into account that women and children could not vote) and the settlers' allegiance to the king . It was in essence a social contract in which the settlers consented to follow the compact's rules and regulations for the sake of order and survival . The Pilgrims had lived for some years in Leiden, a city in the Dutch Republic . "Just as a spiritual covenant had marked the beginning of their congregation in Leiden, a civil covenant would provide the basis for a secular government in America ." </P> <P> In November 1620, the Mayflower anchored at what is now Plymouth, named after the major port city in Devon, England from which she sailed . The settlers named their settlement "New Plimoth" or "Plimouth", the most common spelling used by William Bradford in his journal Of Plimoth Plantation . </P>

The document in which the pilgrims established a civil government