<P> Captain John Smith of Jamestown fame had explored the area in 1614 and is credited with naming the region of New England . He named many locations using approximations of Native American words . The future site of the Pilgrim's first settlement was originally named "Accomack" by Smith . In consultation with Prince Charles, son of King James, Smith changed "Accomack" to New Plymouth . A map published in his 1616 work A Description of New England clearly shows the site of the future Pilgrim settlement named "New Plimouth ." </P> <P> In the Mayflower settlers' first explorations of Cape Cod, they came across evidence that Europeans had previously spent extensive time there . They discovered remains of a European fort and uncovered a grave that contained the remains of both an adult European male and a Native American child . </P> <P> The Mayflower anchored at Provincetown Harbor on November 11, 1620 . The Pilgrims did not have a patent to settle this area; thus, some passengers began to question their right to land, complaining that there was no legal authority to establish a colony . In response to this, a group of colonists drafted and ratified the first governing document of the colony, the Mayflower Compact, while still aboard the ship as it lay off - shore . The intent of the compact was to establish a means of governing the colony, though it did little more than confirm that the colony would be governed like any English town . It did, however, serve the purpose of relieving the concerns of many of the settlers . This social contract was written and signed by 41 Separatist men . It was modeled on the church covenants that Congregationalists used to form new congregations . It made clear that the colony should be governed by "just and equal laws," and those who signed it promised to keep these laws . </P> <P> The group remained on board the ship through the next day, a Sunday, for prayer and worship . The immigrants finally set foot on land at what became Provincetown on November 13 . The first task was to rebuild a shallop, a shallow draft boat that had been built in England and disassembled for transport aboard the Mayflower . It would remain with the Pilgrims while the Mayflower returned to England . On November 15, Captain Myles Standish led a party of sixteen men on an exploratory mission, during which they disturbed a Native American grave and located a buried cache of Indian corn . The following week, Susanna White gave birth to son Peregrine White on the Mayflower . He was the first English child born to the Pilgrims in the New World . The shallop was finished on November 27, and a second expedition was undertaken using it, under the direction of Mayflower master Christopher Jones . Thirty - four men went, but the expedition was beset by bad weather; the only positive result was that they found a Native burial ground and corn that had been intended for the dead, taking the corn for future planting . A third expedition along Cape Cod left on December 6; it resulted in a skirmish with local Native Americans known as the "First Encounter" near modern - day Eastham, Massachusetts . The colonists decided to look elsewhere, having failed to secure a proper site for their settlement, and fearing that they had angered the local Native Americans by robbing their corn stores and firing upon them . The Mayflower left Provincetown Harbor and set sail for Plymouth Harbor . </P>

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