The Plymouth Colony Archive Project. Mayflower. This voyage has become an iconic story in the earliest annals of American history with its tragic story of death and of survival in the harshest New World winter environment. The culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact is one of the greatest moments in the story of America, providing the basis of the nation's present form of democratic self-government and fundamental freedoms. Early history From the Port Books of England in the reign of James I (1603-1625), there were twenty-six vessels bearing the same name as the Pilgrim ship and the reason for such popularity has never been found.[6] A particular Mayflower that has caused historical confusion is a Mayflower erroneously named as the Mayflower of the 1620 Pilgrims.
This particular ship was partly owned by John Vassall and was outfitted for Elizabeth I of England in 1588 during the time of the Spanish Armada, a war for which he outfitted several ships. Voyage About August 5, the two ships set sail. Passengers. DC Mayflower Society. The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Maryland. Maryland Mayflower Society. Mayflower And Early Families. The Mayflower Society: General Society of Mayflower Descendants.