Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 to 1691 and the second permanent English colony in America, after Jamestown Colony. The New England colonies were part of the Thirteen Colonies and eventually became five of the six states of New England, a region encompassing the six states of the northeastern US.
Plymouth Colony was settled by the 102 passengers of the Mayflower, a small wooden sailing ship on which English colonists, the so-called Pilgrims, arrived in North America in 1620. The settlement served as the colony’s capital and developed as the city of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The colony was founded by a group of Puritan separatists who became known as the Pilgrims. They made a treaty with the chief of the Wampanoag tribe, who assisted and supported them. Legend has it that Thanksgiving was first celebrated after a successful harvest in 1621. The Pilgrims, along with the Wampanoag tribe, celebrated this success.
