Governor of Plymouth Colony
The Plymouth Colony originated as a land grant issued by the London Virginia Company to a group of English separatist Puritans who had fled to Holland to avoid religious persecution. Their migration to the New World in 1620 aboard the Mayflower was funded by the Merchant Adventurers, who sent additional settlers to engage in profit-making activities in the colony.[1] The settlers had intended to establish a colony near the mouth of the Hudson River, within the bounds of the London Virginia Company's territory, but weather conditions on their arrival led them to establish it instead on the shores of Cape Cod Bay at Plymouth, Massachusetts.[2] The colonists acquired a land grant from the Plymouth Council for New England in 1621,[3] but its early governance took place under the terms of the Mayflower Compact, a document which the colonists drafted and signed aboard the Mayflower before they landed.[2] In 1630, the colony acquired a formal charter with authority to govern from the Plymouth Council, but it was unsuccessful in attempts to acquire a royal charter that would guarantee its territory against other claimants.
| # | Governor | Took office | Left office | Deputy governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | John Carver | November 11, 1620 | died April 15, 1621[4] | The colony had no deputy governors until 1681; the governor named a pro tem governor when he was absent. |
| 2nd | William Bradford | May 1621 | January 1, 1633 | |
| 3rd | Edward Winslow | January 1, 1633 | March 27, 1634 | |
| 4th | Thomas Prence | March 27, 1634 | March 3, 1635 | |
| 5th | William Bradford | March 3, 1635 | March 1, 1636 | |
| 6th | Edward Winslow | March 1, 1636 | March 7, 1637 | |
| 7th | William Bradford | March 7, 1637 | June 5, 1638 | |
| 8th | Thomas Prence | June 5, 1638 | June 3, 1639 | |
| 9th | William Bradford | June 3, 1639 | June 5, 1644 | |
| 10th | Edward Winslow | June 5, 1644 | June 4, 1645 | |
| 11th | William Bradford | June 4, 1645 | died May 9, 1657[5] | |
| 12th | Thomas Prence | June 3, 1657 | June 3, 1673 | |
| 13th | Josiah Winslow | June 3, 1673 | December 18, 1680 | |
| 14th | Thomas Hinckley | December 18, 1680 | 1686 | James Cudworth (1681–82) |
| William Bradford the Younger (1682–86) | ||||
| Dominion of New England | 1686 | 1689 | Not applicable | |
| 15th | Thomas Hinckley | 1689 | 1692 | William Bradford the Younger (1689–92) |
| Source unless otherwise cited: Gifford et al., p. 205; Capen, p. 53 | ||||