FREEDOM SHRINE

The Mayflower Compact

1620

• The Mayflower Compact was a set of governing guidelines established by the colonial English passengers of the Mayflower ship. The Mayflower Compact established one of the first forms of colonial governance in American territories. In November of 1620, the male colonists signed the Compact into effect, which established their continued loyalty to the King of England, the colonists would act in the interests of the colony, and that the colonists would adhere to the Christian faith. The significance of the Mayflower Compact lies in the fact that it was the first form of colonial self-governance on the North American continent outside of direct British rule.