The town of Plymouth is very popular with American and foreign tourists. The main attraction is a reconstructed Quaker village that re-enacts the lifestyle of the first immigrants to America.
The rock where these first settlers tied their boat to dock is encased in a monument to protect it from the weather and souvenir seekers that wish to take back a piece of early American history. The rock is small, and those who expect to see a monument which is as formidable as the legend of Plymouth Rock might be a little disappointed.
Plymouth Colony was the first permanent Puritan settlement in America. It was established in December 1620 on the western shore of Cape Cod Bay by the Pilgrims who obtained the right to establish an American settlement from the London Company. When they landed their famous ship, the Mayflower, at Cape Cod in November 1620, the settlers were put far beyond that company's jurisdiction, and there was talk of mutiny. The Pilgrim leaders therefore established a governing authority through the Mayflower Compact (Nov. 21, 1620).
The first winter was harsh enough that over half of the colonists died.
The Pilgrims were taught how to plant corn and where to fish and trap beaver by a local Indian named Squanto. It was difficult still to subsist on infertile land and an inadequate seaport. (Boston later grew to significance as a result of its excellent harbor.)
Plymouth became part of the Dominion of New England in 1686, and when it was overthrown in 1689, Plymouth reestablished its government. In 1691, it was joined to the healthier colony of Massachusetts Bay to form the royal province of Massachusetts. The population of Plymouth Colony at the time was between 7,000 and 7,500 residents.
