New England

Abstract

After Captain John Smith left Virginia, albeit under a cloud, he explored the northeastern coast of North America looking for a location for a fishing and trading venture. He found such a place on the rocky coast of New England and returned to England to persuade the investors in the Plymouth Company that a business venture there was possible. Having been stung once before in the failure of the Sagadahoc investment, the company proposed to limit the enterprise to 40 eminent persons. Of those, Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore was one and Sir Ferdinando Gorges was another. While Baltimore eventually interested himself in the Chesapeake, Gorges took the lead in the organisation of the Plymouth venture. The venture was to be set up along the lines of Virginia under Sir Edwin Sandys in 1618. Once the area was under patent, the company would grant patents to groups who would in turn settle the area. The profits would then come to the company through quitrents and payments on the development of the colony’s natural resources.