Expansion of Plymouth Colony (1620s)

Timeline

1. 1621Plymouth · MassachusettsAfter the harsh winter of 1620–1621, about 50 survivors remained; Wampanoag allies such as Squanto taught them corn cultivation and fishing and hunting skills. The autumn 1621 harvest was bountiful and a thanksgiving celebration was held, moving the colony from the brink of collapse to barely attaining self-sufficiency.
2. 1624–1628Cape Cod and the area around Plymouth Bay · MassachusettsSettlers established scattered farms along Plymouth Bay, Duxbury, and elsewhere; the population gradually grew to 300–400. Fishing, furs, and corn exports supported limited trade with England and neighboring colonies.
3. 1627Plymouth · MassachusettsTo free themselves from debt to the London Adventurers' Company, the colonists in 1627 reorganized, mortgaging livestock and land, into a local trading company, the "New Plymouth Adventurers," increasing their economic autonomy and providing an institutional precedent for the larger migration wave of the 1630s.