The Mayflower Compact<span> was the first agreement for self-government to be created and enforced in America. On September 16, 1620 the </span>Mayflower<span>, a British ship, with 102 passengers, who called themselves Pilgrims, aboard sailed from Plymouth, England. They were bound for the New World.</span>
Many fled political and religious persecution. Others hoped to improve their condition by owning their own land or by participating in the fur trade. Some came as servants.
