Plymouth Company | Colonial America, Mayflower, Pilgrims | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Also called:

Virginia Colony of Plymouth

Plymouth Company, commercial trading company chartered by the English crown in 1606 to colonize the eastern coast of North America in present-day New England. Its shareholders were merchants of Plymouth, Bristol, and Exeter. Its twin company was the more successful Virginia Company. The Plymouth Company established a colony on the coast of Maine in 1607 but soon abandoned it. Inactive after 1609, it was reorganized under a new charter in 1620 as the Council for New England. See also chartered company.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Maren Goldberg.