Settlement FAQs

was plymouth the first settlement

by Mr. Jeff Reilly Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Traveling aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, 104 men landed in Virginia in 1607 at a place they named Jamestown. This was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Thirteen years later, 102 settlers aboard the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts at a place they named Plymouth.Feb 26, 2015

Full Answer

How did Plymouth become a settlement?

  • Plymouth, the shire town of the county and capital of the colony. ...
  • Bridgewater, purchased from Massasoit by Myles Standish, and originally named Duxburrow New Plantation, it was incorporated as Bridgewater in 1656.
  • Duxbury, founded by Myles Standish, it was incorporated in 1637. ...
  • Marshfield, settled 1632, incorporated 1640. ...

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Was Plymouth really the first settlement in New England?

Though more than half of the original settlers died during that grueling first winter, the survivors were able to secure peace treaties with neighboring Native American tribes and build a largely self-sufficient economy within five years. Plymouth was the first colonial settlement in New England. The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor.

Why did the settlement at Plymouth thrive?

Why did Plymouth begin to thrive after its first year while Jamestown struggled for many years? a. Plymouth's long growing season allowed for greater agricultural productivity. b. The religious discipline of the Plymouth settlers encouraged their stronger work ethic.

What settlement was first Plymouth or Jamestown?

Jamestown was indeed the first permanent English colony, but Plymouth brought unique elements that Jamestown did not possess, and thus was first in other areas. As I hope to show, both colonies have produced unique blessings all Americans can celebrate in this, the beginning of America’s 400th birthday.

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Was Plymouth one of the first colonies?

Plymouth was the first colony in the region, but it was much smaller than Massachusetts Bay Colony by the time they merged.

Why was the first settlement named Plymouth?

Plymouth Colony First colonial settlement in New England (founded 1620). The settlers were a group of about 100 Puritan Separatist Pilgrims, who sailed on the Mayflower and settled on what is now Cape Cod bay, Massachusetts. They named the first town after their port of departure.

Who first settled in Plymouth?

'Pilgrim' became (by the early 1800s at least) the popular term applied to all the Mayflower passengers - and even to other people arriving in Plymouth in those early years - so that the English people who settled Plymouth in the 1620s are generally called the Pilgrims.

Was Plymouth or Roanoke first?

Oh, and check out Roanoke Island, N.C., site of the lost colony of 1587, the first attempted permanent English settlement. It vanished. PLYMOUTH, MASS. Why it's important: First permanent colony in New England, settled in December 1620.

Which came first Plymouth or Jamestown?

Traveling aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, 104 men landed in Virginia in 1607 at a place they named Jamestown. This was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Thirteen years later, 102 settlers aboard the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts at a place they named Plymouth.

How were Jamestown and Plymouth different?

Unlike the settlers of Jamestown, the Pilgrims of Plymouth were dissenters from the Church of England, and found freedom to practice their religious beliefs in the “New World”. Although their reasons for settling were different, the settlements had many similar experiences.

What was Plymouth known for?

Plymouth played a very important role in American colonial history. It was the final landing site of the first voyage of the Mayflower and the location of the original settlement of Plymouth Colony.

What was the name of the first English settlement in New England?

In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Was Jamestown or Plymouth more successful?

Ultimately, Plymouth created a larger impact on modern US history, and due to their relations with Native Americans, they created a lasting survival and economy. Jamestown, being the first successful colony, faced problems that decimated most of its settlers.

What did Croatoan mean?

council townA scholar of Algonquian linguistics has suggested that the word "Croatoan" means "council town" or "talk town," which likely indicates the residence of an important leader and a place where councils were held. Archaeological remains of at least two other Croatoan villages have been located elsewhere on Hatteras Island.

Why is Roanoke called The Lost Colony?

Following the failure of the 1585 settlement, a second expedition, led by John White, landed on the same island in 1587, and set up another settlement that became known as the Lost Colony due to the subsequent unexplained disappearance of its population.

Where was the word Croatoan found?

Roanoke IslandCROATOAN was the sole complete word found on Roanoke Island by John White on 18 Aug. 1590 in his search for the English colonists, including his granddaughter Virginia Dare, whom he had left there three years earlier.

What was Plymouth known for?

Plymouth played a very important role in American colonial history. It was the final landing site of the first voyage of the Mayflower and the location of the original settlement of Plymouth Colony.

What was the purpose of Plymouth?

Plymouth colony was founded by the Plymouth Company during the Great Puritan Migration. The Plymouth Company was a joint stock company founded in 1606 by King James I with the goal of establishing settlements along the east coast of North America.

What is Plymouth Colony also known as?

Plymouth, town (township), Plymouth county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on Plymouth Bay, 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Boston. It was the site of the first permanent settlement by Europeans in New England, Plymouth colony, known formally as the colony of New Plymouth.

What was the name of the first English settlement in New England?

In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Who founded the Plymouth colony?

Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of English Puritans who came to be known as the Pilgrims. The core group (roughly 40% of the adults and 56% of the family groupings) were part of a congregation led by William Bradford. They began to feel the pressures of religious persecution while still in the English village of Scrooby, near East Retford, Nottinghamshire. In 1607, Archbishop Tobias Matthew raided homes and imprisoned several members of the congregation. The congregation left England in 1608 and emigrated to the Netherlands, settling first in Amsterdam and then in Leiden.

How long has the Plymouth colony been around?

The events surrounding the founding and history of Plymouth Colony have had a lasting effect on the art, traditions, mythology, and politics of the United States of America, despite its short history of fewer than 72 years.

Why did Squanto stay in Plymouth?

After the departure of Massasoit and his men, Squanto remained in Plymouth to teach the Pilgrims how to survive in New England, such as using dead fish to fertilize the soil. For the first few years of colonial life, the fur trade was the dominant source of income beyond subsistence farming, buying furs from Natives and selling to Europeans. Governor Carver suddenly died shortly after the Mayflower returned to England. William Bradford was elected to replace him and went on to lead the colony through much of its formative years. : 102–103

How many people were in Plymouth County in 1643?

In 1643, the colony had an estimated 600 males fit for military service, implying a total population of about 2,000. The estimated total population of Plymouth County was 3,055 by 1690, on the eve of the colony's merger with Massachusetts Bay.

What are the traditions of the Plymouth Colony?

Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.

What colony was founded by Puritan Separatists?

At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of Massachusetts . Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of Puritan Separatists initially known as the Brownist Emigration, who came to be known as the Pilgrims.

What was the name of the colony in 1620?

Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was an English colonial venture in America from 1620 to 1691 at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most ...

Where did the name Plymouth come from?

Plymouth notably lent its name to the settlement of Plymouth, Massachusetts following the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower in 1620, as well as many other settlements in North America.

Why was Plymouth important to the British?

With its natural harbour and open access to the Atlantic, the town found wealth and a national strategic importance during the establishment of British naval dominance in the colonisation of the New World. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers departed from Plymouth to establish the second English colony in America.

What was Plymouth known for?

The History of Plymouth in Devon, England, extends back to the Bronze Age, when the first settlement began at Mount Batten a peninsula in Plymouth Sound facing onto the English Channel. It continued as both a fishing and continental tin trading port through the late Iron Age into the Early Medieval period, until the more prosperous Saxon settlement of Sutton, later renamed Plymouth, surpassed it. With its natural harbour and open access to the Atlantic, the town found wealth and a national strategic importance during the establishment of British naval dominance in the colonisation of the New World. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers departed from Plymouth to establish the second English colony in America. During the English Civil War the town was besieged between 1642 and 1646 by the Royalists, but after the Restoration a Dockyard was established in the nearby town of Devonport (later amalgamated with Plymouth). Throughout the Industrial Revolution Plymouth grew as a major mercantile shipping industry, including imports and passengers from the US, whilst Devonport grew as a naval base and ship construction town, building battleships for the Royal Navy – which later led to its partial destruction during World War II in a series of air-raids known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war was over, the city centre was completely rebuilt to a new plan.

Why is Sutton called Plymouth?

As the higher parts of the Plym estuary silted up, ships used the Cattewater moorings and the then tidal harbour at the Plym's mouth instead of Plympton. And so the name of the town Sutton slowly became Plymouth. The name Sutton still exists in the name of its old harbour and a parliamentary division.

Where are the bones found in Plymouth?

The 'bone caves', located at Cattedown, Oreston, Turnchapel and Stonehouse, contain extensive Upper Palaeolithic deposits, including those of Homo sapiens, some of the earliest such evidence in England. A reindeer bone from one of the Cattedown caves ...

What was the castle in Plymouth?

In the late fifteenth century Plymouth Castle, a "castle quadrate", was constructed close to the area now known as The Barbican; it included four round towers, one at each corner, as featured on the city coat of arms. The castle served to protect Sutton Pool, which is where the fleet was based in Plymouth prior to the establishment of Plymouth Dock. In 1512 an Act of Parliament was passed for further fortifying Plymouth, and a series of fortifications were then built including defensive walls at the entrance to Sutton Pool (across which a chain would be extended in time of danger). Defences on St Nicholas Island also date from this time, and a string of six artillery blockhouses were built (including one on Fishers Nose at the south-eastern corner of the Hoe). This location was further strengthened by the building of a fort (later known as Drake's Fort) in 1596, which itself went on to provide the site for the Citadel, established in the 1660s.

Who owned the town of Sutton?

That part of the town owned by Plympton Priory was granted a market charter in 1254, and the whole town and its surrounding area achieved municipal independence in 1439, becoming the first town to be incorporated by Act of Parliament .

Where did the Mayflower sail?

On September 16, the Mayflower departed Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists—half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs—had been authorized to settle by the British crown. In a difficult Atlantic crossing, the 90-foot Mayflower encountered rough seas and storms and was blown more than 500 miles off course.

Where did the Mayflower come to anchor?

He was the first English child born in New England. In mid-December, the explorers went ashore at a location across Cape Cod Bay where they found cleared fields and plentiful running water, and they named the site Plymouth. The expedition returned to Provincetown, and on December 21 the Mayflower came to anchor in Plymouth harbor. Two days later, the pilgrims began work on dwellings that would shelter them through their difficult first winter in America.

What was the Mayflower Compact?

Along the way, the settlers formulated and signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that bound the signatories into a “civil body politic.” Because it established constitutional law and the rule of the majority, the compact is regarded as an important precursor to American democracy. After a 66-day voyage, the ship landed on November 21 at the tip of Cape Cod at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts.

What happened to the Plymouth colony in 1621?

In March 1621, they abandoned the safety of the ship and moved ashore permanently.

What was the first permanent settlement in New England?

Robert Longley. Updated November 17, 2020. Established in December 1620 in what is now Massachusetts, the Plymouth Colony was the first permanent settlement of Europeans in New England and the second in North America, coming just 13 years after the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. While perhaps best known as the source ...

How many descendants of the Plymouth Pilgrims are there?

Since its founding in 1897, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants has confirmed more than 82,000 descendants of the Plymouth Pilgrims, including nine U.S. presidents and dozens of notable statespersons and celebrities.

Where did the pilgrims arrive in 1620?

An engraving depicts the arrival of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, on the coast of what became Massachussetts, 1620. Getty Images. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government. He has written for ThoughtCo since 1997.

Where did the Mayflower dock?

After sending an exploratory party ashore, the Mayflower docked near Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts on December 18, 1620. Having sailed from the port of Plymouth in England, the Pilgrims decided to name their settlement Plymouth Colony.

When did the Mayflower sail to Plymouth Rock?

After the Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy, 102 Pilgrims, led by William Bradford, crowded aboard the 106-foot Mayflower and set sail for America on September 6, 1620. After two difficult months at sea, land was sighted on November 9 off the coast of Cape Cod.

What happened to the settlers in 1621?

In March 1621, they abandoned the safety of the ship and moved ashore permanently. During their first winter, more than half of the settlers died of a disease that afflicted the colony. In his journal, William Bradford referred to the first winter as the “Starving Time.”.

When did the Plymouth colony start to divide its assets?

1626: ♦ The colony builds its first trading house at Aptucxet on the south western side of the cape. May 1627: ♦ Plymouth Colony begins to divide its major assets, beginning with livestock. January 1628: ♦ The Plymouth court distributes land, about 20 acres per share, to the colonists.

When did the Plymouth colony merge with the Massachusetts Bay colony?

Plymouth Colony continued until 1691 when it was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony. The following is a timeline of Plymouth Colony: 1606: ♦ Plymouth Company was chartered by King James I with the goal to establish English colonies along the east coast of North America. 1607:

What village did the pilgrims choose to live in?

The pilgrims decide to sail further south and arrive in Plymouth that evening. ♦ On December 20, The pilgrims choose an abandoned Wampanoag village, called Patuxet, for their new home. ♦ On December 21, Richard Bitteridge dies.

What was the first colony in Massachusetts?

Plymouth Colony was the first official colony in Massachusetts. It was settled by a group of Separatist Puritans from England in 1620. Many historic events took place at Plymouth Colony, such as the First Thanksgiving in 1621 when the pilgrims held a harvest celebration and invited the local Wampanoag tribe to the feast.

When did the Plymouth colonists rescue Squanto?

August 1621: ♦ On August 14, Myles Standish and a handful of Plymouth colonists embark on a rescue mission to save Squanto after he was taken prisoner by a local native tribe. The colonists find Squanto unharmed and bring him back to Plymouth. September – October 1621:

When did the pilgrims meet the Wampanoag?

He tells them about Squanto and the other natives and arranges a meeting for them. ♦ Squanto, Massosoit and the other Wampanoag meet the pilgrims about four or five days later. April 1621: ♦ On April 1, Plymouth colonists form an alliance with the Wampanoag and sign the Pilgrim-Wampanoag treaty.

What happened in 1630?

September 1630: ♦ On September 30, 1630, Plymouth colonist John Billington is hanged for murdering a fellow colonist John Newcomen. it is the first official execution in the North American colonies. October 1630: ♦ The Handmaid arrives in Plymouth with 60 new colonists.

What is the Plymouth Colony?

Between 1620 to 1691 the English explorers formed a colony in America called the Plymouth Colony. It is sometimes spelled as Plimouth Colony.

Where did the Mayflower land?

Finally, on November 11, the Mayflower landed at the Princetown Harbor. Because the passengers did not have a patent to live in this area many of them complained about the legality of anchoring there.

What was the second English colony to become a successful colony?

After Jamestown in Virginia, the Plymouth Colony was the second English venture that became successful in America. The Chief of Wampanoag called Massasoit played a key role in successfully establishing a treaty between the settlers and the native tribes. A member of the Patuxet tribe called Squanto also helped them out.

What was the first document that the colonists wrote?

To solve this problem, the colonists wrote their first official document called the Mayflower Compact while they were still on board.

Why was the departure from Southampton delayed?

The departure from Southampton was delayed for a few more days because the Merchant Adventurers and the settlers couldn’t agree on a few terms.

What caused the water leaks on the Pilgrims?

The first month of sailing was relatively easy as the winds supported the journey of the Pilgrims, but soon the North Atlantic winds damaged the ship causing various water leaks.

When was Massachusetts Bay merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

The colony was combined with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 after King Philip’s War. It was called the Province of Massachusetts Bay thereafter.

What happened before the Pilgrims arrived?

Prior to the Pilgrims' arrival, an epidemic wiped out the majority of the New England Indians. Several survivors befriended and assisted the colonists. Good relations ended in 1636 when the Massachusetts Bay Puritans declared war on the Pequot Tribe and Plymouth was dragged into the conflict. LEGENDS.

How many settlers were there on the Mayflower?

Thirteen years later, 102 settlers aboard the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts at a place they named Plymouth. With these two colonies, English settlement in North America was born. Jamestown offered anchorage and a good defensive position. Warm climate and fertile soil allowed large plantations to prosper.

What was the name of the church that the Pilgrims founded?

The Pilgrims were dissenters from the Church of England and established the Puritan or Congregational Church. GOVERNMENT. In 1619, the first representative legislative assembly in the New World met at the Jamestown church. It was here that our American heritage of representative government was born.

Why did the Pilgrims leave England?

Freedom from religious persecution motivated the Pilgrims to leave England and settle in Holland, where there was more religious freedom. However, after a number of years the Pilgrims felt that their children were being corrupted by the liberal Dutch lifestyle and were losing their English heritage.

What were the causes of the Jamestown incident?

Inexperience, unwillingness to work, and the lack of wilderness survival skills led to bickering, disagreements, and inaction at Jamestown. Poor Indian relations, disease, and the initial absence of the family unit compounded the problems.

How many people landed in Jamestown?

Jamestown and Plymouth: Compare and Contrast. Traveling aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, 104 men landed in Virginia in 1607 at a place they named Jamestown. This was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Thirteen years later, 102 settlers aboard the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts at a place they named ...

What were the reasons for the colonization of Virginia?

REASONS FOR THE COLONIES. Economic motives prompted colonization in Virginia. The Virginia Company of London, organized in 1606, sponsored the Virginia Colony. Organizers of the company wanted to expand English trade and obtain a wider market for English manufactured goods.

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Journey to The New World

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Among the group traveling on the Mayflower in 1620 were close to 40 members of a radical Puritan faction known as the English Separatist Church. Feeling that the Church of Englandhad not sufficiently completed the necessary work of the Protestant Reformation, the group had chosen to break with the church altogether…
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The First Thanksgiving

  • In the Fall of 1621, the Pilgrims famously shared a harvest feast with the Pokanokets; the meal is now considered the basis for the Thanksgivingholiday. It took place over three days between late September and mid-November and included feasting as well as games and military exercises. Most of the attendees at the first Thanksgiving were men; 78 percent of the women who travele…
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The Mayflower Compact

  • All the adult males aboard the Mayflower had signed the so-called Mayflower Compact, a document that would become the foundation of Plymouth’s government. It was written after a near mutiny on board the Mayflower. Forty-one of the Mayflower’s 102 passengers were Pilgrims, separatists seeking religious freedom who referred to the rest of the travelers as “strangers.” Th…
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Governor William

  • William Bradford(1590-1657) was a leader of the Separatist congregation, a key framer of the Mayflower Compact, and Plymouth’s governor for 30 years after its founding. He is credited with drafting major parts of Plymouth’s legal code and creating a community focused on religious tolerance and an economy centered on private agriculture. READ MORE: 7 Famous Mayflower D…
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Growth and Decline of The Plymouth Colony

  • With peace secured thanks to Squanto, the colonists in Plymouth were able to concentrate on building a viable settlement for themselves rather than spend their time and resources guarding themselves against attack. Squanto taught them how to plant corn, which became an important crop, as well as where to fish and hunt beaver. Though Plymouth would never develop as robust …
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Plymouth Plantation

  • Today, the original colony of Plymouth is a living museum, a recreation of the original seventeenth-century village. Visitors can taste colonial food, see a restored Mayflower II and attend reenactments of the first Thanksgiving, when the Wampanaogs joined the settlers to celebrate the autumn harvest.
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Overview

Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was an English colonial venture in America from 1620 to 1691 at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of Massachusetts.

Geography

Without a clear land patent for the area, the settlers settled without a charter to form a government and, as a result, it was often unclear in the early years what land was under the colony's jurisdiction. In 1644, "The Old Colony Line"—which had been surveyed in 1639—was formally accepted as the boundary between Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth.

History

Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of English Puritans who came to be known as the Pilgrims. The core group (roughly 40% of the adults and 56% of the family groupings) were part of a congregation led by William Bradford. They began to feel the pressures of religious persecution while still in the English village of Scrooby, near East Retford, Nottinghamshire. In 1607, Archbishop Tob…

Life

The most important religious figure in the colony was John Robinson, an original pastor of the Scrooby congregation and religious leader of the separatists throughout the Leiden years. He never actually set foot in New England, but many of his theological pronouncements shaped the nature and character of the Plymouth church. For example, Robinson stated that women and men have dif…

Government and laws

Plymouth Colony did not have a royal charter authorizing it to form a government, yet some means of governance was needed. The Mayflower Compact was the colony's first governing document, signed by the 41 Puritan men aboard the Mayflower upon their arrival in Provincetown Harbor on November 21, 1620. Formal laws were not codified until 1636. The colony's la…

Demographics

The settlers of Plymouth Colony fit broadly into three categories: Pilgrims, Strangers, and Particulars. The Pilgrims were a Puritan group who closely followed the teachings of John Calvin, like the later founders of Massachusetts Bay Colony to the north. (The difference was that the Massachusetts Bay Puritans hoped to reform the Anglican church from within, whereas the Pilgrims saw it as a morally defunct organization and removed themselves from it.) The name "P…

Economy

The largest source of wealth for Plymouth Colony was the fur trade. The disruption of this trade caused by Myles Standish's raid at Wessagussett created great hardship for the colonists for many years and was directly cited by William Bradford as a contributing factor to the economic difficulties in their early years. The colonists attempted to supplement their income by fishing; the waters in Cape Cod bay were known to be excellent fisheries. However, they lacked any skill in t…

Legacy

The events surrounding the founding and history of Plymouth Colony have had a lasting effect on the art, traditions, mythology, and politics of the United States of America, despite its short history of fewer than 72 years.
The earliest artistic depiction of the Pilgrims was actually done before their arrival in America; Dutch painter Adam Willaerts painted a portrait of their depar…

Overview

The History of Plymouth in Devon, England, extends back to the Bronze Age, when the first settlement began at Mount Batten a peninsula in Plymouth Sound facing onto the English Channel. It continued as both a fishing and continental tin trading port through the late Iron Age into the Early Medieval period, until the more prosperous Saxon settlement of Sutton, later renamed Plymouth, surpass…

Toponymy

For much of its earlier history, the settlement here was known as Sutton (Sutona in 1086, Suttona in 1201), simply meaning South town. It was based near Sutton Harbour, the oldest quarter of the modern city. The modern name has two parts: Plym and mouth. The element Plym is taken from the River Plym along which Sutton traded with its parent settlement of Plympton, but Plympton's name (first recorded as Plymentun in c. 900) is considered to derive from the Old English word fo…

Early history

The earliest human remains in the Plymouth area are from a number of caves around Plymouth Sound. The 'bone caves', located at Cattedown, Oreston, Turnchapel and Stonehouse, contain extensive Upper Palaeolithic deposits, including those of Homo sapiens, some of the earliest such evidence in England. A reindeer bone from one of the Cattedown caves is dated 15,125 ± 390 years B…

Renaissance age

During the 16th century, Plymouth was the home port for a number of successful maritime traders, among them William Hawkins, who made the first English expeditions to West Africa in the 1530s; and his son Sir John Hawkins, who led England's first foray into the slave trade.
The diary of his own son Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins inspired the Victorian novel Westward …

Civil War, Restoration and William III

Truly, my lords, if this town be lost all the West will be in danger to follow it.— Admiral Warwick, Plymouth, August 1644
During the English Civil War Plymouth, in common with the other major port towns, sided with the Parliamentarians and so was isolated from the surrounding regions of Devon and Cornwall which were held by Royalist sympathisers. The town was besieged almost continuously from Decembe…

Napoleonic era

The 18th century marked a period of continued expansion and development for the ancient port town: the first theatre in Plymouth was built 1762, followed by the town's first bank in 1772. Similar growth took place in the two neighbouring towns of Stonehouse and Devonport (Plymouth-Dock). At Stonehouse was built the Royal Marine Barracks, 1782, and the Royal Naval Hospital built 1762;. At D…

Modernisation and urbanisation

By comparison with the earlier eras, the later 19th century marked a period of consolidation and modernisation of a relatively stable military port industry, gradual decline in the importance of commercial trade and some growth in passenger shipping at the Millbay Docks which set the template until well into modern period. The railways arrived early in Plymouth, with industrial tramway…

See also

• Timeline of Plymouth
• Fortifications of Plymouth

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