The Mayflower Compact was a historic agreement signed by most of the male passengers aboard the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620 (Old Style calendar), just before they landed at what became Plymouth Colony in present- day Massachusetts. It was created because the ship landed outside the bounds of the Virginia Company's charter, making their legal authority to settle uncertain. To maintain order and establish a legitimate government, the signers agreed to form a "civil body politic" and to enact and obey "just and equal laws" for the good of the colony. This compact bound the settlers to obey the government and legal system they would establish

. The Mayflower Compact was not a constitution but rather a social contract and a provisional form of self-government. It expressed loyalty to the English king but emphasized governance based on the consent of the governed, marking an important step in the development of democratic government in America. The Compact remained in effect until Plymouth Colony was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691

. Although the original document has been lost, early copies with slightly different wording survive in writings by Edward Winslow, William Bradford, and Nathaniel Morton. The Compact was signed by 41 men aboard the Mayflower, including Pilgrims (Separatists) and other settlers

. In summary, the Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony, establishing a self-governing community based on majority rule and mutual consent to laws for order and survival in the New World