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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1620 September 16 Mayflower departs England On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the Americas 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. However, stormy weather and navigational errors forced the Mayflower off course, and on November 21 the “Pilgrims” reached Massachusetts, where they founded the first permanent European settlement in New England in late December. READ MORE: How the Mayflower Compact Laid a Foundation for American Democracy The expedition returned to Provincetown, and on December 21 the Mayflower came to anchor in Plymouth harbor