In 1620, a year after the London Virginia Company issued a land charter to the Pilgrim congregation under William Brewster, the Virginia Company of Plymouth, or Plymouth Company was, after years of disuse, revived and reorganized as the Plymouth Council for New England. The Plymouth Company had 40 patentees at that point and established the Council for New England to oversee their efforts. The leading merchant-adventurer of the new company was Sir Ferdinando Gorges.
Although he never set foot in New England himself, in 1622, Ferdinando Gorges, along with John Mason, received a land patent, from the Plymouth Council for New England for the Province of Maine, the original boundaries of which were between the Merrimack and Kennebec rivers.[35][36] "Ye Province of Maine" had its birth in this charter, dated 10 August 1622, in the reign of England's King James. A reconfirmed and enhanced 1639 charter from England's King Charles I, gave Sir Ferdinando Gorges increased powers over this new province and stated that it "shall forever hereafter, be called and named the PROVINCE OR COUNTIE OF MAINE, and not by any other name or names whatsoever..."[37][38] In 1629,Gorges and Mason divided the colony, with Mason's portion south of the Piscataqua River becoming the Province of New Hampshire. [39] Gorges and his nephew established Maine's first court system. (Wikipedia – History of Maine)
Another patentee and member of the Council was Capt. Christopher Levett, early English explorer of the New England coast, writer and naval captain who would attempt his own settlement at present-day Portland, Maine. Levett's attempt to establish a colony in Maine ultimately failed, and he died aboard ship returning to England after meeting with Governor John Winthrop in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.[41][42]
The Plymouth Council for New England surrendered its charter to the crown in 1635 and ceased to exist as a corporate entity.
Also in 1622, Merchant Adventurer Thomas Weston of London, who had helped finance the Pilgrims' Plymouth Colony, tried to set up a colony at Wessagusset, later renamed Weymouth. Weston was not interested in religious freedom like the Pilgrims or Puritans. He didn’t care much about setting up a colony for future generations. He was interested in making money. He obtained a grant to 6,000 acres of land in Massachusetts Bay and bought two ships – the “Charity”, 100 tons, and the “Swan” – 30 tons, as well as a smaller vessel – the “Sparrow”. Weston had learned about the New England coast from those who had been there. He also had a map made by John Smith in 1614 which included Boston Bay, and what is now Weymouth. Smith had described the region as the “Paradise of New England.”
In 1622 Weston sent the “Sparrow” to New England prepare the way for the arrival of a larger group of men he proposed to send out on the other two ships. The Sparrow stopped first at the fishing station at Damariscove Island in Maine. From there a few men took a smaller boat, called a shallop to explore the coast. They were looking for a good place for a trading post and they found an excellent area along the Fore River in Massachusetts Bay called “Wessagusset” in the Indian tongue spoken there.
Weston’s men sailed on down to Plymouth Colony, arriving at the same time as the Charity and the Swan in late summer. And they were all men – no women, no families. That was what Weston wanted. They were said to be 30 servants and 30 gentlemen, but both the number and the type of men is uncertain. As with the Englishmen at Fort James, these men were not prepared to be colonists. They did not know how to take care of themselves in an undeveloped land. In particular, they failed to provide a storehouse of food for the cold weather to come. They existed hand-to-mouth, using up the fish and other food they acquired and saving nothing for later-on. They built a fort and huts, but they had no skills and no provisions for hunting, planting, or fishing. The Pilgrims had Squanto to teach them these things. Weston’s men had no such help. Some starved. In “A Voyage to New England” which was written at that time, Christopher Levett said they went about to build Castles in the Aire. His opinion may have been on solid ground.
Once they realized they were in trouble, the Wessagusset men joined with the Plymouth Colony settlers for some foraging and trading expeditions, and they did bring home some food. But by late winter, they ran out again. They then turned to the Indians and here again, they failed in their dealings. They traded for corn, giving up clothes and blankets or performing services for them like cutting wood. This did not gain them respect. Ten settlers in all died through hardship or disease and when some of them began to steal corn from the Indians, things got worse. The Weston people strengthened their stockade when the Indians, particularly a man named Wituwaumet and one called Pecksuot, threatened the Wessagusset settlers. There had recently been a massacre of settlers by Indians in Virginia, and the news had reached Wessagusset, making the settlers wary of Indians. The news may also have emboldened the Indians, who had been afraid of the firearms the white settlers carried.
Phineas Pratt, a leader of the Wessagusset contingent, believed from the actions of the Indians that they were planning an attack, both at Wessagusset and at Plymouth Colony, when the snow melted. He decided to go to Plymouth Colony on foot by night to warn them. However, when he arrived, he learned that Massasoit, in gratitude to Edward Winslow who had nursed him through a serious illness, had already told the people there about the plan to attack.
The Plymouth Colony group had already discussed the situation and decided to take action. They sent Myles Standish and eight other armed men via boat to Wessagusset. Accounts of the skirmish that came the next day, April 6, 1623, differ somewhat. One version says Standish lured Pecksuot, Wituwaumet, and some others into the stockade for a feast. (There are claims that the food was drugged.) Five Englishmen and four Indians were present. Standish had hoped for more Indians, but the two strongest fighters were there so he proceeded with his plan.
At a signal the doors were closed, and Standish grappled with Pecksuot and wrested his knife from its sheath, at last killing him with it. Wituwaumet was also killed as was one other Indian, while the last escaped. Wituwaumet was beheaded and his head was taken to Plymouth Colony where it was displayed at the fort as a warning.
At Standish’s advice, most of the Wessagusset settlers went to Plymouth Colony or to the fishing stations on the Maine coast. According to Pratt, three remained at Wessagusset and were killed by the Indians.
In September 1623, six months after the killings at the fort, another group arrived. They were led by Sir Ferdinando Gorges’ son, Capt. Robert Gorges, who had received a grant from the government. In an effort to start a real colony, there were about 120 passengers from Weymouth, England in the “Katherine” and the “Prophet Daniel”, including both men and women. Gorges was a member of the Church of England, and in the party were two ministers – Rev. William Morell and Rev. William Blaxton. The weather off the coast of Massachusetts was stormy with cross winds and they were forced to seek shelter at Wessagusset, farther south than they had planned. They took possession of the abandoned fort that had been built there and may have added buildings since they were a larger group.
Robert Gorges’ stay, too, was short-lived. He received a message from his father back in England, advising him to return home. There was bad financial and political news. Gorges and some of his settlers returned to England in the spring of 1624. Others joined the people in Plymouth, or the Maine fishing stations. The Rev. Morell went back to England in 1625. But a few, including John Bursley and William Jeffrey, stayed and continued the settlement at Wessagusset, while others arrived in small numbers over the next several years.
By this time, there were remnants of previous colonization attempts all along the coast of Massachusetts: