no better fortune, and
the discouraged merchants at home, in 1626, broke up their colony and
sold their shipping and most of their other property.[14] Lyford went
to Virginia, where he soon died, and all the other settlers, except
Conant and three others, returned to England.

The colony at Plymouth, in the mean time, was signally prospering, and
soon felt strong enough to dissolve the troublesome relations with the
merchant partners, who had fallen into dissensions among themselves.
For this purpose the colonists made, in 1627, an agreement by which
for L1800, to be paid in nine annual instalments of L200 each, the
colonists were relieved from all vassalage under their original
contract.[15]

Custodians of their own fortunes, they now established trading-posts
at several places on the coast--at Manomet, on Buzzard's Bay (1627),
at Kennebec (1628), and at Penobscot and Machias Bay (1629). In
addition they made arrangements for reunion with their friends in
Holland, one party of whom arrived in 1629 and another in 1630, though
Robinson, the Moses of the Pilgrims, was never permitted to join them,
having died March 1, 1626,[16] in Leyden.

They tried also to obtain a charter from the king, but they never
could get anything better than a fresh patent from the Council for New
England. This patent,[17] dated January 13, 1630, empowered Bradford
and his associates "to incorporate by some usual and fit name and
title him and themselves, or the people there inhabiting under him or
them, with liberty to them and their successors from time to time to
frame and make orders, ordinances, and constitutions" not contrary to
the laws of England or to any government established by the council.

The patent had the merit of defining the extent of territory belonging
to the Plymouth settlers, and granted "all that part of New England in
America aforesaid and Tracte and Tractes of Land that lye within or
betweene a certaine Reuolett or Runlett there commonly called
Coahassett alias Conahassett towards the North and the Riuer commonly
called Narragansett Riuer towards the South and the great Westerne
Ocean towards the East, and betweene, and within a Streight Line
directly Extending up Into the Maine Land towards the west from the
mouth of the said Riuer called Narragansett Riuer to the utmost bounds
of a Country or place in New England Commonly called Pokenacutt als
Sowamsett, westward, and another like Streight line Extending it Self