The Winthrop Fleet of 1630

The Winthrop Fleet was a well-planned and well-financed expedition of eleven ships led by Governor John Winthrop, who transported seven-hundred Puritan immigrants in the spring of 1630 from religious turmoil in England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the New World.

Leaving Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
The flagship Arbella, and four other ships assembled in late March of 1630 to leave, but rough weather kept them from sailing. They finally sailed on April 8th from Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight.

Arriving in 1630 in Salem
The first ship arrived on June 13, 1630 in Salem, Massachusetts. Six other ships of the fleet sailed in May, and arrived in July. Although a few of the new arrivals remained in Salem, most moved on to Boston, and other settlements.

A Thousand Started the Voyage
About one thousand Puritans made the epic voyage in 1630 to the New World. However, about two hundred of them died soon after they arrived, and another one hundred returned to England within the first few months on the returning ships.

Envisioning a New World
Winthrop envisioned a new world and said “….that ourselves and posterity may be the better preserved from the common corruptions of this evil world… For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.”

Footnotes:
¹ The flagship ‘Arbella’ was named for Lady Arbella Clinton, daughter of Thomas, the 5th Earl of Lincoln, and wife of Isaac Johnson. She was among the first immigrants to die in 1630 in New England.

² Note: This ship has the same name as, but it is different from, the much more famous ship that landed the Pilgrims in 1620 at Plymouth Rock. The second Mayflower made a voyage from London to Plymouth Colony in 1629, as part of the Higginson Fleet, carrying 35 passengers, many of them from the same Pilgrim congregation in Leiden that organized the 1620 voyage of the first Mayflower. The 1629 voyage of the second Mayflower began in May, and the ship reached the Plymouth Colony in August. The second Mayflower also made the crossing from England to America in 1630 as part of the Winthrop Fleet, and then again in 1633, 1634, and 1639. It attempted the trip a final time in 1641, departing from London in October of that year under master John Cole, with 140 passengers bound for Virginia. However, it never arrived, and was likely lost at sea. A deposition was made on October 18, 1642 in England regarding the loss.

The Winthrop Fleet of 1630

Eleven Ships Sailed to Massachusetts Bay Colony