The Plymouth Company is an English joint-stock company established in 1606 by Jacob I to colonize the coast of North America . Simultaneously with the Plymouth company, the London company was established for the same purpose, and both of them were part of an association called the Virginia Company , modeled on the Society of Merchants-Seekers .
The company received rights to the territory of the Atlantic coast of North America between 38 and 45 parallels, which roughly corresponds to the section from the Chesapeake Bay to the modern American-Canadian border. At the same time, the area between the 38 and 41 parallels was common for the two companies, provided that the construction of a new settlement would maintain a distance of at least 100 miles to the colonies of the rival company.
In 1607, the Poughham colony was founded at the mouth of the Kennebec River (now the territory of Maine ). In the same year, the London company founded the colony of Jamestown , but unlike the latter, Popeham existed for only a year.
In 1609, the Plymouth company ceased to exist, and most of its land was transferred to the London company , but 11 years later it was revived in the form of the Plymouth Council for New England .