Plymouth Colony (sometimes
New Plymouth, or
Plymouth Bay Colony) was an
English colonial venture in
North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by
Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town of
Plymouth,
Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of the modern state of
Massachusetts.