What is the Arbella Covenant?

The Arbella Covenant was an agreement signed in 1630 by the passengers of the ship _Arbella_, one of the four vessels with Puritan colonists that made the first trip of the Winthrop Fleet from England to Massachusetts Bay. It outlined the guiding principles of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, establishing the importance of Christian community and individual responsibility. Specifically, the covenant set forth the colonists' commitment to live according to the teachings of the Bible and to establish a society based on religious principles. The covenant was a significant document in the early history of the colony, and it set the tone for the development of Puritan society in Massachusetts.

The following is the text of the Arbella Covenant:

"In the Name of God Amen. We whose names are here underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord King Charles, having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the First Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England; by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Officers from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Ann, aboard the Arrabella, the 6th of March in the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord King Charles, of England, France, and Ireland, the Fourth. Anno Dom. 1629."