first governor of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth in New England.

Originally a prosperous businessman when the English Separatists in Leiden decided to emigrate to North America, Carver obtained financial backing for the trip and chartered the Mayflower. He was elected governor on Nov. 21, 1620, after the signing of the Mayflower Compact. His major accomplishment was the establishment of a treaty of alliance between the Indian chief Massasoit and James I of England.