TIMED HURRY PLS We . . . having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage . . . covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic . . . to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, 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.

–Mayflower Compact, 1620

Unlike a proprietary colony, which a proprietor governed with almost total authority, the Mayflower Compact shows that the Pilgrims envisioned a society where colonists

renounced their loyalty to any kind of ruler.
agreed to hold elections in which all residents could vote.
agreed to govern their colony for the common good.
cut off all commercial ties to England.