At 180 tons, carrying 102 passengers and two patents authorizing the people to settle in the northern part of the London Company's jurisdiction, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620, headed for New England. The journey required 65 days, with the Pilgrims' sighting Cape Cod on November 19. Unable to get to the land for which they were contracted, they anchored at the site of Provincetown to plan their next move. The Pilgrims were English separatists who broke away from the Church of England, emigrated to Amsterdam to escape persecution, moved to Leiden the following year (1609), and after 12 years were unhappy enough to seek a better situation for themselves.