title: Dorchester Company
text: # Dorchester Company
  
  The Dorchester Company of Adventurers was a Joint Stock Company established in 1623 in England to enable the English colonisation of North America It was founded at the instigation of the puritan Anglican churchman, John White. Although the company only existed for three years it played a significant role in the later development of the Massachusetts Bay Company. The company was a commercial organisation which aimed to provide a safe haven on the North American Coast where supplies could be stored. This was established at Cape Ann.
  
  The company had 119 members, six of whom were to go and join the Massachusetts Bay Company.
  
  