 The " Speedwell " was re @-@ rigged with larger masts before leaving Holland and setting out to meet the " Mayflower " in Southampton , England , around the end of July 1620 . ( The Mayflower was purchased in London . ) The original captains were Captain Reynolds for the Speedwell and Captain Christopher Jones for the Mayflower . Other passengers joined the group in Southampton , including William Brewster , who had been in hiding for the better part of a year , and a group of people known to the Leiden congregation as " The Strangers . " This group was largely made up of people recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide practical assistance to the colony and additional hands to work for the colony 's ventures . The term was also used for many of the indentured servants . 
