 In 1625 , Plymouth Colony leaders appointed Standish to travel to London to negotiate new terms with the Merchant Adventurers . If a settlement could be reached and the Pilgrims could pay off their debt to the Adventurers , then the colonists would have new rights to allot land and settle where they pleased . Standish was not successful in his negotiations and returned to Plymouth in April 1626 . Another effort was successful later in 1626 , this time negotiated by Isaac Allerton , and several leading men of Plymouth , including Standish , paid off the colony 's debt to the Adventurers . 
