<P> Captain Jones became master of the Mayflower 11 years prior to the Pilgrims ' voyage , sailing the ship cross-Channel taking English woolens to France and bringing French wine to London . In addition , he had also transported hats , hemp , Spanish salt , hops , and vinegar to Norway , and may have taken the Mayflower whaling in the North Atlantic in the Greenland area . She had traveled to Mediterranean ports , being then owned by Christopher Nichols , Robert Child , Thomas Short , and Christopher Jones , the ship 's master . In 1620 , Jones and Robert Child still owned their quarter shares in the ship , and it was from them that Thomas Weston chartered her in the summer of 1620 to undertake the Pilgrim voyage . Weston had a significant role in the Mayflower voyage , due to his membership in the Company of Merchant Adventurers , and he eventually traveled to the Plymouth Colony himself . </P>
who was the captain of the mayflower when it took the pilgrims to the new world
Captain Jones