Pilgrim Fathers

What was the Mayflower's  original target location  ?

In my continued research  I have found :

(1)  The intended destination was the mouth of Hudson Bay (the general area of present day New York City).

(2)  "Virginia"  in that era was the area from Cape Fear in the south to nearly Quebec in the north.
The Virginia London Co.  was granted the right  to  settle from Cape Fear up to Long Island Sound , and the  Virginia Plymouth Co.  was granted the right to settle from  northern Maine down to the upper Chesapeake  area.   The overlapping area  between  Long Island Sound and the upper Chesapeake area was open to both companies with the restriction neither company could settle within about 100 miles of each other.

(3)   Pilgrims'   land grant through the Virginia London Co.  was for the area at the mouth at the Hudson River.   Nearing shore instead in Cape Cod area not only was outside of the land grant but also beyond the jurisdiction of the Virginia London Co.    An immediate attempt was made to sail southward  to Hudson River but ship was unable to successfully  pass the rough waters so returned to Cape Cod.     Several passengers questioned the legality of settling in unauthorized  and ungoverned area , so the leaders created the Mayflower Compact providing for self-governance.

(4)   Interestingly , at the same time as the  Virginia London Co.  settled Jamestown in the south , the Virginia Plymouth Co.  attempted a settlement  at the mouth of the Kennebec River  near present day Bath, Maine  in the north.


Conclusion :
Pilgrims'   original target destination was the area of the mouth of the Hudson River  in  Virginia ,  but not anywhere near the area  which later  came to be known as the state of Virginia.