Final answer:
The Pilgrims drafted the Mayflower Compact to establish self-governance and uphold social order in the absence of an official charter after settling in Plymouth, as they sought religious freedom and landed outside the Virginia Company's jurisdiction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Pilgrims created the Mayflower Compact for several reasons. Firstly, since Plymouth did not lie within the boundaries of the Virginia colony, they had no official charter to govern them upon landing north of the area granted by the Virginia Company. This lack of a charter led them to declare that they would rule themselves, essentially creating a government by social contract. Secondly, contrasting the economic motivations of Jamestown's founders, the Pilgrims sought the New World for religious freedom, wishing to separate from the Church of England. The Mayflower Compact thereby became an agreement of self-government, binding the signatories to uphold a social order and common purpose. With their settlement being in a region called "New England" rather than Virginia, they saw the need to draft a compact that created a government by social contract.
Concerning this government, the executive body consisted of a governor and seven councilors elected annually by the people, with a legislative body initially constituted by the forty-one men who had signed the Mayflower Compact. The Pilgrims adopted the Fundamentals of Plymouth in 1639, recognizing the pre-existing structure, and this included the right to habeas corpus and a jury trial. Although not initially recognized by the Crown, they later received a charter from the Council for New England.