William Bradford (1590 - 1657)

About thirteen years after the first permanent English settlement was extablished by Captain John Smith in Jamestown, another group of colonists, known as Pilgrims, landed on the shore of what is now Massachusetts. William Bradford, one of their leaders, recorded the experiences of these early settlers in a factually accurate account.

Born in Yorkshire, England, William Bradford was devoted to religion early in life. Bradford had little formal education. His father died when he was a child, and he was raised by his grandparents and uncles. Because he felt the Church of England was corrupt, at the age of twelve or thirteen, he joined a group of extremists who wanted religion to return to its early, "pure"roots. The Puritans wanted to separate themselves from it entirely and in the face of physical and legal persecution they first fled to Holland. Here, Bradford worked as a weaver, but soon left with several others to establish a settlement in the New World.

After a very difficult voyage aboard the Mayflower, a small ship with a cracked main beam, the Pilgrims reached North America in November, 1620. They had intended on landing in Virginia, but landed hundreds of miles north at the tip of Cape Cod. Searching the coast in a small boat, they decided to settle in what is now Plymouth. It was mid-December before they could build shelters and everyone could move ashore. During those weeks searching for a place to land, Bradford's wife fell overboard and was drowned.

Once ashore, the Pilgrims encountered not only the hardships that Smith experienced, but also a harsh New England winter. There was also a great deal of bickering about the rules of their charter since it was for Virginia. To silence the argument, Bradford and the other leaders drew up the "Mayflower Compact." This is the first agreement for self-government made in the New World and served as a model for following settlements.

After the death of their first governor, the Pilgrims elected William Bradford as their leader. Bradford was reelected governor thirty times. During his tenure as governor, he organized the repayment of debts financial backers, encouraged new immigration, and established good relations with the Native Americans, without whose help the colony never would have survived. Also he is credited with the establishment of such democratic institutions as the town meeting and majority vote.

In 1630 Bradford began writing Of Plymouth Plantation, an account of the Pilgrims' voyage to the New World, the founding of Plymouth, and the Pilgrims' experiences during the early years of the colony's existence. Bradford's work, which was not published until nearly 200 years after he died in 1856, provides a firsthand view of the Pilgrims' struggle to endure and the courage and unbending religious faith that helped them survive. Written in the simple language that has come be known as Puritan plain style, Of Plymouth Plantation stands as a tribute to the fortitude of Bradford and the other Pilgrim settlers.

Got questions or comments? Email Me

Return to class index