William Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation A Background & Summary

BACKGROUND: Only about twenty-four of the Mayflower's one-hundred-odd passengers were Puritans, but that small band sweftly shaped the face of the new settlement. Although ravaged by malnutrition and illness, the tiny group carved a firm niche in the wild land they named New England.

The Puritans conquered the wilderness with courage, hard work, and perseverance. The heart-breaking struggle for existence in the New World reinforced their belief that life was filled with endless toil and suffering. Ironically, though the Pilgrims embarked on their voyage seeking religious freedom, they eventually became as rigid, humorless, and jugemental as their persecutors.

This small group of settlers held with the German reformer Martin Luther that no one had the right to impose any law upon any individual without his consent. They also followed the teachings of John Calvin, the French Protestant reformer, who believed that God alone selects people for salvation. For Puritans, the Bible provided a complete body of laws, governing every facet of life.

Of Plymouth Plantation was not intended for publication. Indeed, it was not published until 1856, when the manuscript was found in a library in London. Bradford kept his chronicle for essentially practical reasons; such a detailed account would greatly help future settlers in their attempt to tame the wilderness. It remains one of the primary sources for information about the early days of the "Pilgrims."

SUMMARY: In the first of these excerpts from Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford ford relates how the religious faith of the settlers helped them face the hardships of the New World. The first excertp describes the voyage. During an especially fierce storm, the boat develops leaks and one of the main beams cracks. Repairs are made, and the Puritans, placing their fate in God's hands, continue on their voyage. A sailor swept overboard is rescued. Only one passenger dies during the voyage.

The second excerpt describes the Puritans' first winter in the New World. More than half the one hundred settlers die from starvation and disease. The settlers help each other through this "starving time," but the seamen, fearing infection, cruelly cheat and desert the sick among them and end up worse off than the Pilgrims.

The final excerpt explains how the English-speaking Indians Samoset and Squanto help the settlers make a peace treaty with the Indian leader Massasoit. Squanto remains with the settlers until his death, acting as interpreter, teacher, and guide.

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