Of Plymouth
Plantation
Written by
William Bradford
(1590-1657)
Bradford’s Timeline
•1609: Fled to the Netherlands with
the Scrooby Separatists.
•1620: Sailed on the Mayflower to
New England
•1621-1656: Served as governor on
the Mayflower to New England
•1630-1651: wrote Of Plymouth
Plantation
Pertinent Facts about Bradford
• Admired as a Christian and a writer.
• Recounts the history of the Pilgrims
~The tribulations before coming to the New
World
• Son of an English (British) farmer
• Orphaned at 16
• Became a member of Scrooby Separatists
• 1609-Maker of linen & cotton (non prosperous)
• Great supporter of the migration to the New
World.
Pertinent Facts about Bradford
Continued…
• He & his wife, Dorothy, arrived in 1620 on the
Mayflower (they left their young son behind).
• She drowned before they settled at Cape Cod.
• Some people think that she committed suicide.
• He remarried & had three children.
• Good administrator
• Negotiated fairly, but firmly with the Indians
~Example: When an Indian tribe tried to scare
them by sending by sending them a bunch of
arrows wrapped in a snakeskin, Bradford ordered
that the snakeskin be sent back with bullets in it.
Pertinent Facts about Bradford
Continued…
• Not a professional writer
• No one really knows why he felt led to
write Of Plymouth Plantation in 1630.
• Possible reasons why:
– He may have wanted to make sure that the
Pilgrims weren’t overlooked by history.
– Once the colony was established he may
have had more time on his hands for
leisurely writing.
In Class Reading from Chapter 9
• Most famous chapter of this history
• Contains a celebrated contrast between two young
men.
~Ungodly sailor & Godly saint
~One who dies an untimely death & others who
experience a miraculous rescue.
• Paragraph 2
~Uses 3rd Person
-Method of storytelling in which a narrator
relates all action in 3rd person pronouns such as
“he” or “she.”
Chapter 9 Continued…
• He was present with them, yet speaks of them
(Pilgrims) in 3rd person
• Why does he do this?
~Smith did this also.
• Maybe out of modesty or to seem more trustworthy to
his readers
• Biblical Allusions
~God’s providence
• Classical Allusions
~Roman Stoic philosopher, Seneca
• Other imaginative comparisons:
~Plight of the Pilgrims/Paul’s shipwrecked company.
Chapter 9 Continued…
• Pilgrim’s Plight
~Hostile Indians
~Hostile Weather
~Hostile Environment
~Separated from home by ocean
~No ship to retreat to
~Netherland Brethren couldn’t help them.
~They could only look to God for help.
• Final Paragraph
~Filled with scriptural quotations
~Moving testimony to Bradford’s & the Pilgrims’ faith
-The Bible has an uncanny way of soothing the
distressed soul.
In Class Reading from Chapter 11
• Foundation of government for Plymouth
• Some Mayflower passengers didn’t plan on honoring
their previous commitments
~Remember that ½ of them were not Pilgrims, but
strangers (Bradford’s term)
• The rest of the chapter:
~Disastrous first winter (over ½ died)
~Surprising discovery of English speaking Indians
in New England.
~Squanto – “sent by God”
-Corn planting
• Peace until Pequot War in New England
In Class Reading from Chapter 12
• Records what has been called the ‘first
Thanksgiving’
• Edward Winslow’s letter of December 11 ,
1621 is more complete view
• Bradford tells us what New England life was
like.
• Later writers both affirm and contradict
Bradford’s thoughts on New England.