An Analysis Of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation

In the stories “The general history of Virginia” by John Smith and “Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford, there are many similarities and differences between these two.

In the text it states “ I had gotten into a world of bad spirits” (Equiano 58). Equiano referred to his captors as bad spirits because as soon as he arrived on the boat he was roughed up by the captors. He called the captors savages because he had never been around people like them. In the text Bradford states “ He directed them how to set their corn where to take fish and produce other commodities” (Bradford 11). This shows how the pilgrims became accustomed to being around the Native Americans. They were so kind to them that the Pilgrims were no longer scared , and they learned skills to live.

The ideal most important to early colonists’ survival and success was piety. One way we see this is in William Bradford’s text, “Of Plymouth Plantation”. Bradford states, “Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity.” This explains the pilgrim’s belief, that without God they would have succumbed to the harsh way of life. Piety in this moment was vital to the pilgrim’s survival, without their strong belief in God they wouldn’t have had the will to survive. Evidence of piety can also be seen in “A Model of Christian Charity”, by John Winthrop. “We must delight in each other, make others’ conditions

The stories called “The General History of Virginia” and “Of Plymouth Plantation” are both similar and dissimilar stories. These stories were journals of two different people going through the process of building their own town. Even though these stories are very much different from each other, they both talk about the same thing. They both want to build a town where the number of population is very high. Although “Of Plymouth Plantation” is a story where religion is something they do, something they have faith on, it helps them. It helps them in a way because they are starving and have no food nor water. But, having faith is what helps them go through the struggle of starvation. In the other story “The General History of Virginia” they are

England colonized the Americas much later than Spain and France. After three failed expeditions between 1578 and 1587 by Raleigh, John Smith finally established Jamestown as the first New World settlement in 1607. Jamestown itself almost failed, but with the help of natives, tobacco farming, and the arrival of African servants, it flourished. Puritans arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, and founded Plymouth. The Massachusetts Bay Colony formed in 1630, drawing many thousands of immigrants. Plymouth and the Bay Colony would ultimately merge into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691. Roger Williams started the Rhode Island Colony in 1635. After killing or pacifying most area Native Americans in the Pequot and King Philip's Wars culminating

The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans,

In Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford writes of multiple acts of God’s divine providence acting on the Pilgrims during their journey to Virginia and the subsequent founding of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s portrayal of events he labels providence, such as the death of the lusty seaman, the finding of the corn seeds by the exploring party, and the repulse of the Native American attack, shows his belief that God acted through natural events and reveals aspects of Puritan theology and thinking.

We all tend to have a certain way of doing things that when it comes to everyone else, we start to believe it’s a divergent way of doing things. In other words it’s an act of ethnocentrism. A perfect and extreme example of ethnocentrism would be Hitler and the Nazis against the Jews. Hitler believed that the Jews were subordinate to his ethnicity and his believes so they didn’t deserve to live. This connects with Bradford and Smith’s in the way of first impression. They both saw the native americans in an unfriendly way and very different from them due to their choice of style and that’s exactly where ethnocentrism plays a role. Bradford and Smith had their own opinions on the native americans once they touched land and saw them.

On September 6, 1620, 102 men, women and children from England boarded a small cargo boat called the Mayflower and set sail for the New World. The passengers left their homes in England in search of religious freedom from the King of England. Today they are known as "pilgrims."

Although both Bradford and Columbus address the New World and the native people, their views differentiate immensely. In Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford depicts the environment of the New World as “a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men” (Bradford 168). Bradford also describes the native people as “savage barbarians” (Bradford 168). Bradford suggests the New World as a stark wilderness that did not possess the proper essentials in order for him and his fellow Pilgrims to thrive. In addition, he suggests that the savage natives would have little to no respect of any “outward object” (Bradford 168). Therefore, he qualifies how the New World would provide no means of prosperity for his people. As for Columbus, he

William Bradford’s writing displays his Puritan faith by including many of their ideals throughout Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s beliefs give his writing a simple and unembellished style, like that of Puritan dress. Furthermore, He demonstrates his faith by including the Puritan concept of election. Foremost, Bradford displays his faith by incorporating providence into his writing. For example, he infers that their trip across the Atlantic ended safely only through God’s intervention. Throughout Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford exhibits these aspects of his Puritan faith and lifestyle through his simplistic writing style.

Throughout William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation”, his attachment to his religion was very strong and very verbally shown throughout his work. Bradford was between the age of twelve and thirteen when he had first heard his first sermon by a minister named Richard Clyfton and he later joined with Clyfton in the year 1606. Bradford begins with “…some godly and zealous preachers, and God’s blessings on their labors…” God is already being praised in the first few sentences of this work to bless the labor of their works and throughout the land. The goal of this paper is to bring into light three different sections throughout the work, where Bradford uses his religion to prove a point and to show how his religious faith is freely expressed by leaving England.

On page 5 it says, “He joined the Puritans, reformers who wanted to purify the Church of England and eventually separate from it. With other Puritans, he migrated to Holland in search of religious freedom. He helped organize the journey on the Mayflower in 1620 that brought about 100 people—half of them his fellow "Pilgrims"—to the New World.” These people came to this land to be purify the Church of England and preach it how they believed it was correct.

Where does the truth lay when there are two different perspectives on the same situations? Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer. In William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation and Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan, there are many discrepancies between each story. Both men seek to defame one another in order to preserve the innocence of their individual characters. They are not exactly successful in their mission when Morton and Bradford spend time discussing their issues with one another. There is a lot of finger pointing in these parts yet neither man assumes any responsibility for the troubles. William Bradford and Thomas Morton utilize different approaches to paint each other in an unfavorable way causing their goals to fall short.

Francis Eaton was baptized in 1596 in Bristol, Gloucester, England. He is the son of John and Dorothy (Smith) Eaton. Nearly all of Francis Eaton’s siblings died in 1603-1604, possibly dued to a sickness that had spread throughout the household. He and brother Samuel survived; Francis would later name his firstborn son Samuel.