Compare And Contrast John Smith And William Bradford

One thing they have in common is that both John Smith and William Bradford started a colony after coming from England to be part of the new world. Smith and his group named his colony Jamestown. While, Bradford’s group settled in Massachusetts naming his colony Plymouth. Starting a colony might be a something they share in common but, the way they built their colonies isn’t.

First off, Jamestown was mostly made up of men who had traveled for business, while Plymouth was populated by women, men, and children who pilgrimaged for religious security. Because of their reasons for travel Jamestown colonist were self seeking, and self serving, but the Puritans never hesitated to help their fellow Puritans. The leaders of these colonies were also abundantly different. Smith was boastful and made himself out to be a hero of some sort, Meanwhile, Bradford was humble and gave God credit for his and the colony’s accomplishments.

During the early formation of our nation, many great authors were putting their thoughts and feelings down on paper. These early American writers were the foundation upon which the literary culture of America was founded. Among these are the early writings of John Smith, Anne Bradstreet and Thomas Jefferson. Their writings were completed during a time of exploration and colonization characterized by many historical political and cultural transitions, and their literature accurately describes the events of that period. The literary works of these important authors convey the hardships that they experienced in a new land, as well as the evolution of the government and culture.

William Bradford wrote Of Plymouth Plantation to inform readers about his journey to the new world. Bradford joined the Puritans when he was a young boy, which he later on separated from. Bradford came to the new world in search of religious freedom. The Puritans

The author John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived to the Americas, wrote a description of the new land in his book “ A Description of New England ”. In this book Smith shows a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure. Also, William Bradford another pilgrim who arrived to Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts, wrote a book called “ Of Plymouth Plantation ” in which he describes what really happened, how the pilgrims actually lived. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast both authors and their books. John Smith wrote about the wonderful place the New World was, on the other hand, William Bradford wrote about the realities and difficulties of the New World.

“The General History of Virginia” and “Of Plymouth Plantation” are similar and different in many ways. They are the first settlers of America and came for different reasons, different goals, and different ways of life. Although they were different they both risked their lives for a new life in return. John Smith and William Bradford were two different people. John Smith was an Adventurer and William Bradford was a Puritan. Their differences and similarities personified through two works of writing.

In William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation he articulates that living in young America was a tough life that included dangerous living, starvation and disease. Bradford sailed from Holland with the Pilgrims and when their first governor died in 1621 Bradford was elected. Bradford’s opinion was well respected in the community and he was reelected to his position thirty times. This position gave him the ability to have many of his works published and read by many. An example of him describing the new world as dangerous is when he painted the picture of a wicked forest across “the whole country” . He went on to describe this forest as having a “wild and savage hue”. Another problem addressed in William Bradford’s piece is starvation. He described that once winter arrived many people began to die and by February “half [the] company died”. Finally Bradford described the new world as a haven for disease. As the starvation began to set in in the early winter so did the

To many Europeans in the early 17th century the Americas seemed as a new land of opportunity. John Smith and William Bradford were two of the first men who left England seeking adventure and freedom in the New World. Both groups had difficulties while trying to form their colonies and Smith and Bradford were both elected to lead. While they were both great leaders they had very different lives before their journey from England. While starting their new colonies they also took different approaches to making the land habitable. One of the most notable differences between John Smith and William Bradford was their writing style. John Smith and William Bradford were very different people in

Smith was badly burned in 1606 from a gunpowder explosion and forced to return back to England. In 1614 he returned with an expedition to map the New England coastline. He would never return to Virginia again after this. He would from then on only promote colonizing the New England area. His efforts to promote colonizing were blocked by weather, pirates and lack of funding. He then resorted to writing about colonization. In his writing he elaborated about how wonderful it was in the new world. He would say that the fish practically jump into your boat when you go fishing and things such as that. He made the new world seem better than it really was so people would want to travel here and settle in it. His plan worked because year after year more and more people flocked to the New England hoping to colonize and not have to worry about running out

Both William Penn and John Smith attempted to convince people that they should come to the new world. William Penn recognizes that people with skills should go to the colonies because the colonies can offer them more opportunity for their trade, whereas Smith tries to use imagery to convince everyone that they should go to the new world. This distinction is due to the fact that Penn and Smith were writing in different time periods. William Penn, writing in 1681, said that “Those that go into a foreign plantation, their industry is worth more there than if they stayed at home…” (William 74).

On April 10, 1606, John Smith (an adventurer) explorer and author, and his crew were sent by King James I to start a colony in Jamestown. In December 1606 the company sent out three ships carrying 106 settlers to start the new colony. On May 13, 1607 John Smith named the colony Jamestown in honor of the King. Years later on September 6, 1620 William Bradford (an English Separatist) went to Cape Cod, Massachusetts on the Mayflower due to fear of the assimilation into Dutch culture to start a new civilization. The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620. The 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of 30-40 in extremely cramped conditions. The two exploration narratives are similar in many ways but they both serve two completely different meanings.

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.

In comparison, these two groups came to this land for different reasons. To begin with the only thing Captain John Smith and his men were looking for was gold so that they could be financially prosperous in this new land. While Captain Smith was looking for riches Mr. Bradford searched for something completely different. Him and his fellow Puritans came in search of religious

William Bradford wrote, ‘Of Plymouth Plantation’ written sometime between the years 1630-1651 serves as an historical account of the Pilgrims’ voyage and colonization in America. Bradford was born in England but became a separatist, and in 1620, sailed with his wife for America aboard the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. Bradford was a prominent member of the colony, even becoming governor for many years. His written account is still largely considered one the most important historical documents of the Colonization period. However, although viewed as an established historical piece, Bradford exhibits some bias in his historical accounts. His main purpose in writing the book was to convey his world-view/ideology of the Puritan lifestyle and to demonstrate his belief that the establishment of the colony was directly carried out according to God’s divine will. His religious beliefs were demonstrated in the language of the text through the use of a plain-style, third person narrative writing along with his use of biblical illustrations.

John Smith mentions little of the Native Americans. And if he briefly does he says that they are good people and that they helped them when they arrived. Whereas Bradford mentions that the Native Americans greeted them with arrows. The biggest difference between Bradford and Smith is when they write about food. Just as Smith talks about fishing with only a stick and a hook and you will catch excellent fish; also that if you planted crops you could get as much as 50 shillings yearly, use this money for meat and beer, and still afford to become rich. In contrast, Bradford writes about the hunger that in the fist 3 months the crew suffered. He did not mention about the difficulties of planting in a frozen floor, or fishing on a frozen lake. Also that half of the people died in January and February due to the hard winter and harsh conditions. Similarly, England banned all trade with the New World and the pilgrims did not have all the supplies they needed for an average living.