Of Plymouth Plantation

· Courier Corporation
4.4
7 reviews
Ebook
256
Pages
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About this ebook

The most important and influential source of information about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, this landmark account was written between 1630 and 1647. It vividly documents the Pilgrims' adventures: their first stop in Holland, the harrowing transatlantic crossing aboard the Mayflower, the first harsh winter in the new colony, and the help from friendly Native Americans that saved their lives.
No one was better equipped to report on the affairs of the Plymouth community than William Bradford. Revered for his patience, wisdom, and courage, Bradford was elected to the office of governor in 1621, and he continued to serve in that position for more than three decades. His memoirs of the colony remained virtually unknown until the nineteenth century. Lost during the American Revolution, they were discovered years later in London and published after a protracted legal battle. The current edition rendered into modern English and with an introduction by Harold Paget, remains among the most readable books from seventeenth-century America.

Ratings and reviews

4.4
7 reviews
George Brodie
October 23, 2022
good information of the past
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About the author

William Bradford was born in a comfortable Yorkshire yeoman's home, but the family that might have provided him with a nurturing beginning was disrupted by the early death of Bradford's parents. Raised by his uncles to be a farmer, Bradford was a sickly youth given to private reading. In early adolescence, Bradford first heard the preaching of Richard Clyfton, a nonconformist minister who converted Bradford to the Separatist movement. A lifelong commitment to that church followed; Bradford first joined the Scrooby congregation, later migrated to Holland in 1608, and sailed with the Pilgrims in 1620. Shortly after his arrival in what is present-day Massachusetts, Bradford was elected governor of the Plymouth settlement. Bradford's principal literary contributions lie in the area of history. His account of the Puritans' early settlement provides both an invaluable document of early American life and a powerful example of how Puritan theology found expression in the literal events of history. Both Puritan theologian Cotton Mather and contemporary critics hailed Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation (1856) as a masterpiece. Bradford's work frames the development of the Americas in biblical terms that illustrate the purposes of an omnipotent God. Bradford also employed verse in his exploration of Providence. His Collected Verse consists of largely didactic meditations. Widely read, Bradford's work influenced several generations of Puritan intellectuals. Bradford died in 1657.

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