Begun in 1630 and completed in 1647, William Bradford’s account of the Pilgrims’ journey, survival, and flourishing in the New World is considered by historians to be one of the most accurate historical accounts of the Plymouth Colony.
The Puritans were firm believers in Providence, or the hand of God guiding all things. When a particularly nasty shipman was knocked overboard in a storm on their Mayflower voyage, Bradford wrote that it was because of God’s will. The Pilgrims’ faith is always at the center of Bradford’s writing. Unlike some of his counterparts at the time, he credited all of the colony’s successes to the strength God gave the Pilgrims in their endeavors, rather than himself.
Bradford writes about the first winter, when the Pilgrims suffered greatly. He mentions the people who did everything for the ill and infirm. They did all of it “willingly and cheerfully without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren...” This is the sense of a united community that Bradford highlights: a community that was united not only in turmoil, but in their faith, and as a result, they survived.
Despite the harsh winter, skirmishes with the Pequot, diseases, and struggles of building in a New World far removed from Europe, the Pilgrims survived and began to flourish. This is due to their resolve to persevere in spite of the obstacles they encountered. Part of this is also due to that they knew there was no place for them in England or Holland. With nowhere else to go, the Pilgrims’ perseverance helps them to survive and still keep their faith.
Bradford writes about many rewards: they establish a peace treaty with the Nauset tribes who provide essential aid and commodities to the settlers; establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Harvard University is founded; New England Confederation is formed; settlers are free to practice their religion as they wish. All of these things come as a result of the settlers’ hard work, perseverance, and common faith in God.