In one paragraph, discuss one advantage, and one limitation that William Bradford had in Of Plymouth Plantation being written using a journal format. Cite one event from the work to use as evidence for your advantage or limitation.
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Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
Rebecca Beatrice Brooks December 12, 2012 1 Commenton Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
Mayflower pilgrim William Bradford wrote a detailed manuscript describing the pilgrim’s experiences in Holland and in the New World, which is now known as Of Plymouth Plantation.
In the manuscript, Bradford recorded everything from the pilgrim’s experiences living in the Netherlands, to their voyage on the Mayflower and their daily life in Plymouth colony.
The book is considered the first American history book ever written and is known by many names, such as The History of Plymouth Plantation, History of the Plantation at Plymouth and William Bradford’s Journal.
When Was Of Plimoth Plantation Written?
The book was written between the years 1630 and 1651, and is a 270 page manuscript written in the form of two books.
Why Was Of Plimoth Plantation Written?
William Bradford explains, in chapter six of the book, that the reason he wrote the manuscript was so that the descendants of the Pilgrims would know and appreciate the hardships their ancestors faced:
“I have been ye larger in these things, and so shall crave leave in some passages following, (though in other things I shall labour to be more contract,) that their children may see with what difficulties their fathers wrestled in going through these things in their first beginings, and how God brought them, along notwithstanding all their weakness and infirmities. As also that some use may be made hereof in after times by others in such like weighty employments; and herewith I will end this chapter.” (History of Plimoth Plantation p. 58).
Bradford never made any attempt to publish the manuscript during his lifetime and instead gave it to his son William, who later passed it on to his own son Major John Bradford.
A number of people borrowed the manuscript over the years, such as William Bradford’s nephew, Nathaniel Morton, who referenced it in his book New England’s Memorial in 1669, and later Reverend Thomas Prince, who used part of the manuscript in his own book Chronological History of New England in 1736.
Front page of William Bradford's manuscript "Of Plymouth Plantation"
Front page of William Bradford’s manuscript “Of Plymouth Plantation”
According to editor William T. Davis, in the introduction to the 1908 edition of Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation, Prince then gave the manuscript to the New England Library:
“The manuscript bears a memorandum made by Rev. Thomas Prince, dated June 4, 1728, stating that he borrowed it from Major John Bradford, and deposited it, together with Bradford’s letter-book, in the New England Library in the tower of the Old South Church in Boston” (Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation p. 15)
During its time at the library, William Hubbard borrowed the manuscript and referenced it in his book History of New England, as did Thomas Hutchinson, who used it as a reference for his book History of Massachusetts Bay in 1767.
The Original Manuscript Goes Missing:
What happened next to the manuscript is unclear. At some point in the late 1700s, the manuscript disappeared. It remained missing for over half a century until it was discovered in the Bishop of London’s Library at Fulham in 1855.
It is not known exactly how the manuscript got there but Davis suggests Hutchinson may have brought it to England when he was using it for research:
“It is not improbable that it was in Hutchinson’s possession when, adhering to the crown, he left the country, and that in some way before his death in Brompton, near London, in June, 1780, it reached the Library of the Bishop of London at Fulham, where it was discovered in 1855.” (Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation p.16)
Other sources, such as an article in Life magazine in 1945, suggest the manuscript was instead stolen by British soldiers who occupied the Old South Church during the Siege of Boston:
“In 1856 [sic], the long-lost journal of Plymouth Colony’s Governor William Bradford unaccountably turned up in the private library of the Bishop of London. It had apparently been stolen from Boston’s Old South Church by British soldiers quartered there during the Revolution.”
According to editor Charles Deane, in the editorial preface of the 1856 edition of History of Plymouth Plantation, the location of the manuscript was discovered by Reverend John Barry, a historian working on the first volume of his book History of Massachusetts.