William Bradford

William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation.


"What could now sustain them but the spirit of God and His grace? may not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: 'Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean and were ready to perish in this wilderness...' (116)," by William Bradford.

Right from the beginning of the History we can see that Bradford is painting a picture in his favor. He has left out anything that would make them seem less important or their journey less hard.

The result is a tale that involves a lot of God and lot of information left out for, "...that I may be brief.. (115)." To not belabor the points that Loewen makes about the truths of the Pilgrims and the danger of teaching history this way let me give a real world example of how far some people will take things if they think that the writings are correct. Don't be scared off by Rush either.

The REAL Pilgrims Story - First Socialism Experiment FAILS

The problem (one among many) is that they accept Bradford's accounts and History as truth and not a history written with an obvious slant. A false or misleading history will cause others to paint their incorrect pictures of events. a good example is the website http://www.deepestfeelings.com/holidays/thanksgiving/history.shtml
and their quotes, "The local Indians were also non-hostile" and "Somehow they were saved by a group of local Native Americans who befriended them and helped them with food." Loewen is screaming in my ear about what is wrong with these statements, but I just wish to show how far Bradford's History is taken and how much more is invented upon it.

The History is not all fiction is does deal with what Bradford felt and the events that happened on the way there, during the landing, and building the town. However, it leaves out too much and includes too much as well. There is no mention of Bradford's wife, but we get a detailed story about a sailor who died after cursing the Pilgrim's, and a story about another two men where one was dieing gave his stuff to the other in exchange for spice so he could have a final meal but the other man went around talking about how he was cheated until the first died that morning.

It is just me but I would like to know more about this village they found stuff in, or about how they traded to make money or really anything other than how God provided for them. Which is all good and well but if Bradford showed us how the Lord provided or gave details I would be more inclined to believe that what was written would be the truth.