Of
Plimouth Plantation | William Bradford
A firsthand account of the early years of the Plymouth colony, from its origins in Europe to the 1640s.
- William Bradford (1590-1657)
o Orphaned at age one
o Trained as a farmer by relatives
o Little formal schooling; largely self-taught (like Lincoln and others)
§ Learned English, Dutch, and (somewhat) French, Greek, Hebrew
o Begins study of Bible at age 12
o By 16, joins Separatist group forming at Scrooby
o Goes with them to Holland at the ripe old age of 18
o Becomes weaver in Holland
o By 27, he is a leader of his people in Holland
o Member of committee that arranges “pilgrimage” to New World
o Wholly devoted to his role as an instrument of God
o Enters Plymouth Bay on Dec. 11, 1620 in midst of snowstorm and steps foot on Plymouth Rock
o Wife lost overboard as he explored New World
o About 50 of 102 Pilgrims die within first year, including Governor Carver
o Bradford becomes new governor and re-elected 30 times (embryonic democracy) for a term of 33 years
o Seldom left Plymouth, where he died in 1657
o Left only a small house and some orchards upon his death
o Cotton Mather: WB was the Moses who led his people to Promised Land
- Begun in 1630, finished before 1646
- Reformation – October 31, 1517 – Martin Luther
- English Reformation – Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) –
- Henry VIII is known as “Prince of the Renaissance”
o Gifted athlete, musician, mathematician, and poet
§ Some think he wrote Greensleeves
o Knew Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian
- wanted to annul marriage to Catherine of Aragon after 18 yrs of marriage and no male heir
o Bore some children, but they all died in infancy except Mary, who eventually became Queen
§ Mary jails her half-sister, Elizabeth, and threatens to execute her
o Henry was model husband – no affairs – asks for annulment 9 yrs after last pregnancy
§ Said the union wasn’t blessed because he had sinned by marrying his brother’s widow
o Pope Clement VII says no in 1533
o Henry declared himself head of Church of England and his archbishop, Thomas Dranmer, declares marriage illegal
o Henry marries Anne Boleyn in 1533
§ Nobody liked her except Henry
§ They have a daughter Elizabeth, but no sons
§ She was charged with infidelity and beheaded when Elizabeth was only 2 years old
o Finally has son with 3rd wife, Jane Seymour (married 1537) – King Edward VI (r. 1547-1553) and then dies
- 1539: Henry VIII orders that copies of the English Bible be placed in every church
o this prompts a social earthquake –
· GOOD
o people begin learning to read
o people stand in churches/cathedrals all day listening to people read Scripture
o people start questioning, but Henry VIII orders worship only in C. of E.
· BAD
o All monestaries ordered closed between 1536-1540
o Some say that if he had not closed them, “…it is possible that the seeds of industrial Britain could have been sown in the tranquil cloisters of North Yorkshire.” (The Telegraph, June 21, 2002)
- Henry VIII’s son, Edward V, keeps Protestantism going
- In 1553, Mary I, Henry’s daughter, takes throne (until 1558)
o Tries to bring England back to Protestantism
o Over 300 Protestant martyrs burned at the stake – first in1555
§ Includes Thomas Cranmer, the man who okayed her father’s divorce from her mother
§ She believed it was better for heretics to die than live in mortal sin
o Foxe’s
Book of Martyrs published in 1560 and Queen Elizabeth I orders a copy
placed in every church in England
- Half-sister, Elizabeth (1558-1603) brings England back to Protestantism
o Age of Skaespeare
o 1588: thrashes the Spanish Armada (30,000 men)
o Still, she executes 200 Roman Catholics
- 1578 – Robert Browne of Cambridge U. starts Separatists
o Cambridge, where Puritan leaders went, is hotbed of Puritanism
o There they absorb Separatist ideas
- Church of England under pressure from those who wanted to purify church of “papist” influences
o Enemies called them “Puritans”
- Puritans and Separatists
o Separatists: seperate from Church of England entirely
o Puritans: work within the Church of England to push forth reforms
- The Pilgrims were Separatists
o Persecuted by Church of England
o No Christmas or Easter
o Flee to Holland in 1608
§ Take menial jobs
§ Children becoming corrupted
o Head to America in 1620 with “Strangers”
§
Mayflower Compact
· Seeds of American liberties planted
· First time in human history a free people come together to establish a government
· No longer under the thumb of external powers such as Church of England
· That’s a problem – Separatists wanted to go it alone, but would they submit?
· YES! Crucial for future of democracy in America
- Bradford was one of these Pilgrims
- Faithfulness of Pilgrims
- Obstacles faced by Pilgrims
- Role of character
- Details
- Miracles?
- God’s providence
"God had a divine purpose in placing this land between two great oceans to be found by those who had a special love of freedom and courage."--Ronald Reagan
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- Others?