William Bradford was born in 1590
in England . When he was just a child, both his parents
died, which led to Bradford being bounced
around from relative to relative. At the
age of twelve, William was living with one of his relatives in a town close to
Scrooby. There was a church that drew
him in because of “its fellowship and its lack of ritual.” “By the age of 17 Bradford
was a fully committed member, sharing the radical idea of separating from the
official Church of England - a dangerous decision, for Separatist leaders were
hunted and imprisoned. When the congregation learned that the king, James I,
intended to ‘harry them from the land,’ they fled to the Netherlands
(William). “Religion hath been
disgraced, the godly greeved, afflicted, persecuted, and many exhiled, sundrie
have lost their lives in prisones and otherways” (Bradford
5). William Bradford led all the exiles
from place to place to stay safe. In
these places, they would worship and pray, not giving up on the Lord. Living in different places and bouncing around
caused them a difficult life with money and food. Most of the congregation got jobs working
with textiles. At this time, the group
had found a pastor, John Robinson, to run the worshiping and praying. Pastor Robinson suggested moving the
congregation to a new place overseas and everyone agreed (William).
William Bradford decided to keep a
journal of the move from the Netherlands
to the Americas .
This journal was originally named, “Of
Plimoth Plantation” but was changed to “Of Plymouth Plantation” for easier
reading. In this journal, Bradford wrote
about when the congregation “settled in Holland ,
through the 1620 Mayflower voyage,
until the year 1647.” This journal is
important because it was the first and only written timeline of what happened
on the Mayflower and in the Americas . Not
only was it just facts of what happened but also what the colonists thought of
the Americas
(About). It is amazing how much one book
will teach people so much about one subject.
As I said before in a previous
blogs, the Puritans’ main topic is God. . William Bradford mentions God repeatedly in
his book, “Of Plymouth Plantation.” On
page six, Bradford mentions several verses in
the Bible. They are: Matthew 15:3, Jeremiah
50:24, 1 Corinthians 10:22, and Jeremiah 50:31.
The fact that William can quote the Bible shows that he believes in and
follows God. Another fact about the
Puritans’ is that they write mostly as journals, histories and diaries. The whole book that William Bradford wrote is
a journal that he recorded all his information in. Many
of the Puritans’ were persecuted because of taking part in religion so they
fled. Bradford and other people in his
church, fled because they did not want to be persecuted. I said a quote earlier in the first paragraph
that relates to this statement. One last
thing that is similar to the Puritans’, is that God keeps them strong in
situations that are tough and is there when they need someone to talk to. Pastor Robinson and the rest of his congregation
felt the same way. They knew that
whatever situation they were put in, good or bad, that God would show them what
to do and how to deal with it. “Others
by providente care & ye use of good means, might in a great measure be
prevented; and all of them, through ye help of God, by fortitude and patience,
might either be borne, or overcome” (Bradford 26).
"About
the Bradford Journal." About the Bradford Journal. N.p., n.d. Web.
03 Sept. 2012.
Bradford,
William. Of Plymouth
Plantation
"William
Bradford." William
Bradford. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012.
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