William Bradford

Early Life William Bradford was born in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, circa His family was in the business of farming, but they were considered wealthy and influential in their town. By the age of seven, both of Bradford’s parents died and he was sent to live with his uncles. His uncles expected him to help out on the family farm. However, William was disinterested. He was more interested in reading The Bible and classic works of literature. He also found interest in religion.

Religion in England Before the 17 th century, religion in England had deep roots in Roman Catholicism. In 1534, King Henry VIII separated the English Church from Rome. He continued to support many traditional Catholic practices in the Church of England, which caused a stir between Protestants and Catholics alike. The Church of England was now considered a protestant church. Catholics believed the Church of England should continue Catholic traditions, but some Protestants believed that Catholicism should be removed from the church completely.

Religion in England For many years after King Henry VIII, the monarchs of England went back and forth between many church reforms. Some rulers gave the church back under the control of the Catholic Pope, while others were more eager to see Protestant reforms take place. In 1603, King James I began his reign and ordered that no more changes be made to the Church of England (officially Protestant at the time). He declared an end to church reform movements and spoke out against critics of the Church of England.

Bradford’s interest in religion At age 12, Bradford was invited by a friend to hear Reverend Richard Clyfton preach in another town. Clyfton believed the Church of England should eliminate all traditional Catholic practices. Although Bradford was forbidden to hear Clyfton preach, he continued to do so, becoming more interested in Clyfton’s sermons.

Bradford’s interest in religion Although King James I vowed to deal harshly with critics of the Church of England, secret meetings were taking place with hopes of creating church reforms. In 1607, Reverend Clyfton and others were attending secret meetings at Scrooby Manor. Those meeting at Scrooby Manor decided the reform of the Church of England was pointless. They decided that, as a group, they would separate from the Church of England. They became known as Separatists. The weekly meetings of the Separatists at Scrooby Manor began to attract attention around town, and several Separatists were imprisoned.

Separatists plan to leave The Scrooby congregation decided to leave England for the Dutch Republic (Netherlands) in The group decided on the Dutch Republic because religious freedom was permitted. Before they could leave England, many members, including Bradford, were imprisoned shortly after an illegal, failed attempt of leaving. Finally, in 1608, the Scrooby congregation successfully escaped England for Amsterdam, including 18-year-old William Bradford. In Amsterdam, Bradford got a job, met his wife, and had a child.

Colonization By 1617, the Separatists were setting their sights on establishing a colony in the Americas. While they were satisfied with their religious freedom in the Dutch Republic, they were not happy with their children becoming accustomed to and adopting many Dutch customs and language. The Separatists began negotiations with England to seek permission to settle in the Colony of Virginia and were successful. In July of 1620, the Separatists boarded the Speedwell.

The Mayflower The Speedwell was not able to make the voyage because of numerous leaks in the ship, so the Separatists were crowded onto The Mayflower. The Mayflower contained both Separatists and Non-Separatists, a group that is commonly known today as “Pilgrims.” The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England in September of 1620 with 102 passengers and crew members. Conditions were not good on the Mayflower and there were two deaths during the voyage.

The Mayflower

They spotted land in the Cape Cod area after exactly three months of traveling, but due to bad weather, they could not continue to the Virginia Colony. The Mayflower returned to Cape Cod and anchored in November of 1620.

Explorations Bradford volunteered to be a member of the exploration parties and the group decided that Plymouth Harbor would be the best place for a settlement. The settlers encountered signs of Native Americans, and Bradford was even caught in a deer trap made by Native Americans. However, the explorers concluded that those Native Americans no longer lived in Plymouth, and Bradford wrote in his journal that the bones of the dead were clearly evident in many places. It was later proven that the Patuxet tribe had been wiped out by a plague resulting from contact with English fishermen between 1616 and 1619.

Settlement The exploring party returned to the Mayflower to inform the other pilgrims that they had found a suitable settlement. Upon return, Bradford learned that his wife had fallen off the Mayflower and drowned. The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Bay in December of The settlers began building homes in December, but a widespread sickness slowed their efforts. Bradford became sick, but was luckily able to recover. By March, half of the 100 settlers had died.

Settlement In March of 1621, Samoset, a representative of the Pokanoket tribe walked into the village of Plymouth.

Settlement This led to a visit from Massasoit, the leader of the tribe, and a treaty between the leaders of Plymouth and the Pokanoket tribe. Bradford recorded the language of the treaty in his journal: “If any did unjustly war against [Massasoit], we would aid him; if any did war against us, Massasoit should aid us.”

Bradford’s Legacy Bradford eventually became Governor of the Plymouth Colony and held that position for most of his life. Bradford wrote frequently of his time at Plymouth Colony, and his most famous work is his history of life in the colony, Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s journal was also published. Bradford died in 1657.