Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647

After deciding on the Americas as a general destination, the Pilgrims begin to debate where in particular they should settle. Bradford explains that the Pilgrims quickly abandoned some proposals, like Guiana, due to concerns about everything from tropical disease to competition with Spanish settlers. Virginia, however, is an attractive option, in part because it was already home to a group of English settlers. The Pilgrims, though, are concerned that these ties to England might once again result in religious persecution, so they formally request a guarantee of religious freedom from the king. He declines to give them concrete assurance, but the Virginia Company—which is funding the Pilgrims—persuades the Pilgrims that the king will leave them in peace as long as they remain peaceful themselves.

At this point, Bradford inserts several letters related to the Pilgrims' negotiations with the Virginia Company. The first, sent by an agent of the Virginia Company to the settlers in Leyden, praises the representatives the Pilgrims have sent to England—Robert Cushman and John Carver—and assures Robinson and Brewster of the company's assistance. The next is written by Robinson and Brewster and details several reasons they feel the Virginia Company should support their undertaking: their prior experience as settlers, their closeness as a community, and their belief that God "will graciously prosper [their] endeavours according to the simplicity of [their] hearts therein" (17). Several letters clarifying the Pilgrims' religious practices follow, in response to "unjust insinuations" (18).

The Pilgrims' views on the appointment of ministers do not seem to go over well, while fighting within the Virginia Company slows down the Pilgrims' plans, regardless. The Pilgrims also learn, in a letter from England, that a former member of the Amsterdam congregation—Mr. Blackwell—has died on board a ship bound for America, along with the majority of the passengers. Since Blackwell himself was responsible for the passengers being "packed together like herrings" (20) on the ship, Bradford views his death as somewhat deserved and elaborates on Blackwell's character after the letter has finished: "He declined from the truth with Mr. Johnson and the rest, and went with them when they parted from congregation in that woeful manner, which brought such great dishonor to God, scandal to the truth, and ruin to themselves in this world" (21).

Despite all these difficulties, however, the Pilgrims eventually succeed in securing a patent from the Virginia Company. They do not end up using it, however, which Bradford says is a "true emblem of the uncertain things of this world, which, when men have toiled to acquire them vanish into smoke!" (22).

Having received the patent from the Virginia Company, the congregation in Leyden begins to discuss the details of who should travel to America first, and what the relationship should be between the church there and the one in Europe. Before they entirely resolve these issues, however, they begin to consider seeking additional financial backing, first from a group of Dutchmen, and then from an English merchant named Thomas Weston. Weston had told the Pilgrims that he believed his friends would put up money for the voyage if the Pilgrims presented them an offer, so the Pilgrims send Cushman and Carver to England with their proposal. The Pilgrims are especially intrigued by the fact that Weston and his colleagues have acquired a land grant in New England, where there would be many opportunities to make a living through fishing.

Soon after the majority of the congregation has decided on this new course of action, another problem arises. Weston and his friends have altered the terms of the agreement, and Cushman and Carver, "fearing that otherwise it would all be thrown up," have consented (24). Bradford argues that the representatives did not have the authority to make this decision and inserts a series of documents to prove his point.

The first of these is the new agreement, and Bradford identifies two changes that upset the Pilgrims: the stipulation that the houses and lands would be divided between the settlers and investors at the end of seven years (rather than reverting entirely to the settlers), and the absence of any mention of two days' guaranteed time off each week. Bradford then inserts several letters to illustrate the ensuing negotiations. Robinson, for instance, writes that he and his followers are losing faith in Weston, who has not yet arranged for a ship, and argues that the Pilgrims would be more productive if they knew they were guaranteed a house and time off. Cushman pushes back against these complaints in two letters: he argues that the Pilgrims do not adequately appreciate that Weston is funding an enterprise rather than providing charity, implies that the Pilgrims are in danger of making profit their only motive, and warns them that Weston is on the verge of backing out of the contract. Finally, a letter from Cushman to Carver expresses additional concerns, including his fears about joining in any plans with the Amsterdam congregation and his sense that the Pilgrims are currently "readier to dispute than to undertake a voyage" (31). Bradford explains that he includes these letters to demonstrate the difficulties the Pilgrims had to contend with even before leaving Europe.