In my last post, I tried to indicate how significant a cohesive community was to the early settlers. Such a community was necessary to their survival. Any threats to that community, whether from outside forces or from members of the community itself, were taken very seriously. Such threats were not simply annoyances; they could be the difference between living and dying. At one point in Of Plymouth Plantation, his record of the voyage to and settling of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, William Bradford wrote the following:
SEPTR : 6. These troubls being blowne over, and now all being compacte togeather in one shipe,they put to sea againe with a prosperus winde, which continued diverce days togeather, which was some incouragmente unto them; yet according to the, usuall maner many were alicted with seasicknes. And I may not omite hear a spetiall worke of Gods providente. Ther was a proud and very profane yonge man, one of the sea-men, of a lustie, able body, which made him the more hauty; he would allway be contemning the poore people in their sicknes, and cursing them dayly with greevous execrations, and did not let to tell them, that he hoped to help to cast halfe of them over board before they came to their jurneys end, and to make mery with what they had; and if he were by any gently reproved, he would curse and swear rnost bitterly. But it plased God before they came halfe seas over, to smite this yong man with a greeveous disease, of which he dyed in a desperate maner, and so was him selfe the first that was throwne overbord. Thus his curses light on his owne head; and it was an astonishmente to all his fellows, for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him. |
You can find this passage transliterated into modern English in your book on p. 327. What you want to keep in mind here is that Bradford’s readers are those who were not part of the Mayflower voyage or the initial settlement of the colony. His readers were those who followed after. Bradford’s purpose here was common to writers of this time: he’s writing to instruct, not entertain. He is trying to teach his readers a lesson about God, the world, and the place of human beings in that world. Here is a tale about a man who has set himself apart and above everyone else on the ship—and the consequences of that arrogance. Note too that in Bradford’s world, God directly takes a hand in imparting those consequences. This can also begin to tell you something about the religious beliefs prevalent at the time.
Here’s another little fact that will tell you something about the importance of a cohesive community to the settlers. The initial settlers did something quite rare for “immigrant” cultures. When others followed the initial settlers, they were not automatically welcomed and assimilated into the colony. In fact, the colonists screened potential members of the community. If one were considered an asset to the community, one was welcomed; if not, one was sent away. No doubt this sound harsh, but again, always keep in mind—their very survival was at stake.
Thus the Mayflower Compact—the subject of my next post—was a critical event. It was what I would call a Creation Story of what would become America.
I’ve searched around but can’t find an answer to this question: In writing to “instruct, not entertain,” as you state, does Bradford fictionalize in this passage, or is the young man real? He being the first one to be struck by the fatal illness and thrown overboard just seems to fit too neatly into Bradford’s beliefs and message. It’s my understanding that the early American writers weren’t writing fiction, but do we know for certain that he wasn’t embroidering the facts to suit?
ReplyDeleteWe can't know for certain that he wasn't embellishing, but if he were, he would be doing something deeply immoral and unethical in the eyes of the Puritans--and he would know that. The problem wouldn't simply be that he would be lying (though that would, of course, be a problem). The bigger issue would be that by fictionalizing and embellishing he would be calling attention to himself, rather than to God. He would be guilty of the sin of pride. That's why the writing of this era can seem so bland--"plain" would be the term they would use. It was a grievous problem for a writer to call attention to himself.
ReplyDeleteI also thought he fabricated the man to make his point, but your explanation of why he probably did not makes a lot of sense. Sometimes when I am reading I forget about the time periods and backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteI found its often of great importance to place history in the context of its particular period. Prior to my doing that, I often found myself criticizing rather than analyzing certain historical behavior. When we begin to look at the reason for the settlers departure from England, it allows us to more fully understand why they found it important to utilize caution with regards to whom they allowed in. After all, it was their goal to distance themselves from the English and some of their conflicting influences. With that said, the letter as a warning to potential settlers makes absolute sense. Right or wrong, I agree, we can see their reasoning.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe anyone in this time would embellish anything. We have to keep in mind that what were they experiencing during this time period. It's hard to imagine that the Purtains actually settled the New England states when you contrast that with what their beleifs and values are today, they are completing counter to everything the Purtains came here to establish and how they were to conduct themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it was explained why the Puritans acted the way they did. I think I would have been judgmental or confused had we not been encouraged to keep in mind their conditions. However, even keeping all this in mind while reading, I was still surprised at how the Puritans believed they were judged instantly by God.
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering if he had embellished his story until I put it into the context of the correct time period. It fit so cleanly that I thought he must have been. It makes absolute sense after reading your reply that he would not do that otherwise he would also be instantly punished by God.
ReplyDeleteIt was also hard for me to get my mind around the fact that they would send their own people away. I know that it was for their survival and they only wanted to keep those that would help them. I still can not believe they would send people away that had come this far and survived the trip because they did not find them useful.
A lot of the points that were made make a lot of sense. Most of what I've tried to focus on and understand is the importance of community and keeping everything orderly, which so happens to continue to be a theme that reoccurs. That means I must be gaining some insight and knowledge into Puritan life, which I think is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I didn't realize that Bradford's writing was to instruct rather than entertain. That should have made more sense to me because I didn't take into consideration the ramifications of threats to the community. I think it's safe to say that they were definitely serious about keeping the community in order if the difference between life and death become a possibility.