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William BradfordOf Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1651A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaBook 2, Chapters 23-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 2
Book 2, Chapter 23 Summary
In the spring of 1643, William Brewster dies. Although Brewster's passing is peaceful, the death nevertheless marks a sad turning point for Plymouth, since Brewster was a highly respected founding member of the colony. Bradford honors Brewster by summarizing his life history, which includes studies at Cambridge and an early career as the assistant to the Secretary of State. Brewster later spent several years living in the English countryside, where he furthered Christian teachings and actively resisted the "tyranny of the bishops against godly preachers and people" (200). He then moved to Holland, where he was eventually able to achieve financial security through hard work and patience. Nevertheless, Brewster gave up this comfortable life to come to America, where he "[bore] his burden with the rest" (208), sharing in the initial poverty and acting as an interim minister. Finally, Bradford offers a short portrait of Brewster, describing him as a compassionate, honest, and devout man.
Brewster's age of eighty at the time of his death leads Bradford to remark on the fact that so many of the Pilgrims successfully weathered physical hardship and disease in order to grow old. Bradford suggests that this is God's work, noting that many holy figures in the Bible lived long lives: "God, it seems, would have all men behold and observe such mercies and works of His providence as towards His people, that they in like cases might be encouraged to depend upon God in their trials" (209-10).
Bradford then resumes the main narrative, picking it up during the aftermath of the Pequot war. The Narragansett's lingering discontent over this conflict's resolution leads them to form “a general conspiracy against the English" (210). In response, the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Haven decide to enter into a confederacy, named the United Council, for mutual defense. The agreement, drawn up in 1643, also stipulates that eight commissioners, with two from each colony, will meet annually to settle matters that concern all the colonies—most notably, whether to approve military actions.
The commissioners immediately face just such a decision thanks to a conflict between the Narragansett and the Monhigg, who had taken in many of the surviving Pequot. According to Bradford, this angered the Narragansett, and they therefore conspired to kill the Monhigg Sachem Uncas—first by attempting to assassinate him, and then by going to war with him. Uncas, however, was victorious and captured Miantinomo, the chief Narragansett Sachem. The commissioners throw their support behind Uncas, in part because of the colonies' friendly relationship with the Monhigg: they give Uncas permission to execute Miantinomo and pledge to support him in future conflicts.
Book 2, Chapter 24 Summary
In 1644, Edward Winslow once again becomes governor and is faced with new crises. As more people leave Plymouth, the church also begins to consider relocation. Eventually, the Pilgrims decide to resettle in Nauset, but then have second thoughts due to the region's remoteness and its shortage of land. Nevertheless, some settlers do make the move, leaving the church in Plymouth further depleted: "Thus was this poor church left like an ancient mother, grown old, and forsaken of her children—though not in their affections, yet as regards their bodily presence and personal helpfulness" (215).
At the same time, tensions continue to build between Plymouth and the Narragansett, who ask the Massachusetts colony to allow them to go to war with Uncas to avenge Miantinomo's death; according to the Narragansett, Uncas had previously accepted ransom for the Narragansett sachem. Massachusetts denies the tribe's request, but they attack Uncas anyway, causing Uncas to seek help from the United Council. The commissioners rule that Uncas is in the right and pledge to support him if the Narragansett go to war. In response, the Narragansett pledge not to attack until at least the "next planting of corn" (216) and promise to hand over anyone who violates the agreement to the settlers for punishment.
Book 2, Chapter 25 Summary
Despite the prior year's agreement, the Narragansett attack Uncas again in 1645, and the Connecticut colony responds by sending Uncas reinforcements. At around the same time, the United Council contacts both tribes, restating their intention to support Uncas and requesting that the tribes send representatives to a peace meeting. The Narragansett comply, but with "slights" (217)as well as with a letter from Roger Williams informing the Council that the Narragansett have formed an alliance with the colonists in Providence and Aquidnett Island. The commissioners, along with several colony elders and military leaders, therefore issue a declaration of war. Once again, the Narragansett respond with threats, saying that they will "lay the English cattle in heaps as high as their houses, and that no Englishman should stir outside his door […] but he should be killed" (218). The settlers accordingly begin to organize troops for war, but send one final offer to the Narragansett, requesting that their sachems come to negotiate in Boston. The Narragansett agree and ultimately sign a treaty with the Council.
This agreement is very favorable to Plymouth and the other colonies. Among other things, it requires the Narragansett to pay reparations to the English settlers and to surrender several high-ranking members of the tribes as pledges against these payments. In addition, the Narragansett must return the captives they have taken prisoner to Uncas and promise not to wage war on either the colonists or their Native American allies in the future. Finally, the Narragansett must ask the Council's permission before selling any of their tribal lands.
Book 2, Chapter 26 Summary
The most significant event in 1646 is the arrival of several captured Spanish warships under the command of a man named Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell and his men stay in Plymouth for a month and are at first "very unruly […] so distemper[ing] themselves with drink that they became like madmen" (222). Although most of the men become "more moderate and orderly" (222) before leaving, one continues to argue and pick fights despite multiple warnings from Cromwell. Eventually, Cromwell strikes the man with the hilt of his sword, accidentally killing him. A court martial exonerates Cromwell, but Cromwell dies three years later from a similar wound: "[H]e fell on his rapier hilt, and bruised himself so badly that he died shortly after. It was remarked by some that this might show the hand of God" (222).
In 1646, Winslow also returns to England to defend the Massachusetts government against "discontented" settlers who are "petitioning and complaining to Parliament" (222). Winslow successfully defends the government but is unable to return to the colonies because of political "upheavals" in England. Winslow is still abroad as of 1650, the year Bradford is writing.
Bradford's account closes with a list of the people who came over on the Mayflower, along with explanations of when and how they died and what happened to their descendants. Bradford explains that more than half of the settlers died in the first epidemic and that many of those who survived were too old to have children. Nevertheless, he says that "in those thirty years there have sprung up from that stock over 160 persons now living in this year 1650; and of the old stock itself nearly thirty persons still survive. Let the Lord have the praise, [w]ho is the High Preserver of men" (226)
Book 2, Chapters 23-26 Analysis
Since neither Plymouth's story nor Bradford's story was complete at the time Bradford was writing his account, it is not surprising that Of Plymouth Plantation seems to end somewhat abruptly. Although several narrative threads—the conflict with the Narragansett, the dispute with the English investors, etc.—have been resolved, others are still up in the air. Winslow’s inability to return to the colony is a particularly dramatic example.
With that said, what makes these final few chapters jarring is not just their incompleteness but also the rapid shifts in tone. Chapter 23, for instance, begins with a reflective and personal look back at one of the founders of Plymouth before launching into a discussion of the political situation in New England after the end of the war with the Pequot. The brewing conflict between the Narragansett and the Monhigg, as well as their colonial allies, then occupies the rest of the chapter, along with most of Chapters 24 and 25.
In a sense, however, these changes in tone and topic mirror the tensions present throughout Bradford's account of Plymouth—in particular, the spiritual motives that inspire the Pilgrims to come to Plymouth in the first place, versus the financial and political entanglements that become more important after they have settled there. As he looks back over Brewster's life, Bradford becomes wistful, drawing repeated attention to Brewster's devoutness even in the midst of poverty and physical hardship: "I would ask, was he the worse for any of his former sufferings? What do I say? Worse? Nay; he was surely the better, for now they were added to his honour" (206). Bradford's tone here borders on nostalgia, suggesting that he perhaps views the passage of those "sufferings" with some regret, because of the opportunities they provided for spiritual growth.
By contrast, the challenges Plymouth now faces tend to draw them further and further into dealings with the outside world—specifically, the surrounding colonies and tribes. From a modern perspective, their interactions with the Narragansett and Monhigg makes this evolution even more questionable since the Pilgrims and their fellow colonists now wield enough power to dictate how the tribes dispose of their own territory. Although Bradford depicts the Narragansett (and earlier the Pequot), as the aggressors in the conflicts that arise between Native American tribes and European settlers, the extent of the Pilgrims' involvement in tribal matters is a clear departure from their original intentions in settling the region; they are now engaging in an early form of imperialism.
In light of all this, Bradford's decision to open Chapter 26 with the anecdote about Thomas Cromwell is significant. As he tells it, the story is another example of God's providence: Cromwell dies in a manner that corresponds to his "sins" (3). This is clearly not a new idea by this point, but it is a reassertion of the religious beliefs that gave the Pilgrims faith in the righteousness of their voyage to begin with. Combined with the list of passengers from the Mayflower, the final chapter marks a return to these founding values.
