Bradford, William
1590
Austerfield, Yorkshire, England
May 9, 1657
Plymouth Colony
Governor and historian
"And here is to be noted a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people, that here they got seed to plant them corn the next year, or else they might have starved. . . . "
William Bradford.
William Bradford was the leader of a religious group called the Pilgrims, who embarked on the famous voyage to the New World (the European term for North America and South America) on board the ship Mayflower. In 1620, after landing on the northeast coast of present-day Massachusetts, the Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony. When the first elected governor, John Carver, died, Bradford took his place. As governor, Bradford grappled with a terrible famine (an extreme scarcity of food) and forged relations with local Native Americans. Bradford's time in office is considered an example of effective early American politics. Although he practiced absolute authority, he was not a tyrant (a ruler who exercises absolute power brutally). In addition to being the governor of Plymouth, Bradford was also an important religious leader and its principal historian. He wrote Of Plymouth Plantation (1630), which remains a valuable source of information about life in colonial America.
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