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Primary Sources

William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation
Along with the full text of the Pilgrims' journals for their first year at Plymouth.
Edited by Caleb Johnson

This is the first major new edition of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation to be published in more than fifty years!  Called by Nathaniel Philbrick "certainly the greatest book written in seventeenth-century America," this is the only thorough and complete history of Plymouth that was written by one of its actual founders: governor William Bradford himself.  This is required reading in many high school and college American Literature classes.  This new edition is heavily footnoted with the latest Plymouth Colony scholarship, and is heavily illustrated with relevant photos and images.  And, for the first time ever, Of Plymouth Plantation is here joined with a brand new edition of the other great Pilgrim primary-source record: A Relation or Journal of the Beginnings and Proceedings of the English Plantation Settled at Plymouth in New England (London, 1622).  More commonly called "Mourt's Relation," this is the Pilgrims' own first-hand journals of the day-to-day events surrounding the exploration and first settling of Plymouth Colony--from mundane weather observations to exciting exploration accounts, these journals are fun reading!  This "two books for the price of one" is topped off with a series of important Plymouth-related documents, and an enormous index covering thousands of different words and names.

BUY NOW from the publisher (Xlibris; $24.64 softcover, $35.09 hardcover).
Note: I recommend the hardcover because of the size of the book (622 pages).

The wonderful cover artwork consists of the painting, "Prosperous Wind," that was done by noted maritime artist Mike Haywood (canvas prints of "Prosperous Wind" can be purchased in the Mayflower Paintings and Artwork section of the MayflowerHistory.com bookstore). 

 

Other Primary Source Books
(in association with Amazon.com)

  • Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth is a journal that was written by several Mayflower passengers, and first published in London in 1622.  The journals  begin in November 1620 as the Mayflower arrives at Cape Cod, and continues through 1621, chronicling their explorations, their building of the Colony, and their earliest contacts with the Indians.  Note: This work is included, in full, in my new edition of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation (see above.)
  • Three Visitors to Early Plymouth.  This book republishes the letters of three visitors who came to the Plymouth Colony, namely John Pory (1622), Emmanuel Altham (1623-1624), and Isaac de Rasieres (1628).  Their letters record many interesting facts, descriptions, and events at Plymouth Colony that would not otherwise be known. 
  • Good News from New England.  This book was written by Mayflower passenger Edward Winslow, and first published in London in 1624.  It continues the journals begun in Mourt's Relation, covering the years 1622-1623, and chronicling the events surrounding the settlement of the Wessagussett Colony, and various expeditions to meet with and trade with the Indians. 
  • William Bradford's Letterbook.  Bradford's letterbook contains a large series of letters recovered in the 1790s in Nova Scotia; the letters recorded by Bradford deal primarily with Colony business matters, and provide very interesting inside into colony finances and trade. 
  • New English Canaan, by Thomas Morton.  Published in 1637, this book consists of three main sections.  The first section contains observations and descriptions of the Native Americans of New England; the second contains observations and descriptions of the animals, plants, and minerals of New England; and the third section contains Morton's views (mostly negative, frequently whimsical and satirical) about the settlers of New England, focusing heavily on Plymouth Colony. 

 

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