Author: Azel Ames

William Bradford (1590-1657) was an English Separatist leader, historian, and governor of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He is the author of the canonical work “Of Plymouth Plantation”, also known as “The Mayflower Voyage & Its Aftermath”, which is considered one of the most important firsthand accounts of early American history. Bradford”s prose renders a detailed chronicle of the Separatist movement, the Mayflower voyage, the founding of Plymouth Colony, and the subsequent decades of the colony”s existence. Bradford served as governor for over thirty years between 1621 and 1656, where his leadership and firm but fair governance were instrumental in the survival and growth of Plymouth Colony. His writings provide an invaluable resource on the early Puritan experience in America, imbued with a narrative style that, while serving its historical purpose, also reflects the religious and societal ethos of his time. Bradford”s work has been of perennial interest to scholars and general readers alike for its authenticity, its blending of the collective and personal experiences of its author and his fellow pilgrims, and for the insight it offers into the challenges of governance, cohabitation with native peoples, and the complex dynamics of establishing a new society in a frontier land.