183 . 189 CHAMPLAIN'S Port du Cap St. Louis (New Plymouth), 1605 MAP OF NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOR. From Dexter's Edition of Mourt's Relation, 1865. 194 SIGNATURES OF OUSAMEKIN (MASSASOIT), WAMSUTTA AND 195 . 197 TITLE-PAGE of a Brief Relation of the Discovery and PLANTATION OF NEW ENGLAND, 1622. John Carter Brown Library . PRINTING OFFICE, ENGLAND, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. From Green's History of England Sowams, residence of OusamekiN. From a мs. Map of Ezra Stiles, M. H. S. 221 CHAMPLAIN'S MAP OF MALLEBARRE. (Nauset Harbor) 223 TITLE-PAGE OF CUSHMAN'S 'Sermon preached at Plimmoth in New England, 1622 SIGNATURE OF WILLIAM HILTON. From the Winthrop Papers, M. H. S. TITLE-PAGE OF AINSWORTH'S Annotations upon the Fourth Book of Moses, 1619. TITLE-PAGE OF MOURT'S RELATION, 1622. John Carter Brown Library Signature of WILLIAM PEIRCE. From the Winthrop Papers, M. H. S. PROCLAMATION PROHIBITING INTERLOPING AND DISORDERLY TRADING TO NEW ENGLAND IN AMERICA, 1622. P. R. O. THE BLACK PYNNES [PINNACE]. From Hakluyt's Principal Navigations, Hakluyt Society, XI. 401. SIGNATURE OF Christopher Levett TITLE-PAGE OF LEVETT'S Voyage into Nevv England, 1608. John Carter Brown Library SIGNATURE OF SIR FERDINANDO GORGES . 313 . 315 · 329 · 337 Signature of SAMUEL MAVERICK. From the Winthrop Papers, M. H. S. TITLE-PAGE OF MORELL'S New-England, 1625. M. H. S. CHAMPLAIN'S MAP OF LE BEAU PORT (Cape Ann) · 358 · 358 429 TITLE-PAGE OF A Forme of Prayer, necessary to bee vsed in these dangerous times, of warre and Pestilence, 1626 TITLE-PAGE OF JOHN WHITE'S The Planters Plea, 1630. John Carter Brown PATENT FOR CAPE ANN, 1623. From the original in the Essex Institute, Salem 407 TITLE-PAGE OF ROBINSON'S A Just and Necessarie Apologie of Certain Christians ... called Brownists or Barrowists. 1625. John Carter Brown Library PROCLAMATION "FOR A GENERALL AND PUBLIKE THANKESGIVING," ON THE PLAGUE. 1625. P. R. O.. 375 . 387 404 44I 443 445 TITLE-PAGE OF ROBINSON'S Essayes, 1638. John Carter Brown Library SIGNATURE OF ABRAHAM SHURT. From the Winthrop Papers, M. H. S. 446 447 Note THE Pilgrim Fathers at first established themselves at Plymouth as a matter of necessity. Later, they with deliberation chose to remain in a place which was soon overshadowed and absorbed by a colony occupying a site in every respect more advantageous. For nearly ten years, however, the planters at New Plymouth remained the only English settlers north of Chesapeake Bay, a few scattered fishing and trading establishments alone excepted. Prior to 1630 the history of New Plymouth was the history of New England. The earlier settlements were sporadic in character, and unimportant so far as the subsequent settlement was concerned, exercising no appreciable influence upon it. Their story has been told in all necessary detail. With the coming of the Endecott party the importance of the neighboring plantation declined, and as Massachusetts Bay increased in numbers and influence, New Plymouth lost authority, and with the confederation of 1643 threw its lot in with the more powerful bodies. As an historical factor it practically ceased to exist. Bradford began to write his History in 1630; the last year of annals included in his work was 1646, but he wrote as late as 1650. He thus covered the whole period of the historical importance of New Plymouth. Before 1630 his story stands unique in American annals; beginning with that year the History of Winthrop complements and enlarges the record. The Bradford History has been issued in four distinct editions. The Massachusetts Historical Society printed it in 1856, with notes by Charles Deane.1 In 1895 the Bradford мs. was reproduced in fac-simile by photography, with an introduction by John Andrew Doyle. Six years later, and after the Ms. had been transferred to the custody of the State of Massachusetts, the General Court of Massachusetts printed an edition, avowedly based upon the text of the Deane edition, but claiming to be improved by a careful collation with the original Ms. In 1908 Dr. John Franklin Jameson included the History in the series of "Original Narratives of early American History," with notes by William Thomas Davis of Plymouth, but with some important omissions 14 Mass. Hist. Collections, III. An edition of fifty copies was also printed on thicker paper for private distribution. in the text. Only in the photographic reproduction was the text complete, and in that form it was not readily available for general reading. In the present edition of the Bradford History the text is printed in its entirety for the first time. The original was taken as a foundation, and twice has the printer's proof been collated with the fac-simile of Doyle. The omissions of earlier issues have been made good, and verbal changes have been introduced where the reading of the Ms. has been at fault. The treatment of the text follows generally that adopted by Mr. Deane. The orthography of the original has been preserved; but in a few instances obvious errors of inadvertence have been corrected. The peculiar use of the time of the letters u and ʊ, and i and j, has not been followed, as a matter of no importance. While Mr. Deane printed such for shuch, because of corrections in the manuscripts, this edition adopts shuch, as other manuscripts of Bradford show that was his spelling of the word. The underscoring of words and sentences in the original was due to Prince and not Bradford, and is not followed in this edition. Notes by Bradford and Prince are not quoted, but are ascribed to the writers as part of the original manuscript; those by Mr. Deane are quoted and signed. All else has been added by the Editor of the present volume. The paging of the manuscript has been preserved in brackets, making easy reference to the editions prepared by Mr. Deane and the State of Massachusetts. References to first or contemporary issues of authorities are indicated by an asterisk before the page number. In annotating and illustrating the text whatever was authentic and of contemporaneous origin has been brought into the notes, so as to present as full a picture of the life of the plantation at the time as the available records will permit. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. GAMALIEL BRADFORD, JR. WORTHINGTON CHAUNCEY FORD, Editor. BOSTON, July, 1912. |