By the time the Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod, the local Native American people had had 100 years of contact and conflict with European explorers. Squanto, who became the Pilgrims’ interpreter, had learned English when he was kidnapped by an English expedition in 1605. The Nauset Indians, who attacked the Pilgrims shortly after their arrival, had survived years of skirmishes with English explorers, including a 1609 battle with John Smith of Jamestown fame. Does Bradford acknowledge this broader context in the excerpt we read from Of Plymouth Plantation? How does he describe Indigenous people?
Pilgrims Question 1
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Bradford partially acknowledges the context surrounding the Pilgrim’s interactions with Indigenous people. While he does dedicate a full paragraph to telling the story of Samoset and Squanto, he fails to paint a “true” picture. Instead, Bradford opted to say that Samoset picked up the English language from interactions with British ships, not a kidnapping. He even claimed that Samoset chose to work the earlier British ships as it would in turn allow profits for his people. Furthermore, he spoke of battles between the Pilgrims and “Indians,” however it seemed the goal in writing about these was to highlight God’s gift to them, not to tell a true and historical story.
Moving on to Bradford’s description of the Indigenous people, he describes them primarily as “wild” and “savages.” This immediately begins to dehumanize and “other” these people. Also, because Bradford tells the story of the defeat of the “Indians” and the inevitable alliance with Samoset and Squanto, he elevates the status of the Pilgrims above them. One can imply from reading this article that the Indigenous people are easy to defeat, even with only a few muskets, and that they were willing to give in and help the Pilgrims succeed.
Bradford does not acknowledge this broader context, nor does he really consider any possible inner world of any of the Indigenous people that the settlers encountered. He describes the natives’ attack as not only expected (with the settlers having prepared beforehand with their muskets and a barricade) but as a part of their nature, calling them “wild men” and “savages” throughout the account.
There’s an interesting comparison of the two descriptions of thievery in this account. When the settlers steal corn and other crops from the natives, it’s described as “finding” the crops, but when the natives steal from the settlers, it is stealing.
I find Bradford’s comments about the indigenous people “sulking” and being “aloof” and “showing off” really fascinating. In some ways, it shatters the previous notion of the natives being “wild” or “savage”, and it also, I think unintentionally, underscores just how desolate the settlers truly were.
When it comes to Squanto, Bradford again ignores the possibility of Squanto being an individual and autonomous being. Instead, Squanto becomes “a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.” Squanto is nothing other than an object or a tool in Bradford’s account.
Bradford does not acknowledge the broader context in the excerpt from “Of Plymouth and Plantation.” The story is told through the perspectives of the Pilgrims and does not give an understanding of why the Native Americans were “aggressive,” instead choosing to believe they were surviving because of God’s divine intervention. The harsh winter conditions led to many of the Pilgrims dying and they were only able to continue with their journey by stealing from the Native Americans. From the start of the excerpt, Bradford uses dehumanizing terms to describe the Indigenous people such as “savage barbarians” and how they refused to show kindness to the Pilgrims despite the fact of their long and hard journey. Bradford creates a story of the Pilgrims being the prey of the Native Americans by showing them as the aggressors and striking their village first in the middle of the night. When the Pilgrims meet Squanto, they fail to recognize the real historical context of his ability to speak broken English. This is also the only time they show any kindness or humanity toward the Native Americans but even then, only see Squanto as an instrument of God for their greater good, not a human being.
In the excerpt we were provided from William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, he does mention the existence of the historically famed native figures, but he fails to describe the reality of the interactions between these native figures and the European settlers. Bradford paints a biblical image, one that describes the settlers as “chosen people” and the natives as divine “tools” and “challenges” necessary to the settlers’ ability to succeed in the new world. Bradford does note how “impressed” the settlers are with Tissquantum and Samoset’s English-speaking ability, but this is about the extent of the compliments he pays to the natives, as in the following line, he establishes that Tissquantum and Samoset are God’s “gift” to the settlers. Though he does mention that Tisqauntum is taken as a translator as the settlers continue west, he omits the fact that he is taken against his will, and when he is returned to his home, it is mostly wiped out from disease brought by these same settlers.
Bradford’s description of the indigenous peoples aligns less with reality and more with the European settlers’ ideals of superiority when compared to the natives. He describes the new world as “hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men.” Not only does he describe the native men as wild, but he also compares them to animals, bringing forth his beliefs about the natives and establishing his belief in settler superiority, aligning the natives more with animals than with humans to the prospective reader.
Despite the mention of Samoset and Squanto and talking about them in a positive light, Bradford does not acknowledge the broader context of the assistance from Squanto whatsoever. He describes Squanto as a send from God to help the Europeans in their colonization, or simply a “tool” made to help the “chosen people”. He does this by setting a narrative parallel to the Bible. He refers to America as the “promised land” and makes a story similar to the Israelites leaving Egypt. Explained in “Mythmaking and Erasure in Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford completely omits the fact that Squanto was kidnapped and enslaved before being returned to the Wampanoags ridden with disease. Bradford instead simply puts it “[Squanto] never left them till he died”.
In the speech, Bradford describes the Native Americans as “beasts and wild men” and “savage barbarians”. He depicts them as savages and reinforces the idea that the settlers shed unnecessary mercy and kindness upon them. This is an insensitive and dehumanizing depiction of the Natives. He makes the interactions seem very diplomatic and transactional, seen through the deal laid out on page 4 of the PDF, when in fact they were quite forced and often drawn from kidnapping and enslavement.
Bradford does not acknowledge the long history of conflict and contact between Native Americans and Europeans prior to the Pilgrims’ arrival. In this excerpt, he mainly focuses on how scary and difficult the situation was for the Pilgrims. He describes the land as a “hideous and desolate wilderness.” He also says that they had no friends to welcome them or houses to go to. Bradford does not mention that Native American groups had already fought Europeans or that Squanto had already been kidnapped. He creates the narrative of the Pilgrims entering an empty, dangerous place and starting something new on their own.
Bradford describes Indigenous people as threatening and dangerous. He calls them “savage barbarians” and “wild men.” He talks about building barricades to “defend them from any sudden assaults of the savages.” Even when some of the Indigenous people helped, Bradford claims they were sent by God rather than acknowledging that they were independent people who chose to help. Overall, he portrays Indigenous people through fear and conflict, not by explaining their real history.
William Bradford does not really acknowledge the broader history of contact between Native peoples and European explorers before the Pilgrims’ arrival. Instead, he frames the colonists as entering a largely unknown and threatening “wilderness” which refers to the land they have approached. Although Bradford mentions that Squanto had been to England and could speak English, he does not explain how this knowledge of speaking english resulted from kidnapping and earlier English expeditions. Squanto is shown more as a figure that represents a special gift sent by God than as someone shaped by a long and complicated history of European intrusion. There is a signfigant focus on the divine.
Bradford’s descriptions of Indigenous people tend to emphasize danger and uncertainty. He refers to them as savages and wild men, and recounts their first encounter as a frightening attack in which God protects the colonists from harm. Even when peaceful relations are established with Massasoit, the narrative centers on how the treaty benefits the English settlement. The narrative repeatedly frames their survival as evidence of God’s providence. Overall, Bradford centers the Pilgrims’ vulnerability and divine mission while minimizing Indigenous peoples’ prior experiences with Europeans and their own political and historical context.
Bradford does not acknowledge the broader context of Native Americans’ prior conflict with European explorers. Instead, he centers a providential, Eurocentric narrative to mask his marginalization of Indigenous experiences. Rather than recognizing the reality of the Native Americans’ prior conflicts with English explorers or the violence they endured, he renders a false sense of synergy through a benevolent biblical lens.
For instance, Bradford describes Squanto as a “special instrument sent of God” because of the agricultural and resource advice he shared with the colony. By obscuring Squanto’s kidnapping and the devastating disease brought to his people, Bradford reduces him to a divine tool for the Pilgrims’ benefit. In doing so, Bradford ultimately dehumanizes Squanto— and Native Americans more broadly— by positioning them within a framework that justifies English Protestant hegemony.
In a similar light, when the Pilgrims discover stored Native corn, Bradford calls it “a special providence from God”. By attributing their success to divine intervention rather than Indigenous labor, he subordinates Native agency to an English Protestant worldview. Through this framing, Bradford reinforces a narrative that legitimizes English settlement while minimizing Indigenous realities.
Bradford does not really acknowledge the broader history of Native–European contact that had already shaped the region before the Pilgrims arrived. In Of Plymouth Plantation, he presents the land as a hideous and desolate wilderness filled with wild beasts and wild men, and he describes Indigenous people as savage barbarians who were ready to attack. By framing Native people primarily as threats, he leaves out the reality that they had endured over a century of violence, disease, and kidnapping at the hands of Europeans. There is no recognition that resistance from groups like the Nauset might have stemmed from earlier encounters with English explorers or from the trauma of events such as Squanto’s kidnapping.
Instead, Bradford centers the Pilgrims’ fear, suffering, and reliance on divine providence. Even when he describes cooperation with Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit, he calls Squanto a special instrument sent by God for their good. This framing emphasizes God’s plan rather than the complex history that made communication and alliance possible. Overall, Bradford’s account highlights the Pilgrims’ vulnerability and faith while minimizing Indigenous perspectives and the deeper context of colonial contact and conflict.