Conclusion

Brewster’s death in 1644 marked a landmark in the history of the colony. At that time the English Civil Wars (or Puritan Revolution) had begun and William Bradford and others hoped that the small beginning of reform offered by Plymouth might lead to a transformation of not only New England but the mother country as well. But there were debates over that New England Way in the colonies, with a slow movement toward shifting authority from ordinary believers to clerical leaders, and from individual congregations to some form of synods or clerical councils. The practice of prophesying was criticized by many clergy. There were debates about the extent that different views should be tolerated. As he neared the end of his life William Bradford composed dialogues in which he explained the core values that the founders of Plymouth had upheld.

Plymouth and the Bay

During the 1620s the colony faced various challenges, some centering on a settlement to the north that came to be dominated by Thomas Morton. Morton was accused of selling guns and liquor to Natives and carrying on revels around a maypole he had erected. Plymouth sent Myles Standish and a small armed force to arrest Morton, and they sent him back to England. In 1628 the first settlers of what was to be the Massachusetts Bay Colony arrived in Salem. These puritans were not separatists but turned to Plymouth for advice on how to organize their religious life. Samuel Fuller, Plymouth’s physician and a deacon of the church, visited Salem to aid those suffering from scurvy, but also persuaded John Endecott, the settlement’s leader, of the congregational principles on which the Plymouth congregation was based. The Salem settlers thereafter drew up their own covenant and subsequently chose their own ministers.

Prologue: Disease and Death in Early Plymouth

Fifty-four-year-old William Brewster stood on the top of the smaller hill overlooking Plymouth harbor on a February day in 1621, mere months after he and his fellow Englishmen had established their settlement. He was one of the leaders of a group of religious reformers who had chosen to leave England because of their views, had spent a decade as refugees in the Netherlands, and now survived the difficult journey to America. In this new land they hoped that they could preserve both their faith and their English identity. He believed that the journey was God’s will, but that belief was being sorely tested....

Setting a New Course

By 1617 members of the congregation discussed moving. The challenges of living in Leiden remained great. They also feared the Netherlands becoming engaged in war with Spain. After considerable discussion, the congregation decided to emigrate, and to seek a new home in North America. Representatives of the congregation sought a particular patent from the Virginia Company of London. Because the venture would be costly, they negotiated with investors led by Thomas Weston. The investors would put up most of the money. The settlers themselves would work for seven years with income from their effort paying off the investors. When one of the ships engaged for the voyage, the Speedwell, proved unseaworthy, most of the intended colonists crowded onto the Mayflower. Conditions forced them to settle at Cape Cod. Being outside the area specified in the patent, the passengers drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact, setting terms for self-government.

To Tarry or Not to Tarry

For a long time, due to a lack of episcopal supervision, puritans such as William Brewster were able to implement practices they favored in their local communities. In Scrooby, Brewster and fellow puritans met in what was called a conventicle, where they prayed together, discussed the meaning of sermons they had heard and of the scripture, and shared their religious experiences. When the church authorities began to crack down on conventicles and ceremonial nonconformity, puritans faced the choice of obeying the authorities and working to reform the church from within, or separating and setting up their own, illegal, churches. Brewster and those gathered around him chose the latter course and bound themselves together by covenant as a new congregation. Joining them were the clergymen Richard Clifton and John Robinson, who had been deprived of their church posts.

Introduction

This book makes a series of arguments that challenge the standard interpretation of the Pilgrim story and the influence of Plymouth on the colonization of New England and the history of the United States. Those who are commonly referred to as Pilgrims are presented as members of the broader English puritan movement. Lay leadership such as that of William Brewster was central to the forming and conduct of congregational churches. These believers recognized that “further light” might always provide further insight into God’s designs. And Plymouth’s role in shaping the religious and cultural institutions of Massachusetts were more significant than previously realized.

Congregationalism Advanced

While the rest of New England followed the Congregationalist lead of Plymouth, there was unity without uniformity. Other churches sought the advice of Brewster and other Plymouth leaders on a variety of religious, political, and judicial matters. Various dissenters arose to challenge the New England Way. One was Roger Williams, who spent time in and developed some of his views in Plymouth. Plymouth had found a minister in Ralph Smith, who participated in the regional synod at Cambridge, Massachusetts, to define errors that had arisen during the Free Grace controversy. Samuel Gorton was another troubler of the established order who spent time in Plymouth. As Plymouth grew, individuals hived off from the original settlement to form new settlements in the colony such as Scituate, Duxbury, and Marshfield. This growth posed challenges to the values of the colony.

Dawn Land

The land that the Mayflower sailed to was inhabited by various tribes of Native Americans. Over the preceding years some Natives had been kidnapped by English explorers and traders. Those same Englishmen had introduced diseases that, because of lack of previous exposure to the pathogens, became “virgin soil epidemics” that decimated many tribes. Patuxet, a Wampanoag village on the site the Mayflower colonists decided to settle, had been virtually wiped out by disease a few years earlier. The uneven impact that epidemics had on different tribes upset the balance of power between them. The Wampanoags, who had suffered greatly, were open to seeking aid from the English against their Native enemies.

Refugees

Growing pressure on English separatists led many to seek refuge in the Netherlands, where there was greater religious toleration. After a few attempts that were prevented by English authorities, the Scrooby congregation migrated to Amsterdam, joining briefly with the English Ancient Church there. Shortly thereafter they moved on to Leiden, a Dutch city that Brewster was familiar with. They struggled to adapt to an urban environment, new occupations, and a different culture. With John Robinson as their pastor and William Brewster as lay elder, the congregation perfected its practices, including lay prophesying. Robinson engaged in debates with Arminians, who challenged orthodox Calvinism. Brewster started a press that published puritan books. Over time they abandoned a strict separatism that rejected all contacts with those who had not left the Church of England, to a greater openness to contacts with other godly believers.

The Religious Scene in Early Modern England

From the start of the English Reformation in the 1530s under Henry VIII through into the early seventeenth-century there was unceasing controversy over how the new church should be defined. Some wished much of Roman Catholic belief and practice to be retained. Other, labeled puritans, sought to follow the lead of more advanced continental reformers and purge the church of all Catholic remnants. William Brewster was a young puritan who had studied at Cambridge University, traveled to the continent with the English envoy William Davison, and then, following Davison’s fall from grace, returned to his home town of Scrooby. There he sought to further the cause of religious reform and gathered around himself men and women of similar beliefs.