76 pages 2 hours read

William Bradford

Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1651

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Book 2, Chapters 16-19

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 2

Book 2, Chapter 16 Summary

Back in England, Winslow sells fur from Plymouth and speaks with the partners, who initially indicate that the colony will not be required to pay for the White Angel. Sherley, however, goes back on this promise just a few months later, though he does send the Pilgrims a power of attorney to collect the money from Allerton. Meanwhile, Winslow is summoned to speak before the "Lords Commissioners for the Colonies in America" (174), which rejects a petition he has drawn up asking for permission for the colonists to defend themselves against incursions into regions the settlers own titles to. Instead, the commissioners plan to install a man named Sir Ferdinand Gorges as Governor General of the region in part as a backhanded attempt to "disturb the peace of the churches [there] […] and stop their future growth" (174). This idea falls through, but the council seeks to discredit Winslow by cross-examining him on the legality of sermons he has given and marriages he has officiated in Plymouth, and in fact, they even imprison him for several months. Nevertheless, Winslow does manage to fulfill one primary objective of his trip, returning to Plymouth with a new minister named Mr.