Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647

Bradford explains how, despite the sadness and economic hardship involved in emigrating, the Pilgrims had faith that God would see them through. They face unexpected challenges even in leaving England, however, and have to bribe their way on board ships. This in turn leaves them vulnerable to betrayal, as Bradford uses two incidents to illustrate.

The first, shorter episode takes place in Lincolnshire, where a group of Pilgrims coordinates arrangements for a private passage. The captain of the ship, however, takes all their money and possessions aboard before turning them over to the local magistrates. Most of the Pilgrims are freed after a month, but seven remain in prison.

Not long afterward, some of this first group band together with other Pilgrims and contract a Dutch captain, whom they arrange to rendezvous with away from any towns. Low tides delay embarkation, and only a small group of men manage to board before the authorities show up. Frightened, the captain sails off, leaving the women, children, and possessions still ashore. These people are "hurried from one place to another" (8) before eventually being released on the grounds that "imprison[ing] so many innocent women and children only because they wished to go with their husbands seemed unreasonable and would cause an outcry" (8).Meanwhile, the ship itself nearly sinks in a storm off the coast of Norway but ultimately reaches Holland intact, which Bradford attributes to the devout prayers of those on board.

Bradford closes the chapter by noting that the Pilgrims encountered many more hardships during their "wanderings and travels, both on land and sea" (8). In the end, however, he suggests that their fortitude and "Christian behavior" (8) in the face of these obstacles impressed many who heard their story.

The Pilgrims initially settle in Amsterdam, but religious discord proves to be a recurring problem: John Smith and his followers had also settled there but "had already fallen out with the church that was there previously" (9). Fearing that this conflict would spread, Robinson and his own followers decide to relocate to Leyden—a "fair and beautiful city, of a sweet situation," but "lacking in [the] sea-faring trades" (9) that had previously provided employment for many of the Pilgrims. Since most of the group had farmed back in England, the Pilgrims had entered the Netherlands (a commercially-based economy) at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, Bradford says that the Pilgrims persevered in doing whatever they could, "valuing peace and their spiritual comfort above any other riches whatever" (9).

Over the next several years, a robust community develops under the leadership of Brewster and (especially) Robinson, who "besides his singular ability in divine things […] [is] also very able in directing [the Pilgrims'] civil affairs and foreseeing dangers and troubles" (10). Bradford characterizes Robinson as community-oriented and describes how the congregation worked to resolve disagreements quickly, "that love, peace, and communion continued" (10) though he also notes that in rare cases, members of the community might be expelled. Essentially, Bradford argues that the community in Leyden likely approached the values and organizational structures of the very earliest Christian communities.

To support these claims, Bradford draws attention to a handful of anecdotes involving the English settlers. He notes, for instance, that both the local government and the local merchants viewed the Pilgrims favorably in spite of their relative poverty; this, Bradford argues, speaks to the Pilgrims' honesty, dependability, and peacefulness. He also describes how Robinson became involved in a debate at the university over the doctrine of predestination: according to Bradford, Robinson argued in support of predestination so skillfully that many locals hoped he and his followers would become naturalized citizens. Bradford brings these incidents up in order to refute the idea that the Pilgrims were forced to leave Leyden.