Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647

Allerton is one of the Pilgrims who originally came over on the Mayflower, and he quickly becomes one of the most prominent members of the Plymouth community; when Bradford becomes governor for the first time in 1621, Allerton is appointed as his assistant. From there, he goes on to represent the colony in its business dealings with the English investors, making frequent trips back and forth across the Atlantic. Allerton abuses this position, however, in order to make a profit; he repeatedly returns to Plymouth with goods to sell on the side and eventually buys the ship the White Angel without Plymouth's approval—his apparent plan being to use the ship for fishing and then sell it and the fish at a profit. Allerton also mismanages his personal finances, as his efforts to make an income on the side were in part attempts to clear his debts, and he does not always show good business acumen, at least according to Bradford. After leaving Plymouth for the first time, for instance, Allerton runs into trouble by selling to untrustworthy customers on credit. Unfortunately for the Pilgrims, Allerton's status as their representative means that they also suffer the effects of his mismanagement and questionable ethics; when they finally have a chance to go over his accounts, they find that Allerton has gotten the entire colony much deeper into debt.

Allerton therefore functions as one of the primary antagonists in Of Plymouth Plantation. However, Allerton is a more complex figure than Thomas Weston, for example, in that he is initially a trusted part of the Leyden congregation. To some extent, Allerton's forays into business are no different than Plymouth's as a whole since the colony, with Bradford included, generally supports private enterprise. In other words, Allerton reveals some of the pitfalls of the Pilgrims' brand of capitalism.

Weston is an English merchant whom the Pilgrims turn to for help in financing their voyage to and settlement in Plymouth. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Weston will deceive and exploit the Pilgrims in order to secure a profit; in fact, he alters the agreement virtually as soon as they have entered into it, and the new terms are much less favorable to the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims' difficulties with Weston only accelerate when they reach Plymouth since Weston continually neglects to ship over supplies while also berating them for not sending enough goods back themselves. What's more, he repeatedly sends settlers over that the Pilgrims regard as untrustworthy, and he even perhaps tries to spy on Plymouth's affairs via one of these men.

Weston himself eventually comes to America to join a colony his settlers have established there, and the Pilgrims take pity on him when he suffers numerous misfortunes. Narratively, then, Weston provides Bradford with another opportunity to demonstrate the Pilgrims' piety and morality, or their willingness to forgive a man who has undercut them multiple times. Weston does not respond in kind, illustrating the difficulty of following Christian precepts in a corrupt world. 

Sherley is an English businessman who, in addition to owning a share in the Pilgrims' enterprise, also acts as the colony's legal representative in England. He therefore functions as a go-between for the Pilgrims and the other English partners and is in frequent correspondence with Plymouth. Over time, it begins to look as though the Pilgrims' trust in Sherley is misplaced. Sherley participates in some of Allerton's more questionable decisions—for instance, going into business with Ashley—but later lays all the blame for Plymouth's financial predicament onto Allerton; according to Sherley, he himself was just as much a victim of Allerton's double-dealing as the Pilgrims themselves. What's more, the other partners eventually begin to complain that Sherley has not split the profits with them. It seems likely, then, that Sherley's attempts to help the Pilgrims (e.g., by providing them with a power of attorney to collect money from Allerton) are at least in part a means of trying to extricate himself from a sticky situation.

Squanto is among the first Native Americans the Pilgrims have close contact with. He is a member of the Patuxet tribe, although this is not made clear in Of Plymouth Plantation. The Pilgrims meet Squanto during the first spring they spend in Plymouth and soon employ him as an interpreter; Squanto had at one point nearly been sold into slavery and learned English during his efforts to return to America. In addition to acting as a translator, Squanto also teaches the Pilgrims how to successfully farm the land by fertilizing the soil with fish. Nevertheless, Bradford is reluctant to praise Squanto too highly, presumably for reasons of racial prejudice. Although he acknowledges that Squanto remained loyal to the Pilgrims until his death, Bradford also suggests that his loyalty stemmed from self-interest, claiming that Squanto had angered the Sachem Massasoit and therefore desired the colonists' protection. The Pilgrims do recognize him as a valuable ally and send a force to rescue him when he is captured by Corbitant, a Sachem friendly with Massasoit. Squanto dies in 1622 of what Bradford calls "Indian fever" (72), which is probably smallpox, and arranges for some of his possessions to be given to his friends in Plymouth.

Captain Standish is one of the settlers who comes to Plymouth on the Mayflower. His experience in the army makes him one of the most important leaders of the new colony, and he is frequently put in charge not only of military operations (e.g., the attempt to recapture the trading house d'Aulnay seizes), but also of exploratory expeditions. In fact, he leads the first group of Pilgrims ashore when they first reach America. The Pilgrims also entrust him with several legal and financial missions, sending him variously to England to negotiate with the investors and to Piscataqua to secure the release of an imprisoned Plymouth settler. Bradford's depiction of Standish paints an image of him as a brave, resourceful, and honorable man.

Robinson is the pastor of the congregation in Leyden, and thus one of the leading members of the Pilgrim community. Due to the difficulties and delays the Pilgrims' encounter with their investors, Robinson never actually makes the voyage to Plymouth himself; he dies in 1625, still in Leyden. Robinson's moral and religious influence over the Pilgrims is tremendous, and Bradford writes glowingly of the minister's intelligence and devotion. Arguably, however, the Pilgrims neglect to heed several key pieces of advice, including his warnings against getting into conflicts with the local tribes and "avoiding, as a deadly plague of [their] comfort, all retiredness of mind for selfish advantage" (37).

Winslow is another Pilgrim who came to Plymouth on the Mayflower. He is clearly a community leader, as he takes part in the initial arrangements for the voyage and settlement, and later plays central roles in trading and diplomatic expeditions around New England. Most significantly of all, he makes several voyages back and forth from England in an attempt to straighten out the Pilgrims' finances with the partners and is at one point even imprisoned by the politically hostile "Commissioners for the Colonies" (174), who hope to discredit Plymouth in order to install their own candidate as governor of the entire region. Winslow also serves several terms as Plymouth's Governor.

Cushman is the Pilgrims' main representative in the initial negotiations with the English investors. Cushman occasionally lets the Pilgrims down in this capacity—most importantly, when he agrees to Weston's altered terms without first obtaining their consent. This was necessary, according to Cushman, in order to secure the investors' participation in the deal. Nevertheless, the Pilgrims ultimately seem grateful for Cushman's help; when he dies in 1625, Bradford describes him as the Pilgrims' "right hand with their friends, the adventurers" (113).

Like Cushman, Carver acts as an agent for the Pilgrims as they attempt to arrange funding for their voyage and investment. In this role, he seems to unsuccessfully press Weston to be more generous with his terms. Carver is afterwards among the group that comes to Plymouth on the Mayflower and is, in fact, elected to be the colony's first governor. Within the first year he dies, possibly of heatstroke, and is succeeded by Bradford.

Morton is a member of a settlement, which was originally founded by a man named Captain Wollaston, near Plymouth. When Wollaston leaves for Virginia, Morton persuades the other settlers to join him in overthrowing Wollaston's delegate by promising them equality. According to Bradford, Morton then set himself up as leader, using money obtained from trading guns to Native Americans to fund drunken and "profane" (129) revelries. The Pilgrims are troubled both by Morton's irreligious practices and the role he has played in arming the local tribes, and they eventually send Captain Standish to arrest him. Morton is subsequently sent back to England, but later returns as Allerton's secretary. He is once more forced out of the colony and arrested—this time for murder—but again escapes justice.

Lyford is a minister sent by Cushman and Sherley to Plymouth in 1624. He appears to join the Plymouth congregation but, according to Bradford, soon begins to conspire with another settler named John Oldham to establish a new church by undermining the old one. The Pilgrims intercept letters Lyford has sent to England explaining his plan and confront him with the evidence. Lyford appears to repent but secretly resumes his correspondence and plotting; he is expelled from the colony in 1625 when it emerges that he fathered a child out of wedlock while living in Ireland.

Ashley is a trader with a patent for business in Penobscot, which is close to Plymouth. Allerton and Sherley decide to go into business with him and urge the Pilgrims to do the same. The Pilgrims are reluctant, knowing Ashley to be a "very profane young man" who has "lived among the Indians as a savage" (139). They eventually agree to help supply him in order to keep an eye on him. In response, Ashley not only refuses to repay the Pilgrims, but attempts to prejudice the English partners against doing business with them. Eventually, Ashley is "caught in a trap" (147) selling arms to Native Americans and sent back to England. He later dies during a voyage to Russia.

Massasoit is the chief Sachem of the Pokanoket—a tribe near Plymouth. When the Pilgrims settle in the region, Squanto helps them communicate with and send gifts to Massasoit, who is receptive to their offers of alliance. This is likely because the Pokanoket had been all but wiped out in a recent epidemic, probably smallpox, contracted from European explorers and colonists, leaving them vulnerable to attacks by the nearby Narragansett.