Of Plymouth Plantation

Written over a period of years by William Bradford, the leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, Of Plymouth Plantation is regarded as the most authoritative account of the Pilgrims and the early years of the colony they founded. Written between 1630 and 1651, the journal describes the story of the Pilgrims from 1608, when they settled in the Dutch Republic on the European mainland through the 1620 Mayflower voyage to the New World, until the year 1647. The book ends with a list, written in 1651, of Mayflower passengers and what happened to them.

The document has carried many names. At the top of the original text is Of Plim̃oth Plantation, but newer prints of the text utilize the modern spelling, "Plymouth." The text of Bradford's journal is often called the History of Plymouth Plantation. In Wilberforce's text it is cited as History of the Plantation of Plymouth. It is also sometimes called William Bradford's Journal. A version published by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (after the return of the manuscript from England in 1897) is titled Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation" while labeled The Bradford History on the spine. It has also been called The Mayflower, although it is not a ship's log and was written after the events.

Bradford, along with Edward Winslow and others, contributed material to George Morton, who merged everything into a letter published in London in 1622, Mourt's Relation, which was primarily a journal of the colonists' first years at Plymouth.

Bradford’s history is a blend of fact and interpretation. The Bradford journal records not only the events of the first 30 years but also the reactions of the colonists. The Bradford journal is regarded by historians as the preeminent work of 17th century America. It is Bradford’s simple yet vivid story, as told in his journal, that has made the Pilgrims the much-loved "spiritual ancestors of all Americans" (Samuel Eliot Morison).

Bradford apparently never made an effort to publish the manuscript during his lifetime. He did intend for it to be preserved and read by others, writing at the end of chapter 6:

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