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COLONIAL PERIOD ESSAY
The Colonial Period Essay
The Colonial Period Essay- APA
Liberty University
ENGL201 (D01)
Professor Robinson
November 14, 2022
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COLONIAL PERIOD ESSAY
During the early years of the discovery of America, many settlers in England dealt with
political and religious persecution which resulted in seeking freedom in the new world.
Jamestown, the first settled colony, was an opportunity for a fresh start. It also contributed to the
literature developments by bringing historians and literature along with it. John Smith, William
Bradford, and John Winthrop are three historians and literary writers that shared similar and
different views that contributed to the development of American literature.
John Smith had major contribution in the early developments of America as well as in the
literature realm. In 1607, he arrived in Virginia to find the first established colony called
Jamestown. Amongst this contribution to the colony, he was also an English solider, explorer,
colonial governor, and author of the first English book written in America titled “A True
Relation of Occurrences and Accidents in Virginia.” He valued hard work and enterprise and his
plain style of writing touched upon the themes of new lands and people, riches and pleasures of
the new world, and the advantages of immigration. “Smith’s narrative emphasized both the
adventurous aspect of life in the new world and its privations and dangers, especially
conflict with Native Americans. The book is most famous today for the story of
Pocahontas, the daughter of a Native American chief who (allegedly) saved Smith’s life.
Smith’s portrayal of Pocahontas as nobly self-sacrificing and amenable to English
settlement proved very influential in shaping images of Native Americans produced by
white writers for centuries to come” (Colonial Beginnings).
John Winthrop was an English puritan lawyer and the governor of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony that valued religion. His sermon entitled “A Model of Christian
Charity” alluded to how religion in Massachusetts would be in place. “Winthrop appears to
have used the image primarily to implore the colonists to live honorably and piously, because a
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COLONIAL PERIOD ESSAY
watching world would take notice of how the Massachusetts experiment went and would project
its judgment onto its religious beliefs” (Vile). His religious literature left a lasting impression and
impact upon Puritan beliefs.
William Bradford was an English puritan that sailed to North America on the
Mayflower in 1620 and was the governor of Plymouth Colony. His manuscript, “Of
Plymouth Plantation,” started in “in 1630, ten years after the Pilgrims arrived in
Massachusetts. He finished through Chapter X that year and then wrote the rest “in pieces” until
1647, though he wrote some entries as late as 1650. His handwritten journal recounts the
congregation’s travels from England to Amsterdam and Leyden, their preparations to sail to
North America, the ocean voyage, the establishment of Plymouth Colony, and then a narrative
history of the colony, in detail, to 1646. The manuscript also includes a list of passengers on the
Mayflower, along with their birth and death dates, encounters with the original inhabitants of
Massachusetts, and both business and theological conflicts within the colony” (…Plimoth
Plantation). Amongst other religious texts, this prose style of writing told a greater story, as it
depicted the experiences of a new nation.
These three historians had similarities as well as differences. Smith’s subject matter
was more secular and paradisiacal that suited propaganda and supported allowed for
immediate publication. Whereas Winthrop and Bradford’s subject supported Puritan
beliefs and had works that were intended to be publicized after their deaths. The main
similarities that exist between each style and theme of writing was the idea of the new
world. All three writers and historians saw the new world as a place of escape, of
economic and religious opportunities. A final similarity that exists between the three is
that they all migrated to the new world aspiring for new opportunities, so they disapproved
References
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COLONIAL PERIOD ESSAY
of a life of ease and luxury as well as laziness. A main difference between the writings of
each historian, is that John Smith’s writing differed from Winthrop and Bradford from a
secular standpoint rather than a religious view. Winthrop and Bradford viewed the new
world as a place of escape and opportunity religiously and economically, but Smith
presented it to his audience in a paradisiacal image and as a land of spiritual testing.
Overall, the settlement for Smith was strictly economic and for Winthrop and Bradford,
religion was the motivating factor.
John Smith, William Bradford, and John Winthrop are three English men,
historians, and authors that left a lasting impact on America. Their courage to seek and
explore for religious freedom and separation from England was a catalyst in the literary
advances made throughout the Colonial Period. Although each literature individually
produced gave different insight on the experiences each man endured, each work depicted
clearly what the new world was able to offer and that is what the Colonial Period
provided.
Vile, J. R. (n.d.). John Winthrop. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1232/john-winthrop
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COLONIAL PERIOD ESSAY
Eastern Connecticut State University. (n.d.). Colonial beginnings. Eastern Connecticut State
University. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from
https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/colonial-
beginnings.html
William Bradford’s of Plimoth Plantation - archives.lib.state.ma.us. (n.d.). Retrieved November
13, 2022, from
https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/807691/on1122617252.pdf?sequence
=1
