Category: 12th Grade English

William Bradford was an emigrant to Plymouth Colony in 1620. He wrote a book called Of Plymouth Plantation while he was in Plymouth Colony. According to Study.com, “ This book focuses mainly on the journey of the pilgrims from England to North America and discusses the founding of the Plymouth settlement. It gives his opinions on the biblical importance of the pilgrims reaching America and their struggles. The second book was not completely finished because of Bradford’s death.” Of Plymouth Plantation was William Bradford’s journal that he wrote in while he was in Plymouth Colony. The purpose of this journal was to inspire others in the Plymouth community with a history of the origin of Plymouth Colony, and the challenges that the first settlers overcame. Here is a summary of this journal:

To start, many Christian Europeans fled England because of persecutions, so many emigrants moved to Leiden. There they stayed for around 12 years. A debate began to leave or stay. They chose to leave, and they hired a ship and some left Holland. It turned out that they learned at Southampton that the promised supplies were less than expected, so they had to sell goods to raise 100 Pounds.They had a leaking ship problem on the Speedwell, so 11 people boarded the Mayflower; 20 returned to London while 103 departed for America. It was about winter time in New England. The Pilgrims, as we call them now, landed at Cap Code, and spent November there. In December, they sent 10 men to go look for a better place, and Indians attacked where the 10 men landed. Firearms scared away the Indians, and miraculously, no one was hurt. The 10 men moved on, and they found a harbor.The Pilgrims then moved to the harbor. They then build a storehouse and a small house. Sadly, half of the Pilgrims died due to the harsh cold, the lack of food, and a disease called scurvy. Almost half of the seamen died as well. Then one day, the famous Indians Samoset and Squanto arrive. Squanto had lived in England for a time, so he understood the language of the Pilgrims. He had become a valuable translator between the Indians and Pilgrims. They also showed the Pilgrims how to plant food in that area and how to hunt. Then the Indian chief Massasoit arrives. The Pilgrims and Indians then make a peace treaty. Threats from local Indians (different Indians) forced the Pilgrims to build a fence, and then later, a fort due to their fear of the Indians. At this point, Bradford is now governor.The harvest was sparse. A ship arrives with over 40 people, and the Pilgrims fear that these newcomers will eat their crops, and the newcomers feared that the Pilgrims would eat there food, so to solve this problem, each group at their own food. The Pilgrims then began trade with England. The Pilgrims began using wampum for trade, and the Indians noticed this. The Indians had not previously used it for money, but they started to and got into the trade. The king declared a law against selling guns to Indians. When Captain Wollaston and Morton arrive. Wollaston leaves for Virginia, but Morton stays. He was a lawyer and took over the colony as soon as Wollaston left. Morton began selling guns to Indians. Towns tried pressuring him to stop, but he refuses. Captain Miles Standish is then sent to arrest him, and Morton is taken to England. The region was now very prosperous in 1632.

Was Bradford’s account a morality tale for future generations? According to Study.com, “Overall, Bradford’s account is considered accurate and telling of the time period, but it is also considered biased with a bit of propaganda intent on inspiring future generations of Pilgrims. Even though his text is now over 400 years old, the majority of it is still legible“

Cabeza de Vaca’s book Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America Is what this title is talking about. Here is a brief summary of his book:

The story begins 49 years after Columbus found the New World, and there were huge interests in the New World. The story begins after a hurricane flattened Trinidad’s port town. Four ships arrive and 400 men and 80 horses set sail. Two more storms hit them, and they landed in a Florida bay. The governor was on one of the ships, and said that they would march further inland. Vaca advised against leaving the ships, but was overruled by the governor, and 300 men marched. on the way they met Indians. They also spent 25 days in empty land and were attacked by different Indians. Later, one third of their party became sick. They needed to build boats, so they built 32-foot barges. The river current took them farther inland where a storm hit. They encountered more Indians with which they traded with. They reached the Mississippi river and the water current was so strong that they could not reach land. The barge that had the governor got separated and another barge sank in a storm.Vaca’s boat was left and they finally reached land at Galveston Island. There were Indians who lived on the Island and the Indians feed them and gave them drinkable water. A wave capsized the barge so they went home with the Indians. They later came upon another crew of a different barge which had also capsized. Men began to die from the cold and disease. At this point there were 15 men left. Half the Indians got sick and died and the Indians blamed the Spaniards, so they enslaved them and killed three of them. He was there from 1528-1532. Then they escaped and a different tribe helped them. The Spaniards also healed people, and they healed the Indians who were sick, they even preformed surgeries. Lots of Indians were healed by the very few Spaniards. They moved west and along the way, they were welcomed by all Indian tribes because of there healing skills. The tribes even paid them to heal people from their tribe. In one tribe, they met an Indian wearing a Spaniard belt buckle. Vaca asked were he got it, and the Indian said that he took the belt buckle from a Spaniard who killed two of the Natives. The Spaniards were enslaving Indians, so the Indians, along with Vaca and his group, fled to the mountains. There, 600 Indians showed up with food, and Vaca convinced them to go to the governor. The captain of the ship who was acting for the governor treated the men well and preached to the Indians, and the Indians agreed to become Christians. The captain swore he would not invade. Vaca then went to Mexico City, and from there, Veracruz City to get a ship to Spain. Only 4 out of 300 men survived.

Las Casas’ book A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies is more of an account of all the horrific things that went on in the New World, like murdering Indians, enslaving them, taking them to Europe to serve as slaves, and other just horrific things that went on. It summarizes all of the mistreatment’s of the Indians that went on after the discovery of the New World.

So which book was more memorable, Cabeza de Vaca’s or Las Casas’s? I think that Cadeza de Vaca’s book is more memorable because I like survival stories and it is just a very interesting book that I think you should read if you haven’t already.

What is the most memorable story or moment in Cabeza de Vaca’s book, Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America, and why? Before I reveale my answer, I would like to lay some ground work about the author and his book. Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer of the new world and his book Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America, is a kind of autobiography of his adventures in the New World. Now, he spent years in the New World, and all this time he did not have a notebook, or paper, or pen even to keep track of his adventures, and he only wrote about it after he returned to Spain, so this man had an amazing memory. Here is a summary of his adventures:

The story begins 49 years after Columbus found the New World, and there were huge interests in the New World. The story begins after a hurricane flattened Trinidad’s port town. Four ships arrive and 400 men and 80 horses set sail. Two more storms hit them, and they landed in a Florida bay. The governor was on one of the ships, and said that they would march further inland. Vaca advised against leaving the ships, but was overruled by the governor, and 300 men marched. on the way they met Indians. They also spent 25 days in empty land and were attacked by different Indians. Later, one third of their party became sick. They needed to build boats, so they built 32-foot barges. The river current took them farther inland where a storm hit. They encountered more Indians with which they traded with. They reached the Mississippi river and the water current was so strong that they could not reach land. The barge that had the governor got separated and another barge sank in a storm.Vaca’s boat was left and they finally reached land at Galveston Island. There were Indians who lived on the Island and the Indians feed them and gave them drinkable water. A wave capsized the barge so they went home with the Indians. They later came upon another crew of a different barge which had also capsized. Men began to die from the cold and disease. At this point there were 15 men left. Half the Indians got sick and died and the Indians blamed the Spaniards, so they enslaved them and killed three of them. He was there from 1528-1532. Then they escaped and a different tribe helped them. The Spaniards also healed people, and they healed the Indians who were sick, they even preformed surgeries. Lots of Indians were  healed by the very few Spaniards. They moved west and along the way, they were welcomed by all Indian tribes because of there healing skills. The tribes even paid them to heal people from their tribe. In one tribe, they met an Indian wearing a Spaniard belt buckle. Vaca asked were he got it, and the Indian said that he took the belt buckle from a Spaniard who killed two of the Natives. The Spaniards were enslaving Indians, so the Indians, along with Vaca and his group, fled to the mountains. There, 600 Indians showed up with food, and Vaca convinced them to go to the governor. The captain of the ship who was acting for the governor treated the men well and preached to the Indians, and the Indians agreed to become Christians. The captain swore he would not invade. Vaca then went to Mexico City, and from there, Veracruz City to get a ship to Spain. Only 4 out of 300 men survived.

What is the most memorable story or moment in Cabeza de Vaca’s book, Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America, and why? I think that the most memorable part of the book is them healing the Indians because they were not only being kind to the Indians, but they were also saving lives. Also, if it were not for their popularity that had spread among the Indians, they probably would not have survived.