Of Plymouth Plantation

In the year 1631, Ashley and Allerton are no longer a part of the Pilgrims’ business affairs, thanks to “the hand of God.” Business begins to run smoothly, and Winslow sends supplies from England. However, Sherley charges the shipment from the White Angel to the Pilgrims, despite the fact that, according to Allerton, the White Angel brought no provisions for them.

Bradford receives a letter from Winslow explaining that Allerton has taken the White Angel for himself and intends to sell it in Spain, rather than allowing it to make shipments on the Pilgrims’ behalf. “To this day,” Bradford reports, Sherley and Allerton control the ship. On November 19th, 1631, Sherley sends a letter to Bradford, regretfully explaining that the Pilgrims will need to pay for the ship’s costs.

Bradford offers a few thoughts about Sherley’s letters. First, it seems clear that it was Allerton’s idea to purchase the White Angel and use it for his own profit. Furthermore, after the White Angel was wrecked in the storm, Allerton tried to charge the Pilgrims for his losses, believing that he was entitled to their help considering all he’d done for them in the past. Bradford prays that one day, Allerton will “see the evil of his ways.” Bradford also notes that the White Angel was clearly never intended for Pilgrims, as the bill of sale was made out to Sherley’s own name, and Allerton later testified to the same effect in a trial on September 7, 1639.

Bradford will now go over the details of Mr. Allerton’s accounts, which weren’t fully understood until some time after 1631. As early as the late 1620s, it’s clear, Allerton was in debt. Allerton transported shipments of beaver fur back from America to sell for his own profit; in doing so, Allerton limited the profitability of the Pilgrims’ colony. Allerton also pursued poor business ventures to get out of debt—at one point, he hired a “drunken crew” to make a shipment, and lost all the goods aboard the vessel.

Also in 1631, a man named Sir Christopher Gardiner arrives in Massachusetts. Gardiner is a descendant of the notorious Bishop of Winchester, who persecuted many of “God’s saints” in the previous century. Gardiner is known to live with a “comely young woman” believed to be his concubine. In Massachusetts, he flees from his community to live with Indians. Later on, Indians approach Bradford about arresting Gardiner, and Bradford offers them a reward for doing so, on the condition that they bring him alive. With Gardiner in custody, Bradford sends him to John Winthrop in Boston.

Gardiner later tries to sue Bradford for allowing the Indians to hurt him during his capture. In early 1632, Gardiner sends his petition to the royal Privy Council in England, asking for a full investigation into the state of affairs in America. The Council issues a degree that the New England colonies (including Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay), regardless of the actions of individuals, are in excellent health, and that their prosperity is beneficial for England itself.