Of Plymouth Plantation: Book 2, Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

In the year 1625, Oldham returns to the colony, despite the fact that he’s been banished. He calls the Pilgrims good-for-nothings, and as a result he’s locked up and sent away from Plymouth, along with Lyford. Oldham later sails to Virginia, and during the voyage he nearly dies in a storm. The experience inspires Oldham to confess his sins and become a better Christian. He later lives with his wife and children in Massachusetts, but dies after being attacked by Indians. Lyford returns to his wife, who learns that he’s had a child with another woman. As the Bible says, Lyford dug a hole for himself, and now had to lie in it.

Lyford later makes alliances with some “worthy reformers” based in Ireland. During his time with these people, Lyford is said to have “defiled” a young woman who was engaged to be married to another man. Lyford later sails to the Massachusetts Bay, in the town later known as Salem. He eventually moves to Virginia, where he dies.

In the middle of the year, a ship arrives at Plymouth, bearing a letter from “the Adventurers in England.” In the letter the adventurers (investors) accuse the Pilgrims of treating them and their religious beliefs with outright hostility. The Pilgrims also receive a letter from “the Adventurers in England who remained friendly to them.” Therein, they explain that the Virginia Compact’s partnership is dissolved due to a failure to turn a profit. They also ask that the Pilgrims send them enough money to free them of their stake in the company’s common stock. The ship bears supplies for sale to the colonists, including cattle and shoes. Some colonists are offended by the high prices the investors charge. However, they purchase supplies and send the ship back laden with beaver furs and fish. When the ship sails back, though, it is captured by a Turkish fleet and its sailors are enslaved—confirming “the uncertainty of all human things.”

The Pilgrims also send a second ship to England, captained by Myles Standish. In England, Standish’s mission is to convince the remaining investors to fall in line instead of demanding their money back right away. Standish has little success, since there is a plague in England; however, he makes “good preparations” for a future agreement with the investors. Meanwhile, the Pilgrims experience a good harvest, and send a shipload of corn and beaver furs back to England.