Smith states that the voyage to America and the establishment of the colony were for business purposes, but he doesnt explicitly mention the identity of the organization or company that was responsible for the operations. However, by taking into account the fact that the Virginia Company was responsible for managing colonization activities in Virginia, the reader can conclude that Jamestown was established under the supervision of that company.John Winthrops Vision for the Massachusetts Bay Colony
In this article, Governor Winthrop doesnt describe the actual nature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but he discusses his vision for it. His goal was to ensure a new and better way of life there by establishing a model of charity based on the teachings of Christianity. Religion and charity are the only aspects of life in the colony that Winthrop discusses in this article.William Bradfords History of Plymouth Plantation
The English colonists acquired a patent from the Virginia Company for the establishment of the colony in the northern part of Virginia. At the end of their to voyage to America, they found that they arrived in Cape Cod instead of Virginia, and a new colony was established there in 1620. Since the new colony wasnt located in Virginia, the patent that the colonists had became totally useless for them. Therefore, they decided to create a new governing law for the colony. The result was signing the Mayflower Compact in 1621. This compact emphasized the necessity of religion as the main foundation of life in the colony. The colonists main goals were serving (a) the advancement of the Christian religion in the area, (b) and the honor of the king and kingdom of England.
Successes or Failures of Each Colony
The common similarity between the three articles is that each author argues that every success that his respective colony experienced was caused by Gods blessingsJohn Smiths Account of the Founding of Jamestown in 1607
The challenges that Jamestown faced in its early days were (a) the frequent attacks by native savages, (b) the lack of food, (c) sickness, and (d) the relatively high weather temperatures. The failure of the colony seemed inevitable to colonists, but everything began to change after the capture of Smith by local Indians. He was later released due to the fact that his captivity was rejected by their emperor, Powhatan, and his daughter, Pocahontas. Powhatan believed that Smith would be useful in certain occupations, while Pocahontas motive for saving him isnt explained in the article (its implied that it was love). Indians eventually decided to consider Smith a friend and then returned him to Jamestown. Throughout the days following those events, Pocahontas had been visiting the colony continually with her attendances to deliver provisions, which was what saved colonists there from the threat of a deadly famine.
Smiths account of the founding of Jamestown implies an emphasis that Gods help is what ends all sufferings, and that Gods always helps people accomplish their goals if those goals are good. He argues that everything that happened and was somehow beneficial for the colony was in fact one of Gods blessings (e.g., when the Indians started to feel sympathy for Smith). Smith believes that without Gods help, Jamestown wouldnt have succeeded and would have collapsed rapidly. John Winthrops Vision for the Massachusetts Bay Colony
In his article, Winthrop discusses the successes that he wishes and expects for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, not the actual successes, and thats because he wrote the article on board the Arbella (i.e., before arriving in the American). Winthrop explains the methods by which the teachings of the Bible can ensure success and prosperity for any Christian society (he doesnt see any possibility of failure). He also emphasizes the necessity of love as the foundation of (a) the relationship between the members of society, and (b) the relationship between people and God. And thats because love makes bonds perfect.
This article discusses the methods that the Bible established for aiding the poor and people who are in need for help. The rich who enjoy abundance and prosperity should share what God gives them with their brothers who arent as fortunate as them. Moreover, people who enjoy welfare should lend others who are in need for loans borrowers who are likely to repay should be lent according to the requests, while others who are unlikely to repay should be lent according to their needs only. In cases of borrowers inability to repay, lenders should forgive. In the cases of common perils (e.g., wars), members of the society should be more generous and more devoted to each other. In fulfilling all these duties, the rich shouldnt ignore the rights and shares of their families.
In this article, Winthrop relies heavily on logical reasoning and quoting and citing from the Bible when necessary. For every point he discusses, he derives an example (story) from the Bible to clarify his idea and reinforce his arguments. Without discussing the importance of love in a Christian society, nearly all arguments presented in this article can considered useless and meaningless.William Bradfords History of Plymouth Plantation
One of the things that helped the colony succeed was its good relation with the local Indians (the name of the tribe isnt mentioned in the article). Fortunately for the English colonists, there was an Indian who had little knowledge of English language, Samoset. He provided colonists with useful information about his people and the nearby Indian towns, but his most useful help was referring the colonists to another Indian in his town who had decent knowledge of English, Squanto. Squanto taught the colonists how to set corn plantations, where to find good places for fishing, etc. He remained a faithful and useful guide from them until his death.
For the first two years of the colonys life, colonists followed a communal farming system no one had the legal right of owning a piece of land as a private property. All people who worked in the fields were rewarded equally regardless of how much work they did, their age, etc. This system bred much discontent among colonists and resulted in a decline in the levels of production. In 1623, the colony was suffering a shortage of crops, and therefore colonists began to put a new plan for a more-productive agricultural system. The result was creating a new farming system based on giving each family a parcel of land, but the ownership wasnt permanent (i.e., no inheritance). This new system fixed the problems that accompanied the implementation of communal farming and, thus, resulted in notable increases in production levels.
Like Smith and Winthrop, Bradford attributes every success and end of a trouble to Gods blessings. Examples of events that Bradford considers as blessings are (a) the colonists safe arrival in America, and (b) meeting Squanto. Bradford attributes mistakes and problems to humans disobedience of Gods orders. For instance, he attributes the problems associated with applying communal farming to the fact that this system, which was created by humans, cuts off the relations that has been set by God amongst people.
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