Reading Guide on Bradford
Main characters
| William Bradford | Squanto | Dermer |
| lusty seaman | Samoset | Captain Stone |
| Miles Standish | Massasoit | Narragansetts |
| Pequots |
Common Vocabulary
| Shallop | scurvy | prodigality | sundry | scurrilous | sachem |
| pinnace | bark | licentious | dissolute | skulk | |
| pernicious | quaff | scurvy | compact | lusty |
Technical Vocabulary
| saints | type/typology | |
| strangers | co-opt | |
| providence |
Book I, Chapter IX:
What's the name of the ship they were on?
What happened to the proud, profane and lusty sailor who cursed them daily
and looked forward to throwing them overboard?
What kind of problem did the ship have on the way over?
What motivated the writing and signing of the Mayflower Compact (use the words saints and strangers in the answer)?
Book I, Chapter X:
Who was the famous Captain that took the first team overland?
When they met a native for the first time, what did the native do?
What did they find buried in native towns? What did they do about what they found buried there?
What were the natives gathered on the beach near their first camp doing?
What did they hear in the night?
How did the natives receive them during their "First Encounter"?
On what day did they begin erecting their first houses?
Why did they write and sign the Compact?
How many died that first winter?
The pilgrims had to drink what instead of what? What was the Puritan drink of choice in this pristine New World?
During the time of sickness, how'd the sailors treat each other? How is that story used by Bradford to illustrate a point he has about the difference between Saints and Strangers?
What did Squanto bring back and where did he get them?
What did the Massasoit natives make with the settlers? Do you think it was fair and balanced?
What happened to Squanto's people?
Why did the Pocanockets/Wampanoags hate the English?
What effect did the settlers seem to have on winter fowl?
How did Captain Stone talk the Dutch Governor into letting him seize the Pilgrim's ship?
According to the Dutch account, how and why was Stone killed?
Who or what saved the fort full of Dutch and English up the Connecticut River?
Of the 1000 or so Indians up the Connecticut River that got sick from smallpox, Bradford estimates that about <what percentage> died?
At the first, how did the Pilgrims feel about the Natives getting smallpox? How did their attitude change?
Which native tribe sided with the English? What part did they play in the war with the opposing party?
Which native tribe was against the English? What motivated their antagonism toward the English?
What was Granger's sin and how was he punished for it?
What happened to the animals?