As also that some use may be made hereof in after times by others in such like weighty employments and herewith I will end this chapter.” (History of Plimoth Plantation p. “I have been ye larger in these things, and so shall crave leave in some passages following, (though in other things I shall labour to be more contract,) that their children may see with what difficulties their fathers wrestled in going through these things in their first beginings, and how God brought them, along notwithstanding all their weakness and infirmities. William Bradford explains, in chapter six of the book, that the reason he wrote the manuscript was so that the descendants of the Pilgrims would know and appreciate the hardships their ancestors faced: The book was written between the years 16, and is a 270 page manuscript written in the form of two books. The book is considered the first American history book ever written and is known by many names, such as The History of Plymouth Plantation, History of the Plantation at Plymouth and William Bradford’s Journal.
In the manuscript, Bradford recorded everything from the pilgrim’s experiences living in the Netherlands, to their voyage on the Mayflower and their daily life in Plymouth colony. Mayflower pilgrim William Bradford wrote a detailed manuscript describing the pilgrim’s experiences in Holland and in the New World, which is now known as Of Plymouth Plantation.