Nathaniel Shilbrick The Mayflower Analysis

The Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick is ingrained with significant themes that drive the story of the first Americans . Philbrick writes about the first years of Plymouth and the Pilgrim's struggle for survival in the harsh environment of pre colonial New England. The Mayflower mainly focuses on the themes of Work and Exchange, peopling, belief and culture, and geography. These themes are presented though the hardships of the Pilgrims and how they learned to thrive in the foreign world that they found themselves thrust into. Philbrick also employs various writing skills to help the reader understand the story. The theme of work, exchange, and technology are prevalent throughout Philbrick's Mayflower first in the Merchant Adventurers. When …show more content…

The Pilgrims found a group of wealthy and courageous business men known as The Merchant Adventurers. In return for goods from the new world such as furs and spices, The Merchant Adventurers provided the Pilgrims with everything they would need to traverse the Atlantic and survive in the new world. After a few years of collecting resources the Pilgrims sent back a ship full of sassafras, beaver skins, and split oak worth almost £500. Unfortunately, right outside of England the cargo ship was commandeered by the French and the goods never made it to the Merchant Adventurers. Another example of work and exchange is the introduction of capitalism to Plymouth. In the early days of the colony the population was fed using one large community farm that was worked on by …show more content…

This theme is also touched on throughout the book. The Pilgrims were first forced to leave England due to the harsh religious intolerance that they were plagued with under the harsh Church of England. After their dangerous exodus to the more tolerant Holland they were still unhappy. Despite the fact that they were able to worship as they pleased they were constantly working to provide for themselves. The leaders of the Pilgrims decided that they needed to move as the new generations were losing their culture to their long hours of labor. This was the impetus for them to move to America. The theme of peopling is continued once they reach Plymouth. Many of the plants that the Europeans relied on for food were unable to thrive in the environmental conditions of New England. Because of this the Pilgrims were forced to adapt in order to survive. Squanto, the only English speaking native, was able to teach the Pilgrims how to grow beans and corn using dead herring as fertilizer. The Pilgrims also had to adapt their fighting style in order to combat the unfriendly natives. The classic open field battle style that was familiar to the Europeans was severely ineffective against the guerrilla fighting styles of the Native Americans. In order to effectively combat the Indians they were forced to adopt their fighting techniques and at times use their own styles against them. While the Englishmen and Natives did fight for a