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“GOOD NEWS
FROM NEW ENGLAND”
by Edward Winslow
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A volume in the series
Native Americans of the Northeast
Edited by
Colin Calloway
Jean M. O’Brien
Barry O’Connell
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“GOOD NEWS
FROM NEW ENGLAND”
by Edward Winslow
A ScholArly Edition
Edited by
Kelly Wisecup
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University of Massachusetts Press
Amherst and Boston
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Copyright © 2014 by University of Massachusetts Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
iSBn 978-1-62534-083-2 (paper); 082-5 (hardcover)
Designed by Dennis Anderson
Set in Adobe Jenson Pro by House of Equations, Inc.
Printed and bound by Sheridan Books, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Winslow, Edward, 1595–1655.
“Good news from New England” / by Edward Winslow ; edited by Kelly Wisecup. —
A scholarly edition.
pages cm. — (Native Americans of the Northeast)
Originally published: London : Printed by I. D. John Dawson for W. Bladen
and J. Bellamie, 1624.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBn 978-1-62534-082-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) —
iSBn 978-1-62534-083-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Massachusetts—History—New Plymouth, 1620–1691.
2. Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony)—Early works to 1800. [1. Indians of North
America—Massachusetts.] I. Wisecup, Kelly, 1981– II. Title.
f68.A66 2014
974.4’02—dc23
2014008144
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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ContEntS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Part I: Edward Winslow, Good News from
New England (1624) 51
Part II: Related Texts 119
Section 1: Captives and Emissaries 121
1. From The Voyages of Giovanni da Verrazzano, 1524–1528 121
2. From James Rosier, A True Relation of the most prosperous voyage
made this present year 1605, by Captain George Waymouth, in the
discovery of the land of Virginia (1605) 124
3. From Ferdinando Gorges, “A Description of New England,”
in America Painted to the Life . . . an absolute Narrative of the
North parts of America, and of the Discoveries and Plantations
of our English in Virginia, New-England, and Barbados (1659) 126
4. From Phenehas Pratt, A Declaration Of The Affairs Of The
English People That First Inhabited New England (1662) 128
Section 2: Disease and Disorder 131
1. From John Smith, A Description of New England: Or The
Observations, And discoveries, of Captain John Smith (Admiral
of that Country) in the North of America (1616) 131
2. From Ferdinando Gorges, “A Description of New
England” (1659) 132
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vi Contents
3. From Ferdinando Gorges, A Brief Narration Or The Original
Undertakings Of The Advancement Of Plantations Into the Parts
of America (1658) 134
4. From Thomas Dermer, “To his Worshipful Friend M. Samuel
Purchas, Preacher of the Word, at the Church a Little within
Ludgate, London” (1625) 135
5. From Thomas Morton, New English Canaan or New Canaan.
Containing an Abstract of New England, Composed in three
Books (1637) 137
6. From Robert Cushman, A Sermon Preached at Plimoth in
New England . . . Written in the year 1621 (1622) 139
S ection 3: Compromise and Conflict 143
1. From William Bradford and Edward Winslow, A Relation Or
Journal of the beginning and proceedings of the English Plantation
settled at Plimoth in New England, by certain English adventurers
both Merchants and others (1622) 143
2. From William Bradford, History of the Plimoth Plantation
Containing An Account of the Voyage of the ‘Mayflower’ Written
by William Bradford (1896) 146
3. Edward Winslow, “A Journey to Packanokick, The Habitation
of the Great King Massasoyt. As also our Message, the Answer
and Entertainment We Had of Him” (1622) 147
4. Edward Winslow, “A Letter Sent From New-England to a
friend in these parts, setting forth a brief and true Declaration
of the worth of that Plantation; As also certain useful
Directions for such as intend a Voyage into those Parts” (1622) 154
5. From Phenehas Pratt, A Declaration Of The Affairs Of The
English People That First Inhabited New England (1662) 158
6. John Robinson to William Bradford (1623) 164
Bibliography 167
Index 177
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AcknowlEdgmEntS
Thanks to Matt Cohen and Karen Ordahl Kupperman for their long-
standing enthusiasm and support for this project and to Meghan Hughes
Morton for sharing my interest in Winslow early on. Matt, Gabriel
Cervantes, Alex Pettit, Dahlia Porter, and Cassander Smith provided
helpful feedback on the introduction. In addition, Drew Lopenzina
pointed me to Iroquois interpretations of arrows bound together, Ives
Goddard commented on Winslow’s spelling of Massachusett animate
nouns, and Stephen Foster suggested references on John Bellamie.
Elizabeth Veisz helped with research logistics and travels throughout
Massachusetts during the summer of 2012. Thanks also to my graduate
assistant, Erin Stalcup, for her expert work, and to the undergraduate
students in my spring 2011 and 2013 ENGL 3912 courses, for helping me
to consider how Good News is received in the classroom.
The staff at the John Carter Brown Library all provided immensely
helpful feedback and resources during the summer of 2012, which made
it a pleasure to do the research for this edition. Thanks especially to
Val Andrews, Kim Nusco, Ken Ward, Leslie Tobias Olson, and John
Minichiello. I’m also grateful to the Boston Public Library, the Massa-
chusetts State Archives (especially Jennifer Fauxsmith), Pilgrim Hall
Museum (especially Stephen O’Neill), Plimoth Plantation (especially
Karin Goldstein and Bob Charlebois), the Tomaquag Indian Memorial
Museum (especially Lorén Spears), the Massachusetts Historical Society,
Old Bridgewater Historical Society, the Huntington Library, the British
Library, the Newberry Library, the Library Company of Philadelphia,
and the Rhode Island Historical Society.
At University of Massachusetts Press, I thank Clark Dougan, Bruce
Wilcox, Carol Betsch, and the editors of the Native Americans of the
Northeast series, Colin Calloway, Barry O’Connell, and Jean O’Brien,
vii
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viii Acknowledgments
for their support of the edition and assistance along the way. Thanks as
well to two anonymous reviewers, whose comments improved the edition.
The research for this edition was made possible by a fellowship from
the John Carter Brown Library and by the Small Grant Program at the
University of North Texas. Thanks also to the Department of English at
UNT (especially to David Holdeman and Diana Holt) for supporting
the edition with a Research Assistant Grant and with funds to offset the
costs of reproducing images.
Finally, I thank Yale University Press for permission to reprint s elections
from The Voyages of Giovanni da Verrazzano, 1524–1528, ed. Lawrence C.
Wroth (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970), 135–36.
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“GOOD NEWS
FROM NEW ENGLAND”
by Edward Winslow
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