author
Edward Winslow
1595–1655
A Mayflower passenger and key leader at Plymouth Colony, he helped shape the colony’s government and its early diplomacy with the Wampanoag. His writings also preserve some of the best-known firsthand accounts of the Pilgrims’ first years in New England.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Droitwich, England, in 1595, Edward Winslow joined the English Separatist community in Leiden before sailing on the Mayflower in 1620. He became one of the most important figures in Plymouth Colony, serving in top leadership roles, including multiple terms as governor.
Winslow is especially remembered for his diplomatic work in the colony’s early years. He was involved in building relations with Massasoit and the Wampanoag, and his letters and published accounts helped document events that have become central to early colonial history, including the period often associated with the "first Thanksgiving."
Later, he returned to England and worked on colonial affairs during the English Civil War era. He died at sea in 1655 during an expedition in the Caribbean, leaving behind a record that remains valuable both to historians and to readers interested in the lived experience of Plymouth’s early settlers.