Premium Essay

John Smith Why Did The Jamestown Colonist

Submitted By
Words 721
Pages 3
John Smith is most remembered as the Jamestown colonist whose life was spared by Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas. The term “New England” can also be attributed to John Smith, or his levelling “no work no eat” policy. However, before Jamestown, Smith was a soldier, a pirate, a captain, a slave, and a murderer. John Smith was born to a successful farmer in Willoughby, England, in the year 1580. In an attempt to quell Smith’s desire to run away, his father put him in an apprenticeship, which Smith left as soon as his father died in 1596. From there he became an English mercenary. While abroad in France, Smith began reading renowned writers such as Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli in an effort to sophisticate himself culturally and militarily.
On his way to sign up for the Austrian army to fight against the Turks, he was shipwrecked on an island off the coast of France. There he was found by a Captain La Roche, whose …show more content…
The honors and titles he had earned abroad held no water in England, so he invested the Virginia Company and sailed to the New World. He quickly made enemies on the voyage over. The trip had taken much longer than planned. Naturally, living in such close quarters for five months led to the development of opposing groups. During a supply stop, Smith was chained on the charge of conspiring to kill the other stockholders and make himself the king of Virginia.
When they arrived in the Chesapeake area, they found a suitable place and named it Jamestown on May 13th, 1607. The colonists were off to a poor start concerning food. Their longer than expected voyage brought them to the Americas past the planting season, and they were low on supplies to begin with. The group dynamics were still tense, with one group refusing to do any sort of labor. The heat, mosquitoes, and poor food supply in the Americas killed 50 colonists within 6

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Conspiracies 9/11

...“Jamestown and triumphs” Julie Atkinson Reconstructive US History Professor Brumbaugh December 20,2014 Before the settlers landed in Jamestown, The Indians occupied the land and lived there for centuries. They were the first people to arrive in Jamestown. Some say there were 25,000 Indians; others say around 50,000 of the American natives, who lived on the land. There were about thirty different tribes whom the powhatan chiefdom took charge. However, each tribe had their own chief. In time there would be a change; King James 1 of England granted for another colony to be established under the Virginia Company of London which consisted of many wealthy Englishmen who wanted to invest their money into the company. They expected to open new lands for financial and patriotic explorations and use the resources of the new world. They wanted to establish English shipbuilding industries and to convert the Indians to Protestant Christianity. The Spanish were aggressive to convert the Indians to Roman Catholicism. Since there were already Spanish colonies in America, the English needed to develop new employment opportunities for the English. For this reason, English people wanted their own colonies. Around the time of 1607, there were three ships sailing from England: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery. They held around hundred and fifty English men, and boys who sailed four months before they reached Jamestown. During their voyage they encountered crowded conditions...

Words: 3345 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Roanoke Colony Research Paper

...known as North Carolina. He named it “Virginia” after the virgin queen, Elizabeth. Roanoke was a struggle. They did not know the new land and the animals, nor did they know about planting vegetation, they were not equipped with the tools and equipment needed, and then there were the Indians that they had to contend with. They were sailors and did not know the skills for planting crops and surviving on the new land. Raleigh left the Roanoke colony in 1587 and in 1590 returned with a supply ship and found no one at the colony. No one knew what happened to that colony....

Words: 1288 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Jamestown Colonists Dying Essay

...know that at the same time something terrible was happening in America. Some colonists had sailed from England and came to America to explore and find riches. During the years of 1607- 1611 these colonist were dying by the hundreds in Jamestown. The colonists were met with problems, and many to come, because they had too many people not trained correctly to endure what was to come. They also had a large amount of colonists that were gentlemen, wealthy people who were not trained to work with their hands. The moment the settlers arrived in America difficult thing were stirred up. Colonists made the Native Americans mad, because they had begun stealing land from the natives. The colonist began to die from disease, Indian attacks, starvation and many other things . One of the main reasons the colonists were dying was because of disease. The summer sickness of 1607 killed half of the colonists (Fausz, 63). Of the original settlers in May of 1607 there were no apothecaries, which could have assisted with medical issues and needs. Another concern that contributed to death by disease was that fresh water supply...

Words: 710 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Why Did Jamestown Unable To Grow Their Own Food

...The English at Jamestown were unable to grow their own food because they never put enough effort into doing it. One of the reasons that the English didn’t put enough effort into growing their own food was because the Indians already had it. Edmund S. Morgan states, “And the very fact that the Indians did grow corn may be one more reason why the colonists did not.” Another reason that they didn’t put enough effort was that the company paying for their trips didn’t care about the agriculture as much as the gold and other expensive resources. “The company never intended the colony to supply England with grain and did not even expect that agricultural products might be its principal exports.” John Smith helped Jamestown survive because he forced...

Words: 331 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Compare And Contrast Jamestown And North America

...The both colonies were lead by English leaders that both went through very similar situations on a daily basis. The leader of Jamestown was Captain John Smith and the leader of Plymouth was William Bradford. These colonies both went through starving times, to losing many of their people from Native American tribe attacks. The two colonies traveled trying to find a place to settle for a better life. The main reason why they were trying to find a new place was because of the economic colonization problems these colonies were going through. These two English colonies settled and North America was born. Before Jamestown became a colony Smith became interested in the efforts of establishing a colony in North America. Once the English settled in...

Words: 677 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Early Jamestown Why Did So Many Colonists Die

...During early Jamestown a tremendous about of settlers died several causes ranging from native attacks to disease raging through the settlement. During 1607 to 1610 Jamestown, located in modern day Virginia. Why did so many people colonists die? Many colonists died in early Jamestown between 1607-1611 for many different reasons for example many harsh and brutal attacks from natives, terrifying and devastating plagues, and no one to care for those crippled by disease and defending against natives. When the colonists first arrived the natives were not happy and often attacked the colonists making the natives a problem for the colony. According to J. Fredrick Fausz, "an abundance of bloodshed on both sides: England's First Indian war, 1909-1614, "the Virginia magazine of history and biography, January 1990 during the first year of the colony two people died from attacks at fort James then three more die from ambushes, then kill two more to capture captain John smith,then in 1609-1610 the killed 60 out of 120 stationed near the falls, and of one hundred men arriving they killed about half, finally during a siege they killed 33 more men. During the years of early Jamestown natives were a large threat primarily because of many attacks and sieges including natives killing half of 120 men stationed near the falls and when 100 new men arrived they killed about half of them making natives a large cause of many deaths....

Words: 480 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

John Smith's Attitude on the New World

...Captain John Smith was a strong-minded, strong willed, intelligent, and determined man. He was a solider for several years and then became an adventurer. In his adventures, he made many new discoveries and adopted many new beliefs. According to Captain John Smith, in the New World, there is the desire for, “…the language, knowledge to manage his boat without sails, the want of a sufficient power (knowing the multitude of the savages), apparel for his men, and other necessities…” which is still prominent today (page 59). John Smith was born in Willoughby, England on January 9, 1580. He was born into a farming family. At the young age of 15 he apprenticed a merchant. The death of his father inspired John to turn his life around and become an adventurer and soldier. He served for a while as a mercenary. His first stop was to fight for the Dutch in their quest for freedom from Phillip II in Spain. He then fought with the Austrians in the Netherlands against the Turks in Hungary. Here, he was promoted to captain. In Transylvania, he was wounded and captured and forced into slavery by the Turks. After being a slave for some time, Smith murdered his captor, and escaped into Russia and found his way back into England. His fighting days soon came to an end and his adventure soon began (www.u-s-histroy.com). In 1604, John Smith decided to invest in the New World adventures and joined the London Company. In 1606, he sailed with Captain Christopher Newport in hopes of discovering the...

Words: 1598 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Early Jamestown Dbq Questions And Answers

...Name: Connor Adkins Early Jamestown DBQ Essay What Caused the Death of So Many Early Jamestown Colonists? Imagine four and a half months on the sea, less than a year on the ground and nearly everyone you know, dead. That was what early Jamestown was like to the colonists. Jamestown was the second English colony and the first permanent one. King James, who the town was named after, gave John Smith, the established leader for many of the colonies early years, a charter to start the colony at Chesapeake Bay because the location seemed perfect. The location was not perfect. From the evidence provided, the Jamestown colonists were eradicated by lack of freshwater, conflict with natives, and few needed personnel. The colonists...

Words: 370 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Colonizing the West

...three articles by historians who discuss the experiences of two very different settlements and the task they undertook to settle new colonies in different locations for very different reasons. The Mormon settlement in Utah had a different reason for colonization than the settlement at Jamestown as shown through their financial pursuits, leadership examples, basic resources and differences in geography. One of the historians, Karen Kupperman, writes about the settlement of Jamestown. She writes that “even the most privileged [suffered] from food shortage, disease, absence of family and friends, opposition from inhabitants of the land, and sheer exhaustion” (pg. 19). Not every place is similar with the same resources. Each comes with unique characteristics and conditions. She starts off by explaining how organizing settlements in the Northern hemisphere was very different than in the Southern hemisphere. The only model the British had to follow for colonizing was South America. In the North there was no gold or silver to mine for profit nor a large number of natives to enslave. Because of these lacking traits it was difficult to find people who would finance the trip to colonize Jamestown. This brings up the most important factor when looking at colonization: money. Another one of the historians, Dean May, writes from a Mormon angle about a similar experience of colonization by the Mormons. He describes how Brigham Young, the Mormon leader, was faced with a hard decision...

Words: 1509 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Establishment of Jamestown

...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JAMESTOWN IN VIRGINIA SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR SHELLY BAILESS SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY I HIUS221-B09 LUO BY YVONNE MCCLENDON JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA MAY 20, 2013 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHAT WAS THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF THESE COLONIES? . . . . CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH GEORGE ALSOP. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTRODUCTION How Jamestown was established in Virginia, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Massachusetts and the establishment of Maryland and what was their nature and character of the colonies. Captain Smith major complaint, why the colonist was unable to fish or hunt general misconceptions of the treasure council. George Alsop method of growing and harvesting tobacco. The important of tobacco to the economy of Maryland. What was the nature and character of these colonies? That no man speak imperiously or maliciously against...

Words: 785 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Colonizers: Great Britain in Jamestown “Life and Death at Jamestwon”

...Colonizers: Great Britain in Jamestown “Life and Death at Jamestwon” INTRODUCTION “There it comes!” In May of 1607, there was the arrival of the first white settlers in Jamestown, Virginia. Virginia Company, a group of entrepreneurs from London, funded the explorers. Three ships namely Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery were used to transport the 104 men and women who left England to look for greener pastures in North America. Half of the settlers aboard the three ships were mostly “gentlemen” and some others from upper classes who do not know how to find a way to save their own lives. As soon as the colonists arrived at Jamestown On May 13, 1607, their expectations were immediately cut short since this group was met by rampant diseases, internal political struggle, as well as attacks from the native Indians. The initial instruction for the colonialist was to ensure that they have located a site that was not near the coasts to ensure an avoidance of Spanish warships, Virginia Council's primary concern. The relationship with Powhatan Indians were a major worry of the England Settlers. Because of the environmental issues at Jamestown, the English settlers had to establish their relations with native Powhatan Indians. Moreover, there were also some Indians who were hospitable to the first settlers, others were very hostile and would discharge them with arrows. After constructing rudimentary fort as well as witnessing Indian attacks, the white settlers realized that they...

Words: 3098 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Compare And Contrast Jamestown Vs Massachusetts Bay Colony

...Massachusetts Bay colony vs Jamestown What has made some colonies more successful than others? This, what would seem to be hard question, actually can be answered in a couple of different reasons. Such as Geography, goals, number of colonist, disease and water purity, and other reasons. The Massachusetts Bay colony was more successful for the beginning. At the beginning of each settlement, New England already had the upper hand over the Chesapeake because New England had 20,000 settlers versus the 5,000 going to the chesapeake (doc 7). This is an advantage to the New England colonies because, the more people there are in a colony, the more people can work towards creating a strong settlement and not dependent on limited resources such as tobacco. It is better to branch out like New England did and create more opportunities for the settlement. Not only is having a lot of settlers important but also keeping them alive is another key component. Jamestown already started off with low number compared to New England, but not only that but they had a high mortality rate. This is from multiple reasons, a couple being the deadly fresh and saltwater mix...

Words: 641 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Differences Between English Settlers And Native Americans

...clashes as the decades passed by. The Native Americans at first humbly welcomed the English explorers up until the seventeenth century. Little did they the Natives know, their welcoming would become their undoing. During around the fifteenth century, the English explorers arrived on the northeastern shores of America and were welcomed by the Native American tribes into their villages. Both parties saw this as a good opportunity to trade and exchange goods. The Natives generously provided the English explorers with resources, supplies and skills to use to...

Words: 734 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

John Smith vs John Winthrop

...Jessica Helin Paper 1 U.S. History 1 GEN223 John Smith vs. John Winthrop In the early years of America, there was a great deal of political and religious turmoil occurring in England. People wanted to escape to a place where they wouldn't be outlawed for their independent congregations and personal philosophies that they believed in. Eminent men, like John Smith and John Winthrop, saw America as a great opportunity to start over where they could establish new communities separated and undisturbed by England. They each wrote a proposal to the people of England to recruit them to come and help establish colonies in the New World. Both of these men had very different visions of what America was and what they wanted it to become upon their arrivals. Smith believed in the importance of hardworking to achieve wealth and the option of becoming financially independent. While Winthrop was concerned with working for God and averting selfishness to form a community with a close bond. John Smith was an English adventurer and soldier well known for his many adventures to different lands. Smith saw the New World as a place for people to set out on a journey for economic success. In his mind, America had resources that were waiting to be discovered for both utilization and profit. In a Description of Virginia, Smith communicates that in the New World, there is a definitive likelihood for many successful business enterprises by saying, 'the fertility of the soil, and the situation...

Words: 2044 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

History

...Who were the first people to make it to the America’s and where did they come from? (p. 4) the paleo Indians, and they came from India (Beringia) They were following their food source, mammoths. 2. Identify the location of and describe America’s longest mountain range. (p. 15-16) 3. Identify the location of and describe America’s longest river. (p. 15-16) 4. Identify the location of the Northeast, Southeast, Great Plains, and Southwest Native American cultures. (complete THIS online activity to learn) 5. What was Iroquois culture like? (p. 17-19) 6. How did initial European settlement in North America impact the native people already there? (p. 19) 7. What was the Age of Exploration? (p. 22-23) 8. What was moved from continent to continent in the Columbian Exchange? (p. 32-33) 9. What were some positive effects of this trade? Negative? (p. 32-33) 10. Why do we know so little about Early Native American cultures? (p. 33) 11. Where did colonists establish their early settlements and why? (not in book… get the answer during class) 12. Why did the Africa slave trade start in America? (p. 35-36) 13. What was the motivation for English Colonization in the New World? Why did Royalty want to colonize and why did the settlers want to colonize? (p. 39-45) 14. How did Captain John Smith restore order to the settlement of Jamestown? (p. 42-43) 15. What are the differences between slaves...

Words: 514 - Pages: 3