Prompt One (19 October 2013): What are the most important ideas in John Smith’s diary? Why do you think Bradford was preferred of the two men? Once John Smith returned to the colony after going back for provisions he knew in order to survive they would have to go exploring looking for either food or some indigenous people to possibly trade with. The first exploration Smith went on, down river, they had run into a group of savages who eventually charged and attacked Smith and his men. Smith and his men were able to deter the attack by firing their muskets, which frightened the savages away. That eventually caused the savages to send one of their priests out to offer peace and to try to get their Okee back that was lost during the initial attack. At this time you see Smith has the colony at heart by negotiating with the savages and forming a friendship, and someone to trade with. Smith traded with the savages by giving them hatchets, beads, and copper, which in return he was given venison, turkey, bread, and fowl. On the second exploration further down river Smith was captured this time and eventually taken to the King of the savages and was to be killed. Then at the moment Smith was to have his head bashed in, Pocahontas, the emperors daughter, jumped down to keep Smith from being killed. Then the emperor also made reference to the goods that Smith had traded on his first voyage as well, which I think possibly, could have been another factor that kept him alive. Even though Bradford and Smith are both accredited for starting up two colonies in the New World, the reason behind starting the colonies might have to do with why Bradford was liked more than Smith. During the travels in Smiths early days,... ... middle of paper ... ...am a black and white kind of person, and if I have to stop to keep reading foot notes or to look up words then it is going to make it harder for me to completely finish it or get interested in it. A perfect example of this was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s’ Hiawatha’s Childhood Part III & IV. And then there is Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, it was hard for me to sit down in one setting and completely read this poem. I would catch myself drifting off reading the words but not being able to go back and even tell you what it was I read. But not all that was read was too hard to understand or some was wrote in simple terms but just weren’t appealing to me such as Walt Whitman Song of Myself or A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim. I pledge on my honor that I have not/nor will give or receive any unauthorized assistance on all of my work submitted for this course.
The New England and the Southern colonial settlements were united in several areas that created the opportunity for each group of colonies to grow. However, these groups of colonies took divergent paths when it came to the founders’ motives to settle the New World, the importance of religious and social orientation, economic approaches and political developments. These different approaches were ultimately successful beyond the early founders’ expectations.
Because of his restlessness in England, Smith became actively involved with plans to colonize Virginia, which had been granted a charter from King James I. After setting sail, this famous expedition finally reached Virginia in April, after enduring a lengthy voyage of over four months in three tiny ships. John Smith was one of the seven chosen to govern and start the colony. He took a...
As a young child many of us are raised to be familiar with the Pocahontas and John Smith story. Whether it was in a Disney movie or at a school play that one first learned of Jamestown, students want to believe that this romantic relationship really did occur. As one ages, one becomes aware of the dichotomy between fact and fiction. This is brilliantly explained in David A. Price's, Love and Hate in Jamestown. Price describes a more robust account of events that really did take place in the poorly run, miserable, yet evolving settlement of Jamestown, Virginia; and engulfs and edifies the story marketed by Disney and others for young audiences. Price reveals countless facts from original documents about the history of Jamestown and other fledgling colonies, John Smith, and Smith's relationship with Pocahontas. He develops a more compelling read than does the typical high school text book and writes intriguingly which propels the reader, to continue on to the successive chapters in the early history of Virginia.
Settlers in the Chesapeake region used force to take possession of Indian lands. The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the New Jerseys and Pennsylvania. In 1607, Jamestown (the first English colony in the New World) was founded by a group of settlers along the James River. And because the colony was near water, the Pilgrims had a great advantage. They created a society that was full of companies interested in profiting from the natural resources of the New World. They also turned to the local Powhatan Indians, who taught them the process of corn- and tobacco-growing. These staple-crops flourished throughout all five of these colonies. After the ship arrived, John Smith’s main concern was to “dig gold, refine gold, and load gold” but there was no g...
John Smith explains the hardships of the voyage in the “General History of Virginia” he and others endured. While finally landing on land and discovering the head of the Chickahamania River, The colony endured Disease, severe weather, Native American attacks, and starvation all threatened to destroy the colony. Smith talks about his accomplishments of being a “good leader” and how he helped in many ways. John Smith was captured by the Native Americans and brought back to the camp. Within an hour, the Native Americans prepared to shoot him, but the Native Americans done as Chief Powhatan ordered and brought stones to beat Smiths brains out. John Smith gave an ivory double compass to the Chief of Powhatan. The Native Americans marveled at the parts of the compass. After the Native Americans admired the compass for an hour Chief Powhatan held...
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and A Description of New England by John Smith are essentially irrelevant to one another in the way that each piece has a very different point of view. The author John Smith was a pilgrim who arrived in the Americas and wrote a description of the new land. William Bradford was also a pilgrim who arrived at Plymouth and wrote more about the realities of his personal journey. The purpose of this essay is to contrast the purposes of the writers, their intended audiences, and how each writer gives out a specific feeling.
The main reason the people Jamestown want to the Americas was to discover and make fortunes. They were about business and they only cared about themselves so they can become richer. They discovered tobacco and traded to make money. One day while John Smith was exploring the new land, he ran into the Native Americans. They were savages and took him prisoner for weeks. The Natives Americans were planning on killing John Smith but the Chief's daughter, Pocahontas, managed to convinced her father into freeing John Smith. John Smith then taught the Native Americans how the Earth worked. Imagine if Pocahontas wasn’t there to free John Smith, the people of Jamestown are armed and have military experience ‘’...Now
William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation differs from William Byrd’s The History of the Dividing Line in the cases of purpose, tone, and style. The main purpose of Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation is to show how the colonists in Plymouth colony were struggling and dying due to the lack of food, and how the Native Americans in the area came and helped them. Natives like Squanto “directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities” (Bradford, 33). The lessons taught by the Natives saved the colonists and they formed a mutual friendship, as evidenced by the first Thanksgiving. Bradford was trying to show how the colonists were suffering and dying, but survived with the help of the Natives. Byrd, on the other hand, showed that the Virginians
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, seem to have one thing in common in that they all touch upon the aspect of life in the new world. While The Tempest alludes to the new world and focuses on an imaginary concept of a Utopian society, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles and Of Plymouth Plantation offer first hand accounts of life in the new world. John Smith tells us about life on the new land and his experiences with natives while William Bradford emphasizes the difficulties and hardships that the people had to endure in building a colony.
They were unprepared for life in the wilderness. Most had the impression that everything would be easy in the new world. The men and boys who first settled in Jamestown were townsmen and gentlemen. “They had come expecting to find gold, friendly Indians, and easy living.” (America: A Narrative History, 57) This information was given to them before making the journey to the new world. The settles were also told they would be provided with everything they would need, but supplies from England were undependable. When they arrived there was no town or any shelter waiting for them. They had to learn how to hunt and grow their own food, which they were not use to or even knew how to do in this untamed world. Captain John Smith took charge of the colony ensuring that of the 38 original survivors had to pull their own weight. He used various means to archive his goals and through his efforts Jamestown pulled through. After a period called the “Starving Time,” (America: A Narrative History, 60), where most of the colonist died, a man named John Rolfe provided a way for the colony to survive. He was able to acquire tobacco seeds from the Spanish and with it he made the colony a source of trade (America: A Narrative History, 61). Tobacco and other grown good where used to improve the lives of the colonies, but their daily lives were still very harsh as they were
Each of these individuals did their part in making a historical effort on this time period. Their tributes to their communities helped form the nation we are still living in today. William Bradford was a natural born leader and assisted to better his colony in the best of his ability. He was very successful in his trials of teaching and learning as well. Jonathan Edwards was also authentically well in his purposes. From preaching impacting sermons regularly, to being recognized as one of the most prominent philosophers of all time, Edward’s left behind some very big shoes to fill. Bradford, leading his colony as governor in a more lenient matter, and Edward’s, was the stricter of the two. Their differences is what made them both so unique as authors, because their writing skills helped connect with their
Born in Austerfield England in 1590, William Bradford, orphaned at an early age, raised by several relatives, and with no formal education, became one of the most influential men of the original American Colonists, and is credited as the “Father of American history,” with his diaries of the Pilgrims’ journey and struggles to America. “Of Plymouth Plantation” the journals of William Bradford are still one of the major resources used for historians for this time in history. (Schoenberg, 2001)
In the New World Bradford and Morton were both important men of our history. The stories of both great men give us an insight into the way religion and influence affected Puritan life.
After their original leader, Bartholomew Goznold, dies, John Smith takes up his leadership position. Determined to survive and keep the colony going, he starts learning and observing the ways of the Indians. He tried to learn their language as well and tried to break the language barrier. He took a big gamble and came into the Indian camp to speak to chief Powhatan to bargain for food. Luckily for him, Powhatans daughter, Pocahontas, influenced her father to aid the Englishmen and John was able to secure food for the
In “ A Description of New England ”, Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. On the other hand, Bradford reminds us how harsh and difficult the trip to the New World was for the p...