John Smith "The General History of Virginia..." by Harold Terrell

John Smith, Admiral of New England, was a soldier, explorer, and author. Smith was one of the founders of the American colony of Jamestown in the early 1600s. Born 1580 in Lincolnshire, England, John Smith later traveled to America to help govern the British colony of Jamestown. After allegedly being saved from death by Pocahontas, he established trading agreements with native tribes. Smith sent a series of letters back documenting his experiences and thoughts/ideas of “The New World”. These letters soon turned into narratives which became very popular. The English renewed their involvement with America in the 1600s, but in doing such they got rid of the old system. The old system consisted of a more heroic model of exploration and colonization in which was replaced with a more corporate system of investors (usually merchants). This system helped with the cost of the overseas expansion. 

Throughout Smith’s narratives, details are provided about his early childhood and life as a soldier. Smith’s early life was mundane, born and raised in a farmer’s family. At age fifteen he was apprenticed to a shopkeeper near his home. Shortly after his father’s death in 1596, the sixteen year old found a way to indenture his job with the shopkeeper and went to the Netherlands to fight as a Dutch soldier. ß is this what he recounts in the narrative we read? Where are his words? Where is the analysis of his words? Follow directions.  Following his tour in the Netherlands, Smith went to the Mediterranean where he had some action.  Smith won a good share of prize money when a Venetian galley was captured. The next adventure for Smith was the Austrian war against the Turks from 1593-1606 where Smith fought for the Austrian army. During this war he fought valiantly in Hungary and was promoted to a captaincy. The Turks were eventually defeated and three officers were beheaded by Smith in which he was later awarded his coat of arms. Smith eventually was wounded in battle and taken prisoner, then sold into slavery to a Turk. After being passed around from place to place, Smith murdered his master on the Black Sea where he was being held and fled back to Romania and eventually returned back to England during the winter of 1604-05. Captain Smith’s military background was great but it carried liabilities with it such as being too brutal and using unnecessary force sometimes. He had a temper that was very difficult to control and was extremely stubborn which made him a troublesome companion. Because of these issues, Smith was placed under arrest during one of his voyages near the Canary Islands in February 1607 and later threatened with execution in the West Indies that following month.  
Some weeks after the arrival in Virginia, Smith was sworn into his seat on the council. Throughout Smith’s years there, he saw and experienced a lot but always remained in the center of all political actions. Smith soon became the president of the council and the most knowledgeable of the settlers regarding the new land. These explorations soon led to his imprisonment to the overlord of the Chesapeake Bay Indians (Powhatan). Smith claimed that the king’s daughter Pocahontas rescued him. Smith thought of this as an execution but it simply was just an adoption into the tribe. Caption Smith milked the story with Pocahontas, and failed to have a lasting influence on Virginia's affairs.Smith was charged with the death of two soldiers and eventually returned back to England where he continued his writings.