Jamestown - John Smith and Pocahontas
Summary
TLDRIn 1607, the English established Jamestown, a New World colony, with settlers from the Virginia Company seeking quick wealth. Ill-prepared and focused on finding gold, they neglected agriculture, leading to starvation and conflict with the Powhatan tribe. John Smith's leadership and the eventual discovery of tobacco saved the colony, which initially saw only 15% survival.
Takeaways
- 🏰 The English established their first New World colony at Jamestown in 1607, driven by the Virginia Company's desire for quick wealth.
- 👔 The colonists, mostly gentlemen not accustomed to manual labor, were ill-prepared for the challenges of settling a new land.
- 🌟 The initial focus was on finding gold, inspired by the Spanish success, rather than on sustainable living practices like farming or fishing.
- 🌧️ The first winter brought hardship, with many succumbing to diseases like malaria and yellow fever, and the rest facing starvation.
- 🤝 The English settlers' interactions with the local Powhatan tribe were strained, particularly after they began raiding the tribe's food supplies.
- 👨🦯 Powhatan, the chief of the Powhatan tribe, had a complex relationship with the English, including the kidnapping of John Smith.
- 👸 The story of Pocahontas saving John Smith from execution is likely a mix of legend and reality, used as a display of power and mercy.
- 🛡️ John Smith emerged as a leader in Jamestown, implementing a work-for-food policy that helped stabilize the struggling colony.
- 🥀 The 'starving time' of 1609-1610 saw extreme desperation, with settlers resorting to cannibalism to survive.
- 🚢 Despite the initial hardships, the arrival of new supply ships in 1610 allowed the colony to continue, eventually leading to the successful cultivation of tobacco.
Q & A
When did the English establish their first New World colony in North America?
-The English established their first New World colony in North America in 1607 at Jamestown.
What was the primary motivation of the Virginia Company in establishing Jamestown?
-The Virginia Company was motivated by the desire to make wealth for its shareholders quickly, similar to a modern-day corporation.
What was the English definition of a 'gentleman' during the time of the Jamestown settlement?
-A 'gentleman' was someone who did not work with his hands, often sent to find gold in Virginia.
Why were the English colonists at Jamestown unprepared for the challenges of settling the New World?
-The colonists were unprepared because they were focused on finding gold and getting rich quickly, rather than engaging in activities like farming or fishing to sustain themselves.
What hardships did the English settlers face during the first winter at Jamestown?
-The settlers faced starvation, illness from mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and yellow fever, and conflicts with the local Native Americans.
Who was the leader of the Algonquian tribe living in the Virginia tidewater during the time of the Jamestown colony?
-The leader of the Algonquian tribe was Powhatan, also known as Wahunsunacawh.
How did the English settlers' actions affect their relationship with the Powhatans?
-The English settlers' raids on the Powhatans' food supplies during the winter strained their relationship, as both groups were trying to survive.
What is the historical context behind the story of Pocahontas saving John Smith?
-The story of Pocahontas saving John Smith is likely a mix of legend and historical fact. It may have been a ritual display of power and mercy by Powhatan, with Pocahontas playing a ritual role in pleading for mercy.
What role did John Smith play in the survival of the Jamestown colony?
-John Smith emerged as a leader during the difficult times, implementing a policy that those who did not work would not eat, which helped to sustain the colony.
What event during the winter of 1609 to 1610 is known as 'the starving time'?
-The 'starving time' refers to the period when the colonists were so desperate for food that they resorted to eating vermin and, in one case, even resorted to cannibalism.
What significant discovery revitalized the Jamestown colony and made the Virginia experiment more successful?
-The discovery of tobacco revitalized the Jamestown colony, as it became a profitable cash crop that sustained the colony.
Outlines
🏰 The Founding of Jamestown and Its Early Struggles
The English, late to the colonization game, established Jamestown in 1607, a venture led by the Virginia Company seeking quick wealth. The colonists, mostly gentlemen unaccustomed to manual labor, were unprepared for the challenges of settlement. They were more focused on finding gold, inspired by Spain's New World riches, than on establishing a sustainable colony. This led to a lack of food and resources, causing starvation and conflict with the local Powhatan tribe. The narrative includes the story of John Smith's capture by Powhatan, the tribal leader, and his supposed rescue by Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas. However, the romanticized version of their relationship is disputed, with Pocahontas being much younger and eventually marrying another Englishman, John Rolfe. Despite Smith's efforts to impose work-for-food rules, the colony faced extreme hardships.
🌨️ The Starving Time and the Turnaround with Tobacco
The winter of 1609 to 1610, known as the 'starving time,' was particularly brutal for Jamestown's settlers. With extreme hunger driving them to desperate measures such as eating vermin and, in one case, a man resorting to cannibalism by killing and eating his wife, survival was a daily battle. Only a small fraction of the settlers, about 15%, managed to endure. In the spring of 1610, the remaining settlers were on the verge of abandoning Jamestown when they were met by new supply ships that decided to continue the colony's experiment. The discovery of tobacco cultivation would later prove to be a turning point, leading to a more successful future for the Virginia colony, as teased for the next video.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Jamestown
💡Virginia Company
💡Gentlemen
💡Powhatan
💡Pocahontas
💡John Smith
💡Starving Time
💡Tobacco
💡Cannibalism
💡Indigenous People
Highlights
The English established their first New World colony at Jamestown in 1607.
The colonists were unprepared and came from the Virginia Company, seeking quick wealth.
The English were influenced by Spain's wealth from the New World, aiming to find gold.
Gentlemen, defined as those who did not work with their hands, were sent to find gold in Virginia.
The English colonists neglected to plant crops or fish, focusing solely on finding gold.
The first winter brought disease and starvation, with no gold found.
The settlers, all men, were adventurers with no intention of starting families or long-term colonies.
As resources dwindled, the English settlers began raiding the local Powhatan tribe's food supplies.
Powhatan, the chief of the Powhatan tribe, was depicted by John Smith.
John Smith was kidnapped by the Powhatans, with a legend of a near execution.
Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan, allegedly saved John Smith from execution.
The story of Pocahontas and John Smith's love and marriage is likely untrue.
Powhatan's supposed execution of Smith might have been a ritual display of power and mercy.
After his kidnapping, John Smith emerged as the savior of Jamestown.
Smith implemented a policy that those who did not work would not eat.
The winter of 1609 to 1610, known as the starving time, saw extreme measures for survival.
Only about 15% of the Jamestown settlers survived the harsh conditions.
The colony was on the brink of abandoning Jamestown until the arrival of new supply ships.
The success of the Virginia colony later hinged on the discovery of tobacco.
Transcripts
- [Instructor] So after getting a very late start,
the English finally started a New World colony
on the coast of North America in 1607,
and it was here at Jamestown.
The English colonists at Jamestown could not have been
less prepared to settle a New World.
They came from the Virginia Company,
which was a joint-stock company,
or kind of like a modern-day corporation,
which was trying to make wealth for its shareholders
as quickly as possible.
Now, if you think about people in this time period,
they in England are taking a look over at Spain
and seeing Spain bring ships full of gold and silver
back to Europe from the New World, and they wanna get in
on that action.
And as far as they know, the whole New World
is just piled up with silver and gold.
So in the first months, they sent gentlemen,
and the English definition of a gentleman here is
someone who does not work with his hands,
to try to find gold
in Virginia.
Now, spoiler alert, there is no gold in Virginia.
But that whole first summer, when they were there,
they could have been planting crops,
they could have been fishing, I mean this is actually
a pretty bountiful area when it comes to natural resources
in plants and animals.
But they were trying to find gold, they were trying to
basically get rich quick, this was the scheme.
But then winter rolled around.
Those who hadn't already been killed by mosquito-borne
illnesses, like malaria or yellow fever, were now
subject to starvation.
And there the story gets even more complicated,
because the English settlers, who were all men, by the way,
they were adventurers, they were not there
to start families, start a long-term colony
in the New World, they just wanted to find gold and get out.
So as these English colonists are starving, they start to
run afoul of local Native Americans.
There were an Algonquian tribe
living in the Virginia tidewater, who were under
the rule of this man here.
This is a drawing of him done by John Smith, who we'll
talk about in a second.
His name was Powhatan.
His real name was Wahunsunacawh, but the English called him
Powhatan, and the people that he ruled, the Powhatans.
And as the English settlers realized that they had not
put away enough for practically any stores to get them
through the winter, they started raiding the food supplies
of the Powhatans, which, of course, didn't make them
very happy, they were also trying to survive the winter.
Then the Powhatans kidnapped John Smith,
and there's an engraving of him here.
Uh, and they kinda tried to show him their power.
So there's a legend that Powhatan was intending to execute
John Smith.
The daughter of Powhatan, Pocahontas also wasn't her
real name, that was her nickname, it kinda meant
little playful person.
Her real name was Matoaka, but we know her today
by her nickname, Pocahontas.
And Pocahontas intervened and kept her father
from executing John Smith, either out of the goodness
of her heart or maybe because she had a crush on him.
This is pretty much completely untrue.
The Disney version of this story says that Pocahontas
and John Smith go on to fall in love and get married.
The fact of the matter was that Pocahontas
was probably about 13 years old at the time.
And she will go on to marry an Englishman,
but not John Smith, John Rolfe,
who is famous in another way, which we'll get to soon.
It's also quite likely that Powhatan didn't actually intend
to execute Smith.
Instead, what he was doing was kind of a ritual
of power and mercy,
so he's doing kind of a mock execution,
saying, "All right, I have the power to execute you."
But then, Pocahontas, playing her ritual role, steps in
to say, "No, have mercy."
So he says, you know, "I could kill you
"because I'm a strong leader,
"but because I an also a merciful and just leader,
"I will not."
So after his kidnapping, John Smith really kinda steps up
as the savior of Jamestown, which probably would have
completely collapsed were it not for him.
And in 1608, he takes over and says that,
"He who shall not work shall not eat."
So you gotta pull your weight if you're gonna get supported
by the rest of the colonists.
Nevertheless, the first years at Jamestown were
pretty rough.
In the winter of 1609 to 1610, which they called
the starving time, the colonists were so hungry that
they resorted to eating vermin,
and they resorted to eating each other.
One man actually killed and ate his wife in one of the
few known examples of English cannibalism.
So Jamestown was a pretty rough place to be.
Only about 15%
of the settlers who went to Jamestown actually survived.
In fact, that following spring of 1610,
they decided to give up and head back to England.
They were met, just as they were leaving,
by new supply ships
that continued the Virginia experiment,
which will become much more successful after the discovery
of tobacco.
We'll get to that in the next video.
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