John Smith | A Brief Biography 

Yes, Smith probably is a great story teller. And as a historical writer he certainly benefits in many ways by being the first. His account of the early settlement, that may have been distributed as a broadside in 1608 is probably they first published report of Virginia. When he published his General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles, it was at the time of the Company's disbanding and at the point that he had out lived many of the Virginia Colony's early leadership. He was able to define himself, define the Company, frame England's early understanding of Virginia and his impact in the Colony's success & history. William Strachey's The Historie of Travaile Into Virginia Britannia was not published until 1849, and George Percy's A True Relation, which in part may have been a direct rebuttal of John Smith' account was not published until 1922. It's good to be first.

@@JYFMuseums "it's good to be first" 😉 yes, you are right, and thanks for your detailed answer! I think that John Smith's accounts aren't completely without merit, though, since he belonged to those first Europeans who helped to found Jamestown. And while the Native Americans who lived in that area were not completely clueless and already knew about the existence of Europeans who might cause a lot of trouble, John Smith encountered them and witnessed their way of life before it was irreversibly altered by the arrival of the European settlers. As far as his famous stories about Pocahontas are concerned, he definitely knew her personally when she was still a child and she might've taught him the language of her people when she visited Jamestown. Apparently there are a few indications that she gave him lessons. But John Smith probably invented the narrative of how she saved his life. He came up with that tale only many years after it supposedly happened and when the grown up Pocahontas had become a famous and important person. John Smith loved to be in the spot light. If the story would be really true, it's hard to explain why he had never talked about this profound experience before! It's also suspicious that he had told a very similar story of having been saved from certain death by a beautiful woman which supposedly happened when he was still in Europe and fought against the Turks. John Smith may have recycled his best tales. But, hey, we are still talking about him 500 years later, and Hollywood's leading men Mel Gibson and Colin Farrell have been cast as John Smith 😉

We're glad you enjoyed it!

Here is a link to John Smith's book "A Sea Grammar" --quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eebo;idno=A12469.0001.001 This link will take you to Encyclopedia Virginia and a site search for John Smith -- encyclopediavirginia.org/?_search_box=john+smith&x=0&y=0 And Encyclopedia Virginia -- encyclopediavirginia.org And if you'd like some deeper reading, check out "The Complete Works of Captain John Smith, 1580-1631" by John Smith and edited by Philip L. Barbour.

Thank you for your question! Tisquantum, also known as Squanto, was not captured by John Smith. For clarity, during the 1614 Plymouth Company voyage, there were two ships that traveled to New England. John Smith was on one of these ships and spent his time mapping the area and trading for furs. He then returned to England. The other ship was commanded by Thomas Hunt, who spent his time capturing Tisquantum (“Squanto”) and around 27 other Indigenous peoples in the area to sell into slavery in Europe for personal profit. Tisquantum was enslaved in Spain but reportedly escaped and eventually made his way back to Patuxet in 1619, but they had all been killed by smallpox and he had to move in with the Wampanoags. In 1621, Tisquantum met the Pilgrims at Plymouth and became an interpreter for them. We hope this cleared things up!

@@JYFMuseumsO Ok. Thanks! Tisquantum a Patuxet, did not have any kind of relationship w the Powhatan people then....... He would be captured to Spain then come back live w the Wampanoag and meet the pilgrims.

@@Tsonontowan Correct! There is no evidence that Tisquantum had a personal connection with any of the people in the Powhatan paramount chiefdom. However, even though Tisquantum himself may never have met a Powhatan person, when looking at the big picture, there is evidence that Indigenous groups in the northeast, such as the Patuxet, were certainly knowledgeable of and had trade relationships with nations in the Powhatan paramount chiefdom. We love your curiosity. Let us know if you have any other questions!

lesjones, highly unlikely! And John Smith himself mever claimed such a thing.