John Smith essays

John Smith essays We may know that Captain John Smith was one of the first American Heroes, but what parts of his life are we able to believe. John Smith was a proud and boastful man, and was often being saved by beautiful women. He set sail for America in December 20, 1606 and finally reached Virginia in April 1607. On May 13, 1607 the settlers landed in Jamestown and began the struggle to survive in their new environment. Life was difficult in Jamestown for the settlers, they dealt with the harsh winters, lack of fresh water and a spreading of diseases. Another thing that made life hard was attacks from the natives. The native hoped that the settlers would give up and leave, so they raided their camps, stole their pistols, gunpowder and other necessary supplies. John Smith became leader of the colonists and tried his best to fight off the natives. In December of 1607, ,John Smith and some other colonists were attacked with by Indian deer hunters. The Indians killed the other Englishmen that were with him and carried John back with them to their leader. Chief Wahunascawh was to decide his fate, however he was greatly impressed by Smiths self-confidence. As well as his tools he has with him, including an ivory and glass pocket compass he carried with him. Smith was questioned about his colony, and was a part of a ritual. Wahunascawhs daughter, Pocahontas was part of the ritual as well. Since Smith did not know what his fate was he was given the impression the Pocahontas saved him, which may not be the truth. Smith was released through friendship after four weeks of captivity. Disagreement between the colony grew, due to lack of supplies, laziness and periodic attempts at abandonment by many colonists. As well many disagreements over new policies being formulated in London. As a result, Smith left Jamestown to explore and map the Chesapeake Bay region and search for badly needed food supplies. He was elceted president of th...