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John Smith Individual The English soldier and adventurer Capt. John Smith not only helped to found the Virginia colony but also, through his bold and vigorous leadership, played a crucial role in its survival. Born the son of a farmer in Willoughby, England in 1579 or 1580, Smith left home at an early age to seek adventure as a soldier in Europe. While serving with the eastern European forces that were fighting the Turks, he was captured and sold into slavery. After a dramatic escape and further adventures abroad, Smith returned to England. There, by his own account, he helped organize the Virginia Company of London for the purpose of starting a colony in Virginia. In December 1606, Smith was one of the 108 colonists who sailed for America in three ships. Landing in Virginia in May 1607, the colonists founded a settlement at Jamestown, 40 miles up the James River. From the start, Jamestown was wracked by disease and internal dissension. Unlike Smith, who at the age of 27 was already a tough and experienced captain, most of the settlers were ill-prepared for the serious business of establishing a colony. They had come expecting to make their fortunes through the discovery of gold and silver and were unwilling to work to feed and defend themselves. As a later settler observed, the colonists "would rather starve in idleness . . . than feast in labor." Smith quickly emerged as a natural leader by virtue of his energy and resourcefulness. He traded with the Powhatan Confederacy for corn to feed the starving settlers and went on several voyages to explore the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. On one expedition, undertaken in December 1607, Smith and seven companions were ambushed by Native Americans, and Smith was taken prisoner and brought before their chief, Powhatan. According to Smith, he was saved from death through the intervention of Powhatan's 11-year-old daughter, Pocahontas. In this and subsequent dealings with the Native Americans, Smith showed himself a shrewd strategist. He drove a hard bargain and generally got what he wanted through bluff and a show of force but very little bloodshed. Upon his return to Jamestown in January 1608, Smith found that rival leaders had assumed control. Held responsible for the deaths of two of his men, he was arrested, tried, and sentenced to hang. Only the timely arrival of a supply-laden English ship, with a high official on board (who restored Smith as a leader of the colony), saved Smith from the gallows. The following fall, Smith managed to defeat his rivals and get himself elected president of Jamestown's governing council. He soon put the colony under what amounted to martial law. Declaring that the settlers "must be more industrious or starve," Smith made them farm and work at other constructive tasks, including strengthening the settlement's defenses against Indian attack. Smith's term as president lasted just a year. In September 1609, he returned to England. That winter, the colony was nearly wiped out by starvation and Indian attacks. In 1614, Smith again sailed for America, this time to explore the area around Cape Cod, which he named "New England." He returned with a valuable cargo of fish and furs, along with accurate maps of the region. Smith's second and last voyage to America ended when he was captured by pirates. Escaping and making his way back to England, he devoted himself to writing accounts of his travels. His most important book was The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles (1624). In it, Smith emphasized the importance of products like fish, furs, and timber; criticized the fruitless quest for gold and silver; and urged that future colonists be willing to work hard. His information and maps were most helpful to later settlers. A colorful, near-legendary figure, Smith has inevitably been the subject of much controversy. Although in the past historians discounted Smith's overblown accounts of his exploits, modern research has largely substantiated his claims to fame. Smith died in England on June 21, 1631.

orn in 1580 in Willoughby, England, John Smith left home at age 16 after his father died. He began his travels by joining volunteers in France who were fighting for Dutch independence from Spain. Two years later, he set off for the Mediterranean Sea, working on a merchant ship. In 1600 he joined Austrian forces to fight the Turks in the "Long War." A valiant soldier, he was promoted to Captain while fighting in Hungary. He was fighting in Transylvania two years later in 1602. There he was wounded in battle, captured, and sold as a slave to a Turk. This Turk then sent Smith as a gift to his sweetheart in Istanbul. According to Smith, this girl fell in love with him and sent him to her brother to get training for Turkish imperial service. Smith reportedly escaped by murdering the brother and returned to Transylvania by fleeing through Russia and Poland. After being released from service and receiving a large reward, he traveled all through Europe and Northern Africa. He returned to England in the winter of 1604-05.

The settlers established Jamestown on May 24, 1607; it became the first permanent English settlement in North America. Jamestown was located on an island in the James River in what is now Virginia. Smith was the colony's leader and also led hunting and exploration expeditions around the area. He traveled as far as what is now Richmond, Virginia (1607).