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John Smith Characteristics

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In May of 1607, three ships with over 100 men aboard were sent to the New World, sponsored by the Virginia Company of London. The Virginia Company of London sponsored the trip in hope to find riches. Jamestown was the first successful English settlement in America, named after King James I. The english colonists arrived at Jamestown after a four month journey from London, and soon the settlers would face hardships. In the beginning, the settlers got to Jamestown at a bad time for farming because it was winter. The 100 men got off of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery expected to do little work and explore in hope to find fortune. But little did they know settling in Jamestown was not going to be that easy. Most of the settlers were …show more content…

Smith joined the Virginia Company, and boarded one of the three ships the traveled from London to Virginia and was soon to be one of the founders of Jamestown. Smith was supposed to executed on the arrival in Virginia by the captain of the ships, but when they arrived they found out that Smith would be one of the leaders of the colony. John Smith showed leadership qualities before he was appointed leader, and people of Jamestown needed Smith at the time of struggle when they arrived. Many people did not want to work, so Captain John Smith came up with an order, “He that will not work shall not eat.” Smith was hard on the settlers, but he had to be, because if he had been nice and tolerant towards the settlers the Jamestown settlement most likely would have failed. In 1609, John Smith was in a gunpowder accident, and the injuries were so bad that he had to be sent back to England for treatment. Smith was a mapmaker, he had made many maps that other explorer's depended on, one of the things he drew was a map of the Chesapeake Bay. John Smith was also an author, writing books about his life, Virginia, and more. Smith died June 21, 1631 in London, cause of death

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