Not All Textbooks Recall the Events of History the Same Essay

1. Read the following from John Smith’s History of Virginia. In your own words, explain the incident Smith described. What does this passage tell us about the relationship between the English settlers at Jamestown and the natives they encountered? What does it tell us about the condition of the English at the time?

Powhatan, the supreme chief of the Algonquian Indians inhabited the coastal plain of present-day Virginia. By 1700, there was only a small amount of Powhatan’s survived. The Indians had to face the new colonial world that Powhatan and Pocahontas had to face when John Smith and the first colonists had arrived at Jamestown. Although, by 1700 the descendants of Pocahontas and Powhatan understood that the English had come to stay.

The textbooks may include details such as, how the Indians have the role of disappearance and how the Europeans didn’t rely on the Indians. Whereas, in Colonial America, the Indians “...did not always fight and they did not disappear” (8) and the Europeans relied on the Indians to “...help advance their imperial ambitions…” (10) and much more. Furthermore, the biggest contrast to how the role of Indians in Colonial America were portrayed compared to how they were portrayed in traditional history textbooks is that the textbooks leave out details, such as how the Indians were helpful and important to the

The European colonization of the Americas took place during the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century. England approached the colonization by sending out groups. The groups were headed to the eastern cost of North America, and they all shared the same purpose. Those two hundred thousand men and women went to the Americas to establish colonies that were agriculturally sustainable. “England sent large numbers of men and women to establish agriculturally based colonies on the mainland.”

One of the weaknesses of this book was the way in which a strong opinion of the author frequently came to the surface. The impression given when reading was one of bias in that the Spanish were wrong to come in and refine everything. This was reflected in the fact that periodically within the book, when the Spanish conquistadors did something to the Indians, it was pointed out how inhumane it was. Yet, when the Indians retaliated in some way, it was quickly pointed out how justified they were. The mentioned advantages that the Indians gained through the Spaniards were infrequent and underdeveloped.

After this realization, the natives began attacking European settlements in an attempt to drive them out. Powhatan knew that the Europeans were there to stay and was sure that they were going to be pushed out of their land, so he arranged for his daughter, Pocahontas, to marry John Rolfe. This marriage helped the relations between the two groups for the time being. This false sense of security let the Europeans expand their settlements farther up the James River. This also made the settlers more vulnerable to attacks from the natives. A truce seemed like a great idea, but all it did was force the conflict to build up.

On May 14, 1607, a group of roughly 100 members of a joint venture called the Virginia Company, founded the first permanent English settlement in North America. The Jamestown colonists purpose is to find gold, silver, and other resources all they want is claiming land and riches. Smith left the Jamestown settlers without a strong leader so he left all his people alone. There’s no houses for them, there’s no supplies for them to survive due to the lack of leadership. So the settlers faced many hardships they had not expected. The settlers lacked some skills necessary to contribute for themselves like farming, hunting, etc. Many settlers died not only because of starvation & disease but also during the winter many settlers starve or froze to death because they don’t have anything for that season. After all what happens to them the settler adjusted to their new lives in America. The few remaining colonists turned to local Powhatan Indians to help them learn the process of planting and harvesting corn and tobacco. The settlers relied on

The first section out of the 4, Morgan talks about the relationship of the American Indians and the Virginia Colonists. This hostile relationships between them started in the Roanoke Colony. When the colonists arrive they were there to start the Virginia Company, the king did not want to rely on the Indians for substance, and placed the company in charge. The leaders of that company didn 't want to even induct the Indians even as slaves. The Virginia Company fell on a shortage that eventually cost them the Virginia Company. They didn 't have workers and disease was spreading fast. The gentleman that were brought there to work didn 't so the Virginia Company was starting to fail. In efforts to raise revenue the company sold parts of land to farmers. But with that land the farmers began to grow tobacco despite the company 's objections. With no money and competing farmers on the company 's crop, that 's when the disease factor started to show.

The first book Morgan talks about the relationship between the English colonists and the American Indians who inhabited the land previously. The issues between the two groups started when The Virginia Company refused to rely on the Indians for any help living on this new land and when the king gave all of the “power” to The Virginia Company, they still fought on having the Indians

As a young child many of us are raised to be familiar with the Pocahontas and John Smith story. Whether it was in a Disney movie or at a school play that one first learned of Jamestown, students want to believe that this romantic relationship really did occur. As one ages, one becomes aware of the dichotomy between fact and fiction. This is brilliantly explained in David A. Price's, Love and Hate in Jamestown. Price describes a more robust account of events that really did take place in the poorly run, miserable, yet evolving settlement of Jamestown, Virginia; and engulfs and edifies the story marketed by

This is a secondary source document with primary evidence written in it. The general of the Indians was seeking to trade grain for Indians to last them through the winter so they wouldn't starve and die. He got a giant shipload of grain. It seems that the shipload of grain disappeared just like that due to starvation. All of the grain that they had was definitely not enough to last them through the winter until springtime. (Doc D) The document suggests at least three reasons. 1) the settlers must have been low on food. 2) the Indians had reasons to distrust the settlers for their Crewelle Dealinge and therefore might later refused request for trade and food; and 3) one group of colonist got all the traded food then left them. 299 people made it to Jamestown. Disease:84(50+6?+28=about 84 died from disease in 1607 and 1608. Indian Relations: 7(2+3+2=7 settler killings by Indians specifically mentioned in 1607 and 1608. The numbers of death by disease continued to be high; what is new is the large number of settlers killed by Indians either directly or indirectly by the siege. Settler-Indians relations got worse. Something cause the powhatans to become much more aggressive than they were during the first two years. Perhaps it was continuing resupply of colonists. It was becoming clear to the Powhatans the English were not just temporary visitors. (Doc E) Why can't people just get

When the first colonists landed in the territories of the new world, they encountered a people and a culture that no European before them had ever seen. As the first of the settlers attempted to survive in a truly foreign part of the world, their written accounts would soon become popular with those curious of this “new” world, and those who already lived and survived in this seemingly inhospitable environment, Native American Indian. Through these personal accounts, the Native Indian soon became cemented in the American narrative, playing an important role in much of the literature of the era. As one would expect though, the representation of the Native Americans and their relationship with European Americans varies in the written works of the people of the time, with the defining difference in these works being the motives behind the writing. These differences and similarities can be seen in two similar works from two rather different authors, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson.

In the first five chapter of Howard Zinn’s book A People’s History of the United States, Zinn provides an overview of American History by providing examples and detailed accounts of Columbus’s arrival, the experience of the Native Americans after European arrival, slavery, the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the invisibility of women through early American history. In writing this book, Zinn’s purpose was to write more than another history book, just listing events and giving the traditional point of view, but to provide a balanced viewpoint. Zinn believes that, “The treatment of heroes (Columbus) and their victims (the Arawaks)-the quiet acceptance of conquest and murder in the name of progress…[is an example]

In the early 1600’s, when the European settlers arrived in Jamestown, there were already around 15,000-25,000 Indians living around the area. The leader of the most prominent tribe in the area, Powhatan, stayed in a neutral relationship with the English in the area for the first couple of years after Jamestown following the start of the colony. During the time the Indians

The colonists set up a colony at Jamestown to defend themselves against the Indians, and eventually Powhatan’s people came forward to open the trade of corn with the colonists. This corn eventually kept the colonist alive until another ship of more people and supplies came in. This however, did not prepare the colonists for the winter of 1609-1610, or “the starving time”, when only 60 of the original