Page 64 - American Stories, A History of the United States

Read the Document John Smith, The Starving Time (1624) 2.1

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John Smith John Smith (c. 1580–1630) was a professional mercenary and adventurer who fought against both the
Spanish and the Ottomans before being hired by the Virginia Company to assist in the establishment of its new colony
at Jamestown.
Threat of Anarchy

Virginia might have failed had it not been for Captain John Smith. Before coming to
Jamestown, he had traveled throughout Europe and fought with the Hungarian army
against the Turks—and, if Smith is to be believed, he was saved from certain death
by various beautiful women. Because of his reputation for boasting, historians have
discounted Smith’s account of life in early Virginia. Recent scholarship, however, has
affirmed the truthfulness of his curious story.
In Virginia, Smith brought order out of anarchy. While members of the council in
Jamestown debated petty politics, he traded with the local Indians for food, mapped the
Chesapeake Bay, and may even have been rescued from execution by a young Indian
girl, Pocahontas. In the fall of 1608, he seized control of the ruling council and instituted
tough military discipline. Under Smith, no one enjoyed special privilege. Those whom he
forced to work came to hate him. But he managed to keep them alive, no small achieve-
ment in such a deadly environment.
Leaders of the Virginia Company in London recognized the need to reform the
entire enterprise. After all, they had spent considerable sums and had received noth-
ing in return. In 1609, the company directors obtained a new charter from the king,
which completely reorganized the Virginia government. Henceforth all commercial and
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