Captain John Smith C17th Capitalist?

Generall Historie of Virginia by John Smith

The name of Captain John Smith, is, in the minds of many British people intrinsically linked to ‘Pocahontas’ , his native American saviour.

Beyond this connection though, his writings on the settlement of Virginia are quite vigorous and erudite and he could be judged as having a very positive influence on how the New England colonies developed.

    • He was more than just an adventurer and soldier, he had the all the makings of a self assured and determined capitalist.
    • He recognized that if and it was a big if, any settlement was to survive on the Eastern coastline, then it needed more than a handful of convicts and paupers to make it a success.
    • He concluded that hard work on the land was what was going to make the colony successful and not the pursuit of gold.
    • His judgement on the colonists was harsh, fight for survival not for treasure, would have been his mantra.

Click on the link to read John Smith’s ‘The General History of Virginia’  and follow other posts for connections to American colonies

</br>

%d bloggers like this: