For my early exploration narrative I choose the Generall Historie of Virginia By Captain John Smith, 1624; The Fourth Booke from the collection of narratives of early Virginia. Written by the English captain John Smith, this collection “takes up the history of the Virginia colony from the departure for England of Captain Smith about October 4, 1609, to the dissolution of the Virginia Company in May, 1624” (291). I decided to focus on the early section of the history from “The Starving Time” to “The Lottery.” The introduction notes the peculiar way this selection was collected. Since John Smith leaves at the beginning of this section, it is through his collection of sources he gathers upon his arrival that we learn about the events of his absence. The introduction also mentions how much these accounts might have been tweaked to favor the colonists perspectives; “The ‘narratives’ are written from the standpoint of that faction in the Virginia Company which was in favor of martial law, and Smith’s comments are chiefly directed to his own glorification” (292). Because of this the text’s validity as reliable history must come into question.
Soon after Smith’s departure from the Virginia based colony of Jamestown the people left behind are in a panic. Quickly running out of food the colony struggles to survive until a new leader arrives. This severe food deprivation leads to extreme responses, including cannibalism. The story of a man who got so hungry he killed his wife, salted her, and ate some of her before being discovered is recalled by Smith in the narrative. The constant problem with food production in Jamestown is even mentioned by Taylor in American Colonies. The gentlemen and daring adventurers that risked all for a shot at quick fame and fortune had little to no experience having to work for a living. Thus the lazy, unskilled workforce caused constant confrontations in the colony, and was always unprepared for the harsh realities of winter. Upon arrival of their new leader, Sir Thomas Gates, the workforce was immediately put back to work, and several deals with the native peoples were made to secure life for the colonies (129-131).
Now on to the broader exploration narrative as a whole; I would fit this narrative between the defense and descriptive genres. The narrative puts too much focus on the incredible starvation battle the colony endured—and the many skirmishes they had with the natives—to be identified as a rosy promotional narrative. This tale also comes from the angle of the leader who tried his best to aid the colony, so it’s not a dramatic form of tragedy, the depictions of events sound very factual, not blown out of proportion to incur sympathy. There is an aspect of defense, with Captain John Smith reporting events that, of course, occurred after he left the colony. But much of the text is also very descriptive in nature; there is a long list at the end of “The Lottery” section that details the rules of the lottery in depth. There are also several descriptions of the geography and the natives, mainly their customs and negotiations with the colony. Overall, this seems like a pretty standard exploration narrative, acting as a record of events and informing the English people what is happening with their colony in the New World.
Stylistically there is plenty of religious language, speaking of converting the natives. And, like I said above, the tone of the piece is very straightforward; raw information transfer is the key here and there is no time for overblown, hyperbolic language. Interaction with Powhatan—an Indian chief of 30 tribes that all spoke the Algonquian language—makes up a large portion of the end sections. Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas were deeply involved in the Jamestown colony. Pocahontas was kidnapped and held for ransom for quite some time, until she eventually fell in love with a man in the colony, John Rolfe, and converted to Christianity. Peace with Powhatan and the other tribes in the area was crucial to Jamestown’s survival; the trading of hatchets, beads, metal tools, and other technology for food allowed Jamestown to stay alive. The bushels of corn they received from the Indians allowed them to live through rough winters and start planting a crop to achieve self-sufficiency. The interactions with the natives would obviously be a large component of the narrative thanks to the audience Smith was writing to. Reporting back to the English people, and more importantly the English crown, the native population and their way of life would be one of the most interesting things Smith could convey with his narrative. Their constant attempts at converting the natives to Christianity would help assure the common people that this was an important mission for the church; and the reports of resources, in both people and raw materials, would assure the Queen this venture would be profitable for the crown. While not an overly flashy exploration narrative, this piece is a perfect example of why the medium is important, both then and now, for our understanding of that tumultuous time.
For me personally, I found this narrative very interesting to see the basis for all the stories and rumors about Jamestown. Seeing the real depiction of the Pocahontas story, which would later be Disneyfied and made more suitable for kids, is a cool feature. I was also shocked at the level of trouble Jamestown seemed to constantly be in. Resorting to cannibalism is the obviously extreme conclusion to the severe lack of work ethic and motivation shown by all the “gentlemen” coming to the new world for easy wealth and comfort. The harsh reality that met these brave adventurers is perfect. Reading about Captain Smith having to establish a work based meritocracy in the colony with the now famous “you don’t work, you don’t eat” law is amazing for our time where it is expected that the overwhelming majority of people will spend their life working. So while stylistically it is rather bland, with very factual writing aimed at pure information transfer and historical record, the events depicted are incredibly interesting and important for the founding of our nation. Probably been a while for most of us, lets watch a little Pocahontas!
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