hovered on the edge of collapse. The old military model of colonization established during the Elizabethan era persisted and threatened to doom Jamestown. The authoritarian model of absolute leadership and the communitarian methods of living were fundamentally at odds with the character of these free individuals. The colonists bristled at draconian systems of law and harsh rulers, while ambitious gentlemen jockeyed and conspired to seize the reins of government. A common storehouse destroyed individual initiative and dampened the workethic. The result was that the colonists continued to perish in great numbers and disappointed investors in England lost their money.
Even when they utilized modern methods of promoting their colony, they successfully whipped up enthusiasm for settling in Virginia among a credulous English public but achieved little tangible success. After fits and starts for the better part of a decade, innovations were finally introduced that slowly turned things around and put the colony on the path to success. The answers were novel and surprising and yet very much in harmony with the longings of these free men and women.
The solutions to the troubles at Jamestown were rooted in the entrepreneurial spirit that would shape and define the American character. Private property, individual initiative, personal incentives to seek profit, and the freedom to pursue one’s own happiness— these are the traits that helped the colony survive and built a nation. These were the qualities that defined the life and autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, drove Americans to move West and develop a continent, spurred on the Industrial Revolution and mobility of men like Andrew Carnegie, shaped the dreams of millions of immigrants who sought opportunity and a better life, created a global economic and technological powerhouse, and allowed thousands of ordinary men and women to start small businesses and pursue a dream.
These are the characteristics of the dream that are deeply rooted in the American character—and they began at Jamestown more than four hundred years ago. Yet, these results were by no means guaranteed in 1607 when the colonists landed in Virginia. The colony nearly duplicated the failures of other English settlements, most notably Roanoke. Any number of historical factors and decisions made by the settlers based upon the martial colonial model during the first decade could have led to very different results for the colony and America. History is full of contingencies, but thecontours of the paths the adventurers took shaped the success of the first permanent English settlement in America and, in time, the creation of the American character. The first settlers themselves might have been surprised by the results of their venture—if they survived until 1624.
Chapter Two
JOHN SMITH AND THE IDEA OF VIRGINIA
W hen the twenty-four-year-old gentleman adventurer John Smith returned to England in 1604, he found the realm much changed from when he had left only a few years before. In 1603 the beloved Virgin Queen had died after nearly half a century on the throne. The Scottish king, James I, succeeded her as the first monarch of the Stuart family. The following year, he signed a peace treaty with England’s mortal enemy, Spain, ending the decades-long sea war that had culminated in the destruction of the Spanish Armada.
Peace presented a new series of opportunities for a new generation of gentlemen adventurers and investors overseas. The old generation of Elizabethan sea dogs and promoters had largely passed away during the previous decade. One of the firmest supporters of overseas ventures at court, Sir Francis Walsingham, had died in 1590. The elder Richard Hakluyt, who had published so many tracts to promote investment and support for colonization, had passed away in 1591. Renowned privateers Sir Francis Drake and Sir JohnHawkins perished in an ill-fated 1595 expedition to Panama. Sir Thomas Cavendish was lost
Even when they utilized modern methods of promoting their colony, they successfully whipped up enthusiasm for settling in Virginia among a credulous English public but achieved little tangible success. After fits and starts for the better part of a decade, innovations were finally introduced that slowly turned things around and put the colony on the path to success. The answers were novel and surprising and yet very much in harmony with the longings of these free men and women.
The solutions to the troubles at Jamestown were rooted in the entrepreneurial spirit that would shape and define the American character. Private property, individual initiative, personal incentives to seek profit, and the freedom to pursue one’s own happiness— these are the traits that helped the colony survive and built a nation. These were the qualities that defined the life and autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, drove Americans to move West and develop a continent, spurred on the Industrial Revolution and mobility of men like Andrew Carnegie, shaped the dreams of millions of immigrants who sought opportunity and a better life, created a global economic and technological powerhouse, and allowed thousands of ordinary men and women to start small businesses and pursue a dream.
These are the characteristics of the dream that are deeply rooted in the American character—and they began at Jamestown more than four hundred years ago. Yet, these results were by no means guaranteed in 1607 when the colonists landed in Virginia. The colony nearly duplicated the failures of other English settlements, most notably Roanoke. Any number of historical factors and decisions made by the settlers based upon the martial colonial model during the first decade could have led to very different results for the colony and America. History is full of contingencies, but thecontours of the paths the adventurers took shaped the success of the first permanent English settlement in America and, in time, the creation of the American character. The first settlers themselves might have been surprised by the results of their venture—if they survived until 1624.
Chapter Two
JOHN SMITH AND THE IDEA OF VIRGINIA
W hen the twenty-four-year-old gentleman adventurer John Smith returned to England in 1604, he found the realm much changed from when he had left only a few years before. In 1603 the beloved Virgin Queen had died after nearly half a century on the throne. The Scottish king, James I, succeeded her as the first monarch of the Stuart family. The following year, he signed a peace treaty with England’s mortal enemy, Spain, ending the decades-long sea war that had culminated in the destruction of the Spanish Armada.
Peace presented a new series of opportunities for a new generation of gentlemen adventurers and investors overseas. The old generation of Elizabethan sea dogs and promoters had largely passed away during the previous decade. One of the firmest supporters of overseas ventures at court, Sir Francis Walsingham, had died in 1590. The elder Richard Hakluyt, who had published so many tracts to promote investment and support for colonization, had passed away in 1591. Renowned privateers Sir Francis Drake and Sir JohnHawkins perished in an ill-fated 1595 expedition to Panama. Sir Thomas Cavendish was lost
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