LOVE and HATE IN JAMESTOWN by DAVID A. PRICE: ANCESTRY WORSHIP BOOK REVIEW

LOVE and HATE IN JAMESTOWN by DAVID A. PRICE: ANCESTRY WORSHIP BOOK REVIEW (First published on this blog on February 9, 2019)

PROMISED to clear away the misconceptions and half truths, let's start with that explorer Captain John Smith never had a romance with Pocahontas, who was about 11 years old when she first saved his life. She was the favorite of Powhatan, the "King" of a great Native American Nation, one of his children by his many wives. For those of you who may be seeking ancestry connected to Powhatan, consider that he'd take a wife and discard her after she had a child by him, which sounds like a strategy to spread you genes to me. (In European Feudal times the Lord of the Manner, or the owner of the Estate, sometimes also had rights to have sex with a woman before she married another subject.) Captain Smith was appreciative, after all the maiden saved his life twice, but if she had a thing for him, he considered it a platonic relationship. Smith was never in his 40 years or so of life known to have a romantic relationship with any woman.  

In 1607 the first three ships, all quite tiny really, landed in Virginia with an attempt to colonize. (The Spanish considered this part of the country to be theirs and recognized "French America." The British were far behind in their attempts to colonize.) In 1608 a second supply of colonists arrived including the first woman, the wife of a gentleman, and her maid. With 200 men to this one unmarried maid, well, she was soon married. Speaking of the gentleman class - the leisure class - of passengers, they apparently expected to have adventures but not to have to work. But not for long. Captain Smith basically ruled that if you did not work, you did not eat.

Captain John Smith had military experience, having been in warfare in Hungary, but he was not expected to rule the colonies. Deaths in the colony allowed him to rise to the task and he did so well. Considering that he and the Englishmen had to try and understand the Native American culture they encountered, he showed patience and cunning. Smith knew how to bluff and so the starvation of the colonists was at best delayed.

In this book, you'll read about the relationships between the English and Native Americans, what worked and what did not. Smith was set aside when the "real" leaders arrived and that's when the bloodshed began. 

Pocahontas was converted to Christianity, married an Englishman and gave birth to the first Native-American/ English child. She traveled to England and was introduced to society as a woman of rank but she didn't live long. She had been told John Smith had died. When she saw him in England she was not amused.

Also of interest, besides Hungary being a training ground for Smith, is that some Germans and Poles came to be craftsmen, to make of glass for an example, in the New World. Thus central Europe and Europeans are part of this story.

Finally, yes there was cannibalism.

C 2019 - 2025 Ancestry Worship Genealogy - All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights.  This post has been slightly edited July 2019

HEADRIGHT LAND GRANTS BEGAN IN THE COLONIES WITH THE VIRGINIA COMPANY

What was the incentive for a person to leave Europe and immigrate to a new country across the Atlantic Ocean? Transportation was on a wooden sail ship - small - called a bark (a bark had three or more masts) and rugged.  One might not survive the trip or leave family behind, never to be seen again.

Often it was the promise of land by HEADRIGHT or of employment.  Back in Europe those who were not in line to inherit, because they were not first sons, thought the idea of owning land despite the risks was the only way to get ahead.  But what if you were already here and experiencing a labor shortage?  You could import a laborer and become entitled to land!  Head in the term headright refers to ONE PERSON and that person might come as an indentured servant or as a laborer.  Many American Ancestors came this way.  The system spread from 1618 in Jamestown, Virginia  - from The Virginia Colony (which was the same as the Virginia Company) to other states such as Maryland, Georgia, and the Carolinas. For those who imported a laborer, the grants away usually fifty (50) acres per HEAD.

The system, which spread also to the Plymouth Colony, is controversial also because the indentured servant might spend about seven years paying off their voyage costs to the person who imported them, but then slaves were also brought in this way.  In a future post we'll look at the implications of that practice.

If you're searching for Colonial American Ancestors, consider learning the history of the region you find them and also look for documentation of land ownership or grants.

HERE is a link to AMERICAN HISTORY CENTRAL

Excerpt: In 1618, the Virginia Company approved the “Charter of Orders, Lawes, and Privileges” that implemented the Headright System. The system provided an incentive to wealthy investors to send more workers to Jamestown and the Virginia Colony.

Most of the workers the investors paid for were indentured servants or enslaved people.

The investor retained ownership of the land they received for each worker.

The system contributed to the growth of the population in the colonies, especially Virginia, along with the expansion of the lower class and chattel slavery.

The Headright System was modified in 1699 so investors could not receive land for indentured servants or slaves.