John Smith biography

Synopsis

Early Life

John Smith is believed to have been born in 1579 or 1580 in Lincolnshire, England. After a merchant’s apprenticeship, Smith decided on a life of combat and served with the English Army abroad. Working as a soldier for hire (and professing to be highly successful in his military ventures), Smith embarked on a campaign against France’s Henry IV and later against the Turks in Hungary. There he was captured and enslaved. He was sent to what is now Istanbul and served a kindhearted mistress who, not wanting Smith to be her slave, sent him to her brother’s home, where he was forced to do farm work. After receiving harsh treatment from his master, Smith killed him and escaped, eventually returning to England in the early 1600s.

Jamestown Settlement

Smith then came to meet with Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, who was involved with organizing a colony sponsored by the Virginia Company of London that would be sent to America. Smith was made part of a multi-person council that would govern the group, whose purpose was to generate profit in the form of mineral wealth and goods.

The voyagers set sail at the end of 1606. But during the trip, Smith was allegedly accused of mutiny and almost hanged. Managing to stay alive yet placed into custody, he arrived with the group at Chesapeake Bay in April 1607.

The settlement was named Jamestown and would eventually be known as the first permanent British North American colony. Yet initially the population dwindled as colonists succumbed to starvation and disease. And the settlers were not alone, as they were attempting to claim a region that was home to multiple Native American communities, later understood to be part of the Powhatan Confederacy.

Released from custody weeks after arrival, Smith helped overturn the leadership of colony president Edward Wingfield. Working with new president John Ratcliffe, Smith was tasked with overseeing the barter of food from the surrounding native tribes. He had also started to explore the region, which would later be detailed in publications.

In an expedition along the Chickahominy River, Smith was captured by a native band and taken to Algonquin chief Wahunsonacock, whom the English referred to as Powhatan. It is said that Powhatan's 12-year-old daughter, Pocahontas, rushed to save Smith from being killed as he was held down. After this, Powhatan allegedly regarded Smith as a figurative "son," granting him territory while having expectations of allegiance and mutual protection.

(There are historians who question whether this event actually happened, as the relationship between Smith and Pocahontas has been largely romanticized by popular culture.