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5.0 out of 5 stars Some Long-term American Myths finally Meet Reality, October 20, 2013
By Herbert L Calhoun "paulocal" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America (Paperback)
Three things become immediately clear as one reads this book: the first is that nothing that occurred on the North American continent was even remotely as important as the events going on back in Europe. Colonization, was at best a remote sideshow and thus ran a distant second to the beehive of geopolitical competition going on between Britain and "mighty" Spain. Second, most of the history that survived the colonial experience was necessarily the musings of those possessed with the foresight to keep personal records.
As often as not, these proved to be self-serving fragments, some rewritten and edited years after the fact. That however is not the case with this book. Mr. Woolley has combed and sifted through thousands of primary sources to put together for us a "best case" record of what almost certainly happened at Jamestown. In the process he adds considerable face validity to his study by strategically inserting into the text direct quotes in the original Old English. Third and most importantly, This manuscript proves once again that reality is rarely tidy. It simply does not come neatly packaged ready made for mythologized or fantasized narratives of national tales of heroism.
This book proves that historical truths are always complex and messy; seldom neat, cut-and-dried -- ready made to fit national morality plays. Invariably our most cherished heroes bleed into villains and vice versa. Our cherished beliefs are, as often as not, sloppy, unproven, and when provable, as is the case here, are often shown to be wrong. And were it not for the fact that the truth itself has its own embedded rules and easily recognizable resonance, we would still be continually trying to twist the facts of Jamestown into another one of our own preconceived heroic narratives.
Never has it been more important than here for the author to stay out of the way of what he is writing and allow the documents to speak for themselves. That this author has managed to do so is a fine tribute to his exquisite scholarship and speaks tons about his integrity as a writer. The reader will almost feel him straining not to give in to the subliminal pressures to make conveniently satisfying interpretations that would easily converge with what the collective national mind expects and wants to hear. And at the same time, he also managed to avoid the opposite error as well.
Now for a long summary of the book.
The historical predicates that set the stage for the establishment of the Jamestown settlement are probably at least as important as the details of the history itself. And here the author gives us a full picture, in context, of why that is so:
As the 14th Century closed, Spain was the pre-eminent power of the day. It was the heir apparent to Rome as it had just ejected the Moors from its territory and colonized much of North and South America, enriching itself enormously in the process. Spain was an Empire without a rival. It was so sprawling in fact that their new King, Phillip III, was finding it both difficult and expensive to manage it.
The book opens with Catholic Spain in the South colonizing the Americas; Protestant England in the north fighting to throw off the yolk of Spanish rule. In the East there was Sulieman, and in the middle Catholic France. Lutherans, had established a colony called Fort Caroline (St. Augustine) near Jacksonville, Fl., right in the heart of Spanish country, and as this was seen as a supreme insult to both the Spanish crown and the Catholic Church, Phillip had been repeatedly counseled to take heed to matters going on in Virginia. Yet he had declined -- that is until a report by a captured English spy, spurred him into sending a small craft of naval scouts to reconnoiter the Virginian coast. The report alarmed Phillip enough to move Virginia colony activities closer to his front burner. About a decade before, in a savage attack, the Spanish overran the settlement at St. Augustine, and to prevent similar attempts by England, Phillip was strongly urged to colonize the whole east coast. And thus, as the drama opens, North America had become the new Spanish front line.
As Elizabeth I passed on, her young successor James I, for monetary reasons, was advised to establish a publicly financed colony in America. And so, as an Act of Parliament, and despite a recent treaty with Spain, the Virginia Company was established and the first voyage to America was set.
It is noteworthy to point out here that only lip service was being paid to the high moral principles and ideas of Christianizing or civilizing the Natives as a reason for colonizing America. As well, there is only scant evidence that religious groups were fleeing England in search of more religious freedom. It is true that the Lutherans had fled to what was to later become Germany, and that as a self-imposed condition, in preparation for their first charter to America, the Puritans had pledged not to criticize the English Church. However, the real purpose was always crystal clear: gold, riches, booty for the King and for everyone involved in the venture. Period.
Yet, even with the singular purpose of profits being made crystal clear, finding investors was still an "iffy" proposition since previous excursions into the Americas had ended in disasters. In the end, convincing incentives were found that satisfied all parties, and a handpicked royal led crew of 100, set sail.
As ennui quickly set in on the long scary voyage, bickering began almost immediately. John Smith, the most vocal and cantankerous of the crew got the worse of it and was put in the ship's brig. As part one of the book ends, due to spies back in London, Spain already knew Britain's every move before the first ship had even left its English port. But perhaps wisely the King of Spain elected not to act rashly, but to allow the brutality of nature to take its course.
Part two opens with the Englishmen setting up a fort and warily making contact with local Natives. Powhatan, the ruler of the region was apprised of the arrival of these men "with sticks that spewed fire," and who could make paper talk. The Settlers continued to set up their fort in an avowedly defensive mode, befriending some tribes and fearing others. When the first attack occurred, chaos and dissension broke out within the ranks as foods stocks were found to be inadequate due to rats, mildew and ship rot.
A power struggle ensued that would continue until London was to settle the matter. However, the first report back to London did not mention the internal bickering, instead it was filled with red flags about the prospects for long-term survival. As the skipper Newport prepared to make a return trip back to London in search of more provisions, clearly more trouble lay ahead. The first load back to London was en embarrassing load of wood and a few samples of dirt to be assayed for its gold contents. Since the samples proved worthless, and the report showed the settlers desperate for more provisions, England was already of the opinion that the venture was a bust. So when Spanish Ambassador to London called to raise the issue of piracy as a possible motive for the ships being in the Jamestown harbor, the Brits agreed with them and suggested that Spain deal with the issue as it saw fit.
Meanwhile back in Virginia: Not knowing that the King had diplomatically thrown them under the bus, John Smith, freed from the brig, was making a determined power play to take over the leadership role. He argued that the Settlers should either go on the offense and take the Indians land, or wait to be forced into starvation. Moreover, Smith was already developing an embryonic ideology that had at its core the idea that since the Indians did not cultivate the land, they didn't deserve it. However, at least for the moment, cooler heads prevailed and rapprochement with the Indians, despite the attacked, was a way of making a virtue out of a survival necessity.
The upshot of several rounds of internal bickering and recrimination was that John Smith did eventually survive to at least become the "cape master," which gave him the right to interact with natives. With his new charge, he set off to find food, new lands and ways to bargain with the Indians. But he and his troops were immediately attacked; some killed, and others, including Smith himself, captured. Smith survived in exchange for giving vital information on the Settlers' defenses and weapons -- a clear act of treason. When he returned to camp in chains and with Indian escorts, he was immediately arrested for treason, given a trial and prepared to be hanged, except that Newport's ship back from London had arrived the same day, saving him from the gallows.
Smith would eventually gives his own self-serving account of his capture and incredible rescue by a 12-year old princess, named Pocahontas. Since it is the only account that was written down, it has become the centerpiece of the narrative of American version of Jamestown heroism. And sadly it is also the only one that has survived. However, at the time, it is recorded that most of his shipmates, already thinking Smith was out of control -- if not slightly off his rockers -- did not believe his account.
An unsteady modus vivendi ensued followed by thefts of hatchets and other metal objects by the Indians. Differences were quickly smoothed over so as to avoid further open conflict. But by Newport's second return trip, things were no better: no gold had been found and the status of the settlements had not improved. Yet, Smith continued to declare that the Settlers and their technology was superior to that of the Natives and advocated war with them, but his cohorts realizing just how precarious their position was, again did not agree, and restrained him.
Since people were dying like flies either from various sicknesses or outright starvation, Smith was promoted to head of mission as much by attrition and by default as by merit. Taking over, with his Irish experience against England as his training ground, Smith began to implement the ideology that had been in his head all along: The Settlers' new goal would be an ideological one: It would be conquest over profits. As Smith articulated it, it had been a writ of passage for savage nations to arrive at the gates of civilization through domination by more civilized superior societies. Indeed is that not what happened to savage British with respect to the Roman Empire? Or Ireland with respect to the superior Anglo-Saxon Brits? It was Smith's belief that English Colonialism must be modeled in a way that made the Indian nations heel in the face of superior weaponry and civilization -- even if it was a fact that those wielding the weapons could not feed themselves well enough to survive without massive Indian help.
This, however, was not the message sent back to England. The message back was more sobering, almost obsequious, sprinkled with lots of excuses but not with much good news. Underscoring this was the fact that the bounty returned to London under Smith's tutelage was even more meager than before. As their situation went from grave to desperate, the settlers seemed to sense that they had already reached a point of no return: returning back to England was no longer a discretionary option. The die had been cast against them, and they were now on their own. And John Smith, for better or worse, was their leader and visionary.
Back in London, the King's Council could see the hand writing on the wall too and they were not happy that no Gold was found. However, as if a stroke out of the blue, tobacco was mentioned as a possible gold substitute. After all it was well known that the Spanish were making quite a bit of hay out of it. Just maybe it could save the day for the stranded Settlers too? So, again following in the footsteps of the Spanish, the search for a tobacco as a gold substitute went into full swing. As well, Smith's ideological ideas were gaining traction in London. There was even agreement on its main outline among the heavyweights such as, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Frances Drake and even Columbus himself, as well as a rash of books testifying to the fact that maybe John Smith's ideological ideas were not all bad. Indeed, the way London saw it, maybe destiny was calling on England to project its Protestant, Christian civilized tobacco-driven power towards building a new British colony in America. In response to this new impetus, a new charter was opened up, a lottery was held to raise more money and nine ships were launched for another run at Virginia.
Crippled by a vicious storm, only three of the nine ships sent to rescue Jamestown and renew the Virginia Charter, were able to limp into Virginia. Smith, ever maneuvering to outwit the new Governor, eventually lost the battle after managing to literally neuter himself in a gunpowder explosion. The search for a new site for a colony ended in more hunger and being tricked by the Indians who the settlers again, as a last resort, went to in search of food. This failure, and the ignominious neutering of their ideological godfather, set the rhythm for the second attempt at establishing a British colony in Indian soil already claimed by Spain. The news that came back to London was grim: it consisted of all bad reports and letters of discouragement.
By now London was abuzz with rumors of disaster from the New World. Astrologers were sought to separate truth from fiction. However, as the storm-wrecked ships slowly limped back home, with a permanently injured John Smith among its cargo, investor confidence in the Virginia enterprise plummeted. Yet, because the King controlled all information from the New World, London did not get the worst of the bad news. Ads with new bills of particulars were soon canvassing for new recruits. London had embraced John Smith's new ideology of colonial superiority, claiming that investors and adventurers would be converting pagans to Christianity, building a new nation, and serving as a bulwark against Spain -- in addition to making a healthy profit by trading tobacco cultivated in Virginia.
In between these lies (shielded by the King's propaganda machine) and reality, providence was indeed about to step in. Commander Gates' ship "The Sea Venture," one of the nine that got lost in the storm, floated ship-wrecked into Bermuda -- better known in those days as "Devil's Island" -- owing to the difficulty of getting in and out of its harbors. But the island's bounty of food and excellent weather proved to be a godsend, an oasis in a desert of a forbidding and a raging ocean. So much so that many in the crew wanted to stay there rather than either go back to England or continue on to Jamestown. However, Gates maintained his charge and forbid anyone, on pain of death, from staying on the Island.
Upon arriving in Jamestown, he found only a handful of settlers still alive, having survived by eating everything dead or alive, including in the end, even each other.
Surveying the destruction, remaining supplies, lives lost, and money already spent, Gates made the command decision to give up the base and return to England. But as the Gates' party was about to shove off for England, they met a longboat with a message from Lord Delaware to return. Almost as an act of providence it then seemed, Delaware had been sent to rescue Jamestown.
Delaware proved to be an able but ruthless leader, sacking and burning Indian villages and crops, cutting off the hands of prisoners and sending them back to their chiefs. And on at least one occasion, beheading a captured Queen and throwing her babies in the river and then shooting their heads off. These tactics, as could be expected, hardened the resolve of the local Indian chief and warlord, Powhatan. This led Delaware to go farther north and try to form alliances with Powhatan's enemies, a strategy that amazingly worked. And thus against all odds, Smith's strategy in Delaware capable hands was on its way to saving the colony.
Meanwhile, back in London, Sir Robert Rich, who was both literally rich and influential, impressed upon King Henry before Henry suddenly died, that Virginia should be used to wage war against the Spanish to teach them a lesson about Empire. As well, he advised that the Indians should be brought to heel in the same way: under the foot of British military power. It was a repeat of the John Smith/Delaware theme. Pursuant to this dual aim, he sent Samuel Argall to put Virginia on a new war footing, both with the Indians and with Spain.
Part one of his strategy took the form of kidnapping Powhatan's famous daughter, Pocahontas, who was lured onto Argall's ship and held for ransom. But surprisingly, Powhatan was not biting and refused to bargain for his daughter's release, holding out until Pocahontas' value as a hostage dwindled away to nothing. This occurred because eventually both she and her father were of one mind: that she should stay with the English and marry the man she loved, John Rolf.
With this as the first auspicious sign in many a season, peace briefly broke out between the Indians and the Settlers. Pocahontas and Uttamaromakkin, the new Chief who had taken over after Powhatan voluntarily retired, were taken back to London and feted by royalty. While great fanfare was heaped on Pocahontas, Uttamaromakkin was all but ignored. The Indian Princess and her husband were paid 100 pounds each to proselytize for the Christian Church. And while the show was a big windfall for Britain and the Christian religion, altogether it proved too much for the princess and she died just as they were about to board the ship for the return voyage.
Meanwhile new plans were afoot in London on ways to finally make the Virginia Colony a sustainable business concern. Added to the strategy of exploiting minerals for profit, and exporting tobacco back to Europe, land would also be sold in parcels. The land idea caught on quickly and many off-shoot religions now expressed an interest in leaving England. It was not made clear in the historical records exactly why these group wanted to leave? However, since one of the conditions they volunteered to adhere to was not to show contempt for the English Church, one can only surmise from this that their leaving had something to do with seeking more religious freedom.
Virginia was finally humming and like the proverbial biblical calm before the storm, the Indians had simply lulled the settlers into thinking everything was honky-dory: Trade between them was good. More and more the settlers could spend their resources on tobacco production rather than on food production, for which they relied almost entirely on the Indians. Some Indians were even pretending to be converted to Christians. So everything looked honky-dory, right? Wrong, this is when the bottom fell out as the Indians launched a vicious and crushing surprise attack across the whole so-called civilized landscape, killing more than half of the Settlers and sending the rest scurrying back into the defensive compound to starve to death.
The Settlers had been tricked and massacred but were not taking it sitting down. They were not in a conciliatory mood. Yet, they pretended to call a peace conference with all the Indian chiefs, only to place poison in the glasses of the Chiefs who toasted the agreement. Several of the chiefs died and the Settlers had only begun to exact their revenge. From that point on the laws of an "eye for an eye" prevailed. No more asking permission to use Indian lands and paying for it. What could be own would be taken.When word got back to England of the massacre, thousands signed up to go to America to help redress the insult. History will record that the Indian's strategy of vicious duplicity did not work. For Jamestown survived and they did not.
An important footnote on Slavery
Chapter Twenty-One, entitled the Imbangala, tells the story of how slavery got into the English colonial picture. It is such an interesting and unexpected story that I am including a rough summary of it here as well.
The transatlantic slave trade began under a license issued at Seville, in 1598 while Portugal was a province of Spain. At the time, Portugal had had much success in enlisting very unreliable local black armies to help it defeat local towns in Angola raided for large caches of slaves taken as spoils of war. That is, until it was routed by a chief of the Ndogolo people. Rather than continuing to rely on the unreliable "black armies," Portugal hired the much more feared and ruthless, if not entirely barbaric, group of itinerant marauders called the "Imbangala," best known for settling within a country, sucking it dry and then moving on.
Using weapons supplied by its Portuguese backers, the Imbagala managed to sack Ndogolo's town of nearly 30 thousand, taking enough slaves to fill three ships. A couple of hundred were purchased at the slave market in Luanda and transported on the "San Juan Bautista" in June and July of 1671 enroute to Veracruz, Mexico. However just outside Veracruz, at Campeche Bay, the ship was robbed of its cargo by two English pirate ships: the "White Lyon," and the "Treasurer."
After a harrowing trip and several transfers, 20 of the slaves on the "Treasurer" ended up in Jamestown, traded for food by the ship master to one Abraham Peirsey. It was mostly coincidental that this transaction occurred at the same time that more hands were needed to harvest the latest very labor intensive tobacco crop. However, since the English did not yet have a term for slavery, the men of the cargo were not considered slaves in the same sense that Spain had used the term. They were set to work in the normal English way, as indentured servants, hired under contract for 3-7 years to pay for transport and room and board. After all, Sir Francis Drake, a notorious English pirate (euphemistically referred to as "privateers") had fought on the side of escaped slaves against the mutually much hated Spanish masters.
Slavery was Spanish, freedom was English. The ethos of the day was that a true Englishman would rather surrender to death than engage in the kind of barbarism called slavery that the Spanish and most of the rest of the world engaged in. But now, due in large part to exports of tobacco, Jamestown finally was booming. And the 20 slaves stepped right into line. In fact some worked out their contract; became free and were given plots of land to farm. The kind of slavery that eventually led to the ideology of racism came much later and clearly was an indigenous American invention, not as we have been led to believe, an English invention. Twenty Stars
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