John Smith

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John Smith, engraving by Simon van de Passe, 1616 (credit: Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.)

(baptized Jan. 6, 1580, Willoughby, Lincolnshire, Eng. — died June 21, 1631, London) English explorer. After a period as a military adventurer, he joined an English group preparing to establish a colony in North America. The Virginia Company of London sailed three ships to Chesapeake Bay, arriving in 1607 to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, of which Smith later became the leader. On a river voyage to explore the surrounding region, he was captured by Indians of the Powhatan empire; according to his own account, Smith was saved from death by Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief. While president of the Jamestown Colony, Smith oversaw its expansion. An injury forced his return to England in 1609. Eager for further exploration, he made contact with the Plymouth Company and sailed in 1614 to the area he named New England. He also mapped its coast and wrote descriptions of Virginia and New England that encouraged others to colonize the New World.

For more information on John Smith, visit Britannica.com.

(b. Argyll, 13 Sept. 1938; d. 16 May 1994) British; leader of the Labour Party 1992 – 4 Smith came from a hard-working, thrifty, ambitious family. His father was a head teacher. After attending a local grammar school and Glasgow University he became a lawyer, an advocate in Scotland. He was part of a strong Scottish contingent which came to the front ranks of the Labour Party in the late 1980s.

He became Labour MP for North Lanarkshire in 1970 and sat for that seat until 1983 when it was reorganized as part of Monklands East. Smith quickly showed himself to be a good debater. He was on the right of the political party and was one of the sixty-nine Labour MPs who defied the whip to vote to support the Conservative government's application to join the European Community in 1971.

In the 1974 Labour government he held junior posts in the Energy Department and in 1976 he was given responsibility for devolution. At the time, North sea oil and nationalization were high-profile issues in Scottish politics. He entered the Cabinet, at the age of 40, as Trade Secretary in 1978. These few months were to be his only spell in Cabinet.

After losing the general election in May 1979 Labour began the long period in Opposition. Smith was the only continuous member of the shadow Cabinet until his sudden death in 1994. He held a number of posts — Trade, Energy, Employment, Trade and Industry, and finally shadow Chancellor in the 1987 parliament. The best years of his political life were spent in Opposition, and this was not his natural forte.

Labour's sharp move to the left after 1979 and the exit of a number of his friends to the new Social Democratic Party made this a gloomy period for him and his brand of politics. Although on the political right he was never a factional politician. He was also able to escape from Westminster during the recess by resuming his law practice and hill climbing.

After another defeat in the 1983 election he was campaign manager for Roy Hattersley, who was easily beaten by Neil Kinnock for the party leadership. In the 1987 parliament, when Hattersley moved from the shadow post at the Treasury, John Smith replaced him. By now he was being widely regarded as a successor to Kinnock. His stocky figure, quick mind, and reassuring "bank manager's" appearance seemed to appeal to voters. By 1989 he and Hattersley were the only members of the shadow Cabinet to have had Cabinet experience.

The talk of Smith's likely succession to Kinnock contributed to tensions between the two. Such talk increased every time Kinnock was judged to have made a mistake. Some of Kinnock's friends resented the good press that Smith had got and commented on his lack of strong engagement in battles to reform the party. Kinnock thought Smith was too cautious, particularly on tax policy; Smith in turn thought that his leader sometimes lacked consistency and was too influenced by opinion polls.

When Labour surprisingly lost the 1992 general election, Smith did not escape his share of criticism. His shadow budget was blamed for opening Labour to the charges that it was a party of high taxes. But when Kinnock resigned from the post, Smith easily won the leadership election, gaining over 90 per cent of the electoral college vote.

As a leader Smith was cautious. He would not take action to amend or remove Clause 4 from the party constitution. In contrast to Kinnock he opposed proportional representation but declared his willingness to abide by the result of a referendum on the matter. He was not as committed to the modernization of the party as his successor Tony Blair. He did, however, stake his leadership on reforming the role of the trade unions in the party, in particular campaigning successfully for the introduction of one member one vote in party elections in 1993. He had vigorously supported Britain's membership of the ERM but escaped censure when membership proved to be an economic mistake.

Smith, John (1580-1631) colonial governor, born in England. Smith early felt an urge to see the world. He visited several European nations and fought for Austria against Turkey before being captured. Returning to England in 1604, he was selected by the Virginia Company in London to serve as a member of the governing council in its Virginia colony. Smith and his fellow voyagers arrived in what is now Jamestown in May 1607 and established a settlement; Smith was soon captured by local Indians and adopted by their chief, Powhatan, perhaps because of intervention by Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas. Smith continued to explore the region and sent maps and reports on the Virginia Indians to London. In 1608 he was elected president of the council, making him in effect the colony's governor; he was an able and effective leader whose administration brought about significant reductions in the death rate from disease among colonists. In 1609 the Virginia Company replaced him, and Smith returned to England, criticizing the company for putting quick commercial profit above the need to strengthen the colony's footing in America. In 1614 Smith visited the region north of Virginia, which he dubbed New England, but he failed in efforts to obtain funding for a new colony there.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

(b Gloucester, bap. 30 March 1750; d London, 21 Sept 1836). English music antiquarian and composer. A pupil of Boyce, he sang in the Chapel Royal and at Westminster Abbey and was Master of the Chapel Royal Children, 1805-17. He won early success as a glee composer and also wrote church music, songs etc; one of his convivial songs, To Anacreon in Heaven, became the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Bumper. He did pioneering work in collecting, studying and editing early music; his Musica Antique (1812), including works from the 12th century onwards, was a landmark in English music studies.

(b Northampton, ?after 1654; d London, 17 Jan 1742/3). English mezzotint engraver and printseller. He possibly studied under Jan van der Vaart and later with Isaac Beckett, with whom he collaborated in the mid-1680s. After Beckett's retirement around 1688, Smith used Edward Cooper as his publisher, but before 1700 he set up as a print-seller and his own publisher at the 'Lyon & Crown' in Russell Street, London. As well as plates for public sale, he undertook private commissions. He also acquired and retouched existing plates by other engravers.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

John Smith (ca. 1580-1631), English colonist in America, was president of the governing council of Jamestown, Va. His writings about Virginia and New England have considerable historical and literary merit.

John Smith's life is known mainly from autobiographical passages in his writing, many details of which have been verified by modern scholarship. He was baptized on Jan. 8, 1579/1580; his birth presumably took place at Willoughby, Lincolnshire, a few days earlier. He was the eldest son of a freeman farmer. He attended school at nearby Louth and was briefly apprenticed to a merchant. In 1596 his father died and Smith inherited the land.

Adventures in Europe

But Smith was eager for adventure: he served for several years in the English army that had been fighting in the Netherlands. Either before or after this term of soldiering, he visited France as a servant to the son of Lord Willoughby, Smith's liege lord. A return to Lincolnshire via Scotland (and shipwreck there) gave him time for thought and reading books on warfare and the responsibilities of leadership. Another educational experience was provided by contact with the learning and horsemanship of the Earl of Lincoln's riding master.

Smith's major Continental adventure began in 1600, when he returned to the Netherlands, where he decided to try his fortune against the Turks. His passage to the Balkans was via France, Italy (which he toured as a sight-seer), the Mediterranean (which he explored as far as Egypt), and Austria. In Vienna he joined the imperial army. Smith accounted his abilities as a soldier very great. He became captain of 250 cavalrymen and then major. (He preferred the lesser title.) Perhaps his most glamorous undertaking was the killing of three Turks in single combat. This exploit won him a pension, the right to decorate his shield with three Turk heads, and the title of English gentleman. But soon his fortune took a turn for the worse; he was wounded, captured by the Turks, and sold as a slave.

Smith was shipped to Constantinople to be a servant to a young woman. She treated him kindly, but not wishing to have such a man for a slave, she sent Smith to her brother, who made him a farm slave. He was so mistreated that he killed his master. First he fled northward to Muscovy, then to Poland, and finally back to the Holy Roman Empire. Before returning to England, Smith completed this phase of his adventures with a tour of Germany, France, Spain, and Morocco; he also took part in a sea fight off the African coast. Smith returned to England in 1605.

Role in the Colony of Virginia

Somehow, Smith soon met Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, who had been to America and now was identified with a group planning a colony under the auspices of the London Virginia Company. Perhaps because of his military experience, Smith was selected as one of the seven-man council that was to rule the colony of 100 once it had been established.

The group departed in December 1606 and landed in Chesapeake Bay in April 1607. They named their settlement Jamestown. For some reason Smith was not allowed to serve as an official at first, but soon he began leading explorations of the area, which was occupied by several groups of Indians. Smith began making notes on what was happening. With no leadership being demonstrated by Edward Wingfield, the president of the governing council, the colonists did little. Several men were killed by Indians; others died of disease; and soon the colony was all but incapacitated. In September, Wingfield was replaced by a man named Ratcliffe, and Smith became supply officer.

Smith worked hard to obtain food and bartered with the Indians. On one trip he was captured by Indians and taken to their leader, Powhatan. He was finally released, perhaps at the prompting of Pocahontas, Powhatan's daughter. Smith himself did not include the "Pocahontas episode" in the first of his two accounts of his capture, A True Relation … of Virginia (1608). The familiar story appears in The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles (1624), where it looms less large than people suppose.

In spring 1608 Smith sent to England a letter on the colony's adventures, A True Relation, which found its way into print. It is generally recognized as the first American book, though only 44 pages. He continued to play an important role in the colony, and in September 1608 he was elected president of the governing council (not governor, as he called himself later). For a time, real progress in establishing the colony was achieved, but then came the discovery that their grain was rotting and had been eaten by rats. Smith also had difficulty with rebellious colonists. By force of character he led the colonists through a bad winter, but the situation continued to be very difficult. He was badly hurt in a gun-powder explosion and was forced to return to England in October 1609. The colonists barely survived the winter, and they would have given up the project had not reinforcements arrived at the last moment.

Return to England

In England, Smith prepared a report on Virginia, its geography, plants, animals, and Indians, "A Description of Virginia," part of A Map of Virginia (1612). In 1614 he visited the coast of Maine and Massachusetts, a trip he described in a propaganda pamphlet, A Description of New England (1616). Smith's inclusion of a map of the area resulted in giving many places their present names; Cape Ann, Charles River, and the name New England itself are notable examples.

Smith now enjoyed the support of Sir Ferdinando Gorges of the Plymouth Company. But to his bitter frustration, two efforts to return to America in 1615 and one in 1617 were unsuccessful. All that Smith gained was a title: admiral of New England, Gorges called him.

Smith was still eager to return to America, but now he could not find sponsors. He turned to writing, first with brief pamphlets on efforts to explore and settle New England, New England's Trials (1620), and then with a massive compilation, The Generall Historie of Virginia (1624), the work which gained him a place in literary history. He poured his early descriptions of Virginia and New England into the work, added to a published account of his Virginia years, and pieced together other men's writings, mostly published ones. He editorialized a good deal and used every occasion to restate his interest in returning to America.

As Smith became more aware of his accomplishments, he tended to exaggerate. He wrote an account of his early years on the Continent, The True Travels (1630), and a thoughtful, almost mellow pamphlet on colonization, Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New England, or Anywhere (1631). He wrote a little poetry, too. In June 1631 he died in London.

Smith's chief accomplishments were that he saved the first permanent English settlement in America when it was experiencing evil days, and he focused attention on New England so that it attracted settlers. His writings belong with those of the great Elizabethan voyagers collected by Richard Hakluyt. His books, disorganized and often carelessly written, are full of insight and vivid scenes.

Further Reading

Selections from Travels and Works of Captain John Smith, edited by Edward Arber (1910), are available in the much shorter Captain John Smith's America: Selections from His Writings, edited by John Lankford (1967), which contains an up-to-date review of the literature on Smith. The best and most complete biographical study is Philip L. Barbour's scholarly The Three Worlds of Captain John Smith (1964). A study of Smith's work as a writer is Everett H. Emerson, Captain John Smith (1971).

college and university president; musician

Personal Information

Born John L. Smith on September 14, 1938, in Bastrop, LA; married Juel Shannon Smith, founding director of the Institute of Black Life at the University of South Florida; seven grown children.
Education: B.A. in music education, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO, 1959; M.A. in music education, Indiana University Bloomington, 1961; Performer's certificate, Indiana University Bloomington, 1961; PhD, University of Missouri in Kansas City, 1979; Post-doctoral study, Institute for Educational Management, Harvard University, 1992.
Memberships: President, International Council of Fine Arts Deans, 1996-98; Chair, Florida Higher Education Arts Network, 1992-94; National Association of State Universities and the Land Grant Colleges Commission on the Arts, 1992-94. Served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Florida Orchestra, the African American Arts Council, the Museum of African American Art, and Habitat for Humanity in Tampa, as well as the Black Liberated Arts Center in Oklahoma City.

Career

Taught at Griffen High School, Grambling State University, Oklahoma City University, and University of Missouri-Kansas City. Assistant professor of music, Langston University, 1966-72; Chair, department of music, 1969-72. Assistant professor of music, University of South Florida, 1972-78; Assistant chair for the department of music, 1973-74; Assistant dean, College of Fine Arts, 1977-86; Associate professor, with tenure, 1978-85; Full professor, 1985-98; Interim dean, College of Fine Arts, 1986-87; Dean, College of Fine Arts, 1988-98. President, Fisk University, 1999-. Principal tubist and associate conductor with the Great Lakes Navy Band, 1963-66; Principal tubist with the Chicago Community Orchestra, 1964-66; Principal tubist with the Oklahoma City Orchestra, 1966-72; Adjunct and second tubist with the Florida Orchestra, 1972 to 1986; Principal tubist with the Florida West Coast Symphony, 1985-86.

Life's Work

In March of 1999, John L. Smith became president of Fisk University, a predominantly African-American institution in Nashville, Tennessee. Fisk is one of the oldest, and most prestigious, of the historically black universities, having been founded as a school to educate former slaves in 1866. Among its first alumni were W.E.B. DuBois, social critic and co-founder of the NAACP, and Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee University. The university is also famous for its singing group, the Jubilee Singers, who, beginning in 1871, introduced much of the world to the spiritual as a musical genre. In 1998, Fisk had 825 students.

Before his appointment as president of Fisk, Smith was a professor and administrator at the University of South Florida in Tampa for more than 26 years. Smith, a musician by training, served for 15 years in various management positions in the College of Fine Arts, including dean, assistant dean and assistant department chair.

"The school's choice [for president], John L. Smith Jr., might seem an odd one at first glance," Monique Fields wrote in the Tennessean. "Smith comes to Fisk from a large public institution, the predominantly white University of South Florida." Nevertheless, his appointment as president was well-received by Fisk's faculty and students, who both gave Smith a standing ovation when the appointment was announced. "While the contrasts are evident, Smith seems a good fit at Fisk...," Fields wrote in the Tenneseean. "The university needs a fundraiser and a solid administrator."

In the early years of his career, Smith taught at University of Missouri-Kansas City, Oklahoma City University, and Langston University in Oklahoma. He also achieved recognition as a gifted tubist, performing with orchestras in Florida and Oklahoma."John L. Smith Jr. brings excellent qualities to his new position as president of Fisk University," the editorial board of the Tennessean wrote. "...Smith's background in music and the fine arts matches him perfectly to an institution that began with the strong voices of its choir. That's called harmony."

Visited Fisk as a Child

John L. Smith Jr. was born on Sept. 14, 1938, in Bastrop, Louisiana. At the age of 15, he first visited the Fisk campus, when his sister, Barbara Terry, began her freshman year there in 1953. According to Monique Fields, writing in the Tennessean, "he saw Jubilee Hall and the Fisk Memorial Chapel and was so impressed with their power that he never forgot them." Little did Smith suspect that one day he would become president of this historic university.

After high school, Smith enrolled at Lincoln University, a predominantly African-American institution in Jefferson City, Missouri. He graduated with a bachelor's of music education in 1959. During the summers of 1959 and 1960, Smith had his first experience as an educator, teaching at Griffen High School in Lake Providence, Louisiana.

In 1961, Smith earned a master's degree in music education from Indiana University Bloomington; he also earned a performer's certificate, becoming the first tubist to do so. While he did well academically at the predominantly white institution, "he remembers so vividly how alienated he felt when he attended Indiana University," Monique Fields wrote in the Tennessean. Years later, when Smith became an administrator at the University of South Florida, one of his top priorities was to make sure that the African-American, Asian, and Hispanic students there felt at home.

In the early sixties, Smith pursued a career as a professional musician. He was the principal tubist and associate conductor with the Great Lakes Navy Band from 1963 to 1966, and principal tubist with the Chicago Community Orchestra from 1964 to 1966. In 1966, Smith moved to Oklahoma, taking a position as assistant professor of music at Langston University. In 1969, he became chair of Langston's music department, a position he held for three years; meanwhile, in 1971, the university awarded him tenure. In addition to his teaching and administrative load, Smith was also principal tubist with the Oklahoma City Orchestra.

Became Dean of Fine Arts at USF

In 1972, Smith left Langston University to take a job as assistant professor of music at the University of South Florida (USF). USF, located in Tampa, is Florida's second largest university, with more than 37,000 students.

Two years later, Smith was awarded a grant from the Florida State University system and USF to pursue a year of graduate study. Smith used the grant to do doctoral work at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, earning his PhD in 1979. Years later, in 1992, he would further his education at the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University, where he pursued post-doctoral study.

Even with his teaching load and graduate work, Smith still found time to perform professionally: from 1972 to 1986, he was adjunct and second tubist with the Florida Orchestra, and from 1985 to 1986 he was principal tubist with the Florida West Coast Symphony.

At the University of South Florida, Smith rose steadily through the academic and administrative ranks. From 1973 to 1974, he served as assistant chair for the department of music. In 1977, he was appointed assistant dean for the college of fine arts, a position he held until 1986, when he was named interim dean. He became associate professor, with tenure, in 1978, and a full professor in 1985.

In 1988, Smith was named dean of the college of fine arts, serving in this role for ten years. As dean, he was responsible for more than 2,000 students, including 820 majors; 85 full-time faculty; 25 visiting and adjunct faculty; and a $13 million annual budget.

From 1992 to 1994, Smith served as chair of the Florida Higher Education Arts Network, a statewide university arts organization. From 1996 to 1998, he was president of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans, which has representation from 23 countries.

As dean, Smith distinguished himself as a talented fund-raiser. In 1990, he persuaded the university to offer "endowed chairs" in the fine arts. Under this system, donors agree to give a certain sum of money, and in return an academic position at the university is named in their honor. Smith raised $1.2 million for the Stuart S. Golding African Art Chair, thought to be the only chair of its kind in the United States. He also raised $2.4 million for the British International Theatre Program, which brings British theater professionals to Florida to work with students in developing productions.

"Fundraising is a quiet, serious process," Betty Castor, USF president, was quoted as saying in the Tennessean. "Big gifts don't just happen. What he did for us is build those quiet, long-term relationships, and that's what really counts."

"His work at the University of South Florida undoubtedly caught the attention of Fisk trustees," wrote the editorial board of the Tennessean, in a piece that lauded Fisk's decision to appoint Smith as president. "In the course of that position, Smith raised large amounts of money--exactly what Fisk now needs to do to stay on top of its game and continue to attract top students to its campus."

Appointed President of Fisk University

In November of 1998, the Board of Trustees of Fisk University elected Smith to be the 12th president of Fisk University. "We...are delighted to find an educator and administrator of his caliber to lead the university into the next important stage of its growth and development," Ben R. Rechter, chairman of the Fisk University Board of Trustees, was quoted as saying in a university press release. "Dr. Smith brings more than 20 years of outstanding management and fundraising experience as a university administrator as well as 33 years of classroom experience. His leadership skills are vital to Fisk's growth and success over the next decade...."

"I am honored and humbled to accept the distinguished position of Fisk University's 12th president," Smith was quoted as saying in the same press release. "Fisk is at the forefront of American education, not just among historically black colleges and universities, but among all colleges as well....For years I have followed and admired the moving work of the Jubilee Singers, and for a musician to serve as president of their university is indeed a great honor." Smith took office on March 1, 1999.

Smith calls his vision for Fisk "TLC," which stands for "Total Learning Community." According to this plan, all formal and informal activities will be evaluated based on the amount of learning that takes place. TLC can be used as a guide to decide whether or not an activity is worthwhile, Smith told Monique Fields of the Tennessean. He also plans to embark on a major capital campaign, which may include expanding the campus and creating an endowed chair for the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Smith also has high hopes for Fisk's academic program, envisioning a day when 100 percent of graduates either enter graduate school or professional school, or become leaders in the national or international arena, he told Monique Fields of the Tennessean. "I think the possibilities are enormous," Smith was quoted as saying in the Tennessean. "I think that it's possible for this institution to become recognized based on understood standards as one of the great liberal arts institutions in this country."

Smith has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Florida Orchestra, the African American Arts Council, the Museum of African American Art, and Habitat for Humanity in Tampa, as well as the Black Liberated Arts Center in Oklahoma City. He has delivered papers and addresses throughout the US, and in fourteen overseas conferences in Europe and Africa. Smith is married to Juel Shannon Smith, founding director of the Institute of Black Life at the University of South Florida; the couple have seven grown children.

Further Reading

Periodicals

• Tennessean, Dec. 13, 1998, p. 1B; Nov. 24, 1998, p. 12A; Nov. 20, 1998, p. 1A.

• Curriculum vitae, John L. Smith Jr.
• Fisk University webpage, www.fisk.edu.

— Carrie Golus

Smith, John (1938-94). Scottish QC who became leader of the Labour Party (1992-4). Smith was chosen to succeed Kinnock both as someone who had held office (minister of state, Department of Energy 1975-6; minister of state, Privy Council Office 1976-8; secretary of state for trade 1978-9), and as a political heavyweight who possessed the gravitas that Kinnock lacked. His sudden death in 1994 from a second heart attack brought the youthful Tony Blair as his successor.

Scots architect. He established himself in Aberdeen where he became City Architect in 1824. He directed building works in the city for some 30 years, his only rival being Archibald Simpson. He designed some distinguished Greek Revival buildings, including the Schools in Little Belmont Street (1841), but he also carried out many designs in C16 and C17 vernacular styles that caused him to be referred to as ‘Tudor Johnny’. He designed the handsome Ionic screen in St Nicholas churchyard, Union Street (1830), and the Tudor Gothic Trinity Hall, Union Street (1845–6). His son, William Smith (1817–91), with Prince Albert, designed Balmoral Castle with Prince Albert in the Scottish Baronial style (1853–5).

Bibliography

• Colvin (1995)
• W.Papworth (1887)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

(1580-1631), colonizer and publicist. During his two years in America, Smith was principally responsible for the survival of England's first permanent colony in the New World. His bold leadership, military experience, and determination brought a measure of discipline to the dissolute colonists; his negotiations with the Indians prevented starvation; and his dispersal of the colony from unhealthy Jamestown lowered mortality. After his return to England, his promotional writings contributed significantly to English efforts for an American empire.

Smith's early career had prepared him for Virginia's challenges. As a teenager he fought in the Low Countries ("that university of warre") and survived several remarkable escapades in western Europe before joining a Christian army fighting the Turks in Hungary. After more improbable episodes, including three victories in duels, he was captured and enslaved. Smith killed his master and then wandered through eastern Europe and sailed briefly to Morocco before returning to England in 1604. His years abroad predisposed him to military solutions. "The Warres in Europe, Asia, and Affrica," he later boasted, "taught me how to subdue the wilde Salvages in ... America." Smith's military exploits also provided the necessary social distinctions for a position of colonial leadership--a captaincy and a coat of arms.

The promoters of the Virginia enterprise appreciated Smith's value to a garrison outpost likely to be attacked by Spanish or French forces and sure to be on uneasy terms with neighboring natives. In 1607-1608, as a member of the colony's council, he explored the Chesapeake's geography and ethnology and sent home a detailed account of the colony's first year. Included was the story of his capture by Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy, but he neglected to mention his timely rescue by the chief's daughter, Pocahontas--a tale that would become a staple of American folklore.

As the colony's president from the summer of 1608 to the fall of 1609, Smith ruled firmly but fairly. Regardless of rank or occupation, everyone worked for the common good or suffered Smith's wrath, which earned him the enmity of the local gentry. He dealt with the Indians more brazenly, using threats and sometimes force to get corn, which annoyed the Virginia Company of London as well as Chief Powhatan. In October 1609, under pressure from his enemies at Jamestown and wounded by a gunpowder explosion, Smith relinquished the presidency and returned to England.

Smith's literary achievements in the next two decades were probably more important to England's imperial aspirations than were his actions in Virginia. After a voyage along the northern American coast in 1614, he insisted that the area he named "New England" had immense potential in fish, furs, and other mundane resources and that England's imperial future lay in people committed to hard work and realistic rewards.

From 1608 until the eve of his death, Smith was British America's most prolific and insistent champion. His publications offered practical advice on seamanship and colonization, but mostly he advocated British imperial vigor: "be it by Londoner, Scot, Welch, or English, that are true subjects to our King and Countrey ... there is more then enough [in America] for all." By the time of his death in 1631, he had published nearly a dozen tracts, including a comprehensive Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles (1624), which mixed (and often repeated) his earlier writings with reports by others of events after 1609. He also published an account of his True Travels, Adventures, and Observations (1630). Along with the Pocahontas rescue (belatedly recounted in his Generall Historie), True Travels instigated the skepticism about his veracity that flourished in seventeenth-century England and revived in mid-nineteenth-century America. Since about 1950, however, the essential accuracy of Smith's autobiographical writings has been established by several scholars.

Bibliography:

Philip L. Barbour, The Three Worlds of Captain John Smith (1964); Alden T. Vaughan, American Genesis: Captain John Smith and the Founding of Virginia (1975).

Author:

Alden T. Vaughan

See also Chesapeake Colonies; Pocahontas.

An English adventurer and explorer of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Smith was one of the original settlers of Jamestown in 1607. He was taken prisoner by the braves of the Native American chief Powhatan. By his own account, he was rescued through the intervention of Pocahontas, Powhatan's daughter.