The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown
The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A freshly researched account of the dramatic rescue of the Jamestown settlers
The English had long dreamed of colonizing America, especially after Sir Francis Drake brought home Spanish treasure and dramatic tales from his raids in the Caribbean. Ambitions of finding gold and planting a New World colony seemed within reach when in 1606 Thomas Smythe extended overseas trade with the launch of the Virginia Company. But from the beginning the American enterprise was a disaster. Within two years warfare with Indians and dissent among the settlers threatened to destroy Smythe's Jamestown just as it had Raleigh's Roanoke a generation earlier.
To rescue the doomed colonists and restore order, the company chose a new leader, Thomas Gates. Nine ships left Plymouth in the summer of 1609—the largest fleet England had ever assembled—and sailed into the teeth of a storm so violent that "it beat all light from Heaven." The inspiration for Shakespeare's The Tempest, the hurricane separated the flagship from the fleet, driving it onto reefs off the coast of Bermuda—a lucky shipwreck (all hands survived) which proved the turning point in the colony's fortune.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Few history tales pack the excitement of Virginia's founding. Most accounts start with the 1607 Jamestown landing. But like Kieran Doherty in 2007's Sea Venture, historians Glover (Southern Sons) and Smith (Inside the Great House) focus on the desperate endeavors to rescue the colony from disaster after its first year. It's a rip-snortin' story of shipwreck, intrigue, horror, courage, risk, luck and will, and the authors milk it for all it's worth. Whether the wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda and its recovery as part of the fleet sent to save Jamestown was more important to "the fate of America" than the original 1607 settlement is open to question. That aside, the authors let the story unfold in all its inherent complexity, tragedy and suspense. Glover and Smith focus on the tale's human elements and its often harrowing, sometimes inspirational events with appropriate verve. The authors have brought the drama in the Chesapeake alive in all its gripping detail.
Customer Reviews
The Shipwreck that saved Jamestown
This is the best I have ever read about the first lasting ENGLISH settlement in our country. it is well told, using many primary sources, and It reads like a great story. It tells of a speculative venture by men of substance who are looking to discover gold and other wealth. But The Virginia Company was made up of men seeped in the Christian culture of their country, and church and faith play a part. In fact, many believed that the poorly managed, disease ridden, ill prepared colony succeeded because of what had the appearance of miracles. This is well told in this book.
The shipwreck on Bermuda was a vital factor in Jamestown's history, and I do not remember studying that in any history class.
I have a few non fiction books that I read more than one time, and this goes on the list.
Great
I am about halfway through with this book but I love it so far. great story. I love US History. You do too.