Divergent Governance of Jamestown and Plymouth

Jamestown and Plymouth

The General History of Virginia and Plymouth Plantation are two stories with different presidents that do not have the same aspects of their people. It shows how there could be people who try hard and know what they are doing and others who don’t. Some are just in it for the power that they get but others are actually in it to make things into something better. The two colonies solved things differently from each other.

Jamestown had President Wingfield, but he did a lousy job so he was replaced by Captain John Smith. The people of Jamestown were selfish before John Smith became their president. The former president Wingfield was selfish himself too. For example, on page 72 it says “ And thereat none need marvel

if they consider the cause and reason, which was this: While the ships stayed. Our allowance was somewhat bettered by a daily proportion of biscuit which the sailors would pilfer to sell, give or exchange…” (Smith, John page 72) This is a sign of selfishness because they didn’t want to trade food or anything they wanted it for their own. Another reason Wingfield was replaced was because he let his people starve. “ … Our president would never have been admitted for engrossing to his private, oatmeal, snack, oil, aqua vate beef, eggs or whatnot…” (Smith, John page 73) It’s showing how he didn’t care for his people and never shared with them. He didn’t share his food with his people not caring if they starved to death. Since he did a lack of job John Smith was elected to be the new president. “... to Captain Smith, who, by his own example, good words and fair promises, set some to mow, others to bind thatch some to build houses, others to thatch them, himself always bearing the greatest task for his own share, so that in a short time he provided most of the lodging, neglecting any for himself.” (Smith, John page 74) This shows that Captain Smith was a well-organized man he knew what he was doing.
William Bradford was the president of the Plymouth plantation. The people from there were religious. For example on page 80 it says “Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safely to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, against to set their feet on a firm and stable earth their proper element” (Bradford, William page 80) This is saying that when they, arrived they were blessed that they landed safely and nothing happened to them so they thanked their god. Not only men sailed so did their families. “Another lay cursing his wife, saying if it had not been for her had never come to this unlucky voyage…” (Bradford, William page 82). Some blamed their families for what had occurred in their voyage. In the Plymouth Plantation they helped each other they kept the ship that they sailed in clean. If someone would get seasick, they would be there cleaning it so it. “But when they grew weak, they had compassion for him and helped him..” (Bradford, William page 82). They’d be there for each other when one was sick they weren’t selfish. They did not care if they knew you or not they would still try to make it better.
The Plymouth Plantation and The General History of Virginia have some similarities too.

A thing that the two stories have in common is that they both have a Native American relationship.What this means is that they both got profit from the Native Americans as they exchanged merchandise. In both stories, people also happened to die of starvation. They died of starvation because other people were too selfish to share it or there just wasn’t enough for every person so they died. They established colonies for their own people. They may not have been managed in the same way, but they had a colony for them. Such as Jamestown and Plymouth were both set to be English colonies. Both colonies saw things in different ways and they also had different beliefs.

As both stories were about two different colonies with some similarities and differences they both had problems and found a way to turn it around. The did not solve them in the exact same manner, but they got to solving it some way or another. If I had to choose one of those two colonies to live in I’d chose to be in with the Plymouth Plantation side. I’d rather be with them because they weren’t only a group of men they also had their families there. I would choose to be somewhere where I’d be the most comfortable

with.