John Smith Powhatan Captivity 1607

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Changes in Captivity: John Smith’s story of his Powhatan captivity, 1607. Will Armentrout CTCM 2530, Professor Ferdinando 3/25/2024. The first English settlers arrived in the New World in April of 1607 where they established the Jamestown colony which was located in what is now Jamestown, Virginia. John Smith, a president of the governing council of the colony, was an important colonist at this time as he was responsible for mapping out the surrounding territory in Virginia, as well as building relations with neighboring groups such as the Powhatan tribe. The colonists built a strong relationship with Powhatan and began trade relations with them, but the relationship built tension overtime, leading to the capture of John Smith as …show more content…

In The Generall Historie of Virginia, Smith describes that he was brought forth to the King and stated that, “two great stones were brought before Powhatan” (Smith 1624, 400). He then states that in that moment, many grabbed him and were, “ready with their clubs, to beat out his brains” (Smith 1624, 400). This information and event was not initially covered by Smith in A True Relation, as before, a sword brought to slain Smith was the closest Smith had come to death during captivity according to his 1608 account. It was in this moment, in The Generall Historie of Virginia, that Smith stated that Pocahontas, “got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to saue him from death” (Smith 1624, 400). In this account from Smith, he is crediting Pocahontas for being the one to save him from execution, which was not mentioned in the prior account that he wrote. After that happened, according to Smith, he was then released two days later and freed to be able to go back to Jamestown. Smith’s reasoning for changing this part of his captivity story is assumed to have been a method to boost his perception to the readers of his accounts, while also making the account more interesting to read. At the time of publication for The General History of …show more content…

Smith changed his story as a way to boost his narrative and make the writing more engaging and interesting for his audience by adding a more dramatic story, but also to boost his personal image to give himself a greater legacy and make himself look like a courageous figure. To do this, Smith changed the intensity of the event within his writings, changing his portrayal of the Powhatan people from kind and friendly, to Savages who tied food above his head, and who may have executed him if it were not for Pocahontas who he claimed rescued him in his second writing The Generall Historie of

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