Was John Smith Reliable

Captain John Smith was considered to be an American hero and he was a man of many occupations. John Smith was “a compiler and writer of exuberant travelers’ tales, an explorer, a mapmaker, a geographer, an ethnographer, a soldier, a governor, a trader, a sailor, an admiral, and the editor of a seaman’s handbook” . Out of all his many occupations, the most questionable one was his job as a writer. As a writer, his writing was often questioned for its accurateness and reliability. Many historians often said that Smith was a teller of tales and might have stretched the truth a bit. John Smith’s writing is not reliable and accurate because some of his writings were false while some were true. Within this essay, I will also discuss some of his major

He says one thing and does the other. Smith had many characters that made it hard for people around him to believe him. In the article, Fuller said that “such were Smith's perils, preservations, dangers, deliverances, they seem to me almost beyond belief, to some beyond truth. Yet we have two witnesses to attest them..." Many settlers suspected that Smith was trying to make himself a tyrant king in which Smith denied; but by the end of his Jamestown sojourn, Smith ruled. He threatened the Indians, intimidated the Englishmen, and whipped anyone who happened to cross his

In his writings, he had many gaps of unclear issues that he didn’t really explain in depth which made me believe his works might not be authentic. With all that’s been said, John Smith is still an American hero who has created a great foundation for himself. He saved the colonists during the settlements, and also promoted the Virginia Company’s interests. Looking at his productions, he was an author who didn’t put all the tribute on himself alone, he was a man who had the interest of his country at heart. He is indeed a hero who should be remembered in