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by Kupperman, Karen Ordahl
Jamestown was not the first English colony in the new world. It was just the first that survived and that was a near run thing. Its survival depended in a large part on the kindness of strangers namely the Paspahegh tribe who really did not want the interlopers around. Jamestown gets the bad rap compared to Plymouth because the primary sources consist mainly of complaints back to the Virginia Co in London about the climate, the locals, fellow colonists, etc. Captain John Smith was particularly vociferous about slacker types. Still Jamestown survived and became the blueprint for other English settlements in North America.
- reviewed by John, Main Library, PLCMC