John Smith

Biography

prepared
Sasha Kovtun 11A
Adventures
John Smith worked for a time as a seaman and then became
a mercenary (a soldier for hire). First, he fought in
Europe for the Dutch independence. After that, he went to
Hungary to fight against the Ottoman Turks.

In 1602, he was captured and sold into slavery.

Eventually, Smith escaped and managed to travel all the
way across Europe in order to return to England in 1604.
Traveling to America
Not long after returning to
England, Smith joined the
Virginia Company to start a
settlement in Virginia. The
settlement would become known
as Jamestown and would be the
first permanent English colony
in North America. Three ships
(the Susan Constant, the
Godspeed, and the Discovery)
left England in late 1606 and
arrived in Virginia in April
of 1607.
Jamestown Colony
The first few years of the
colony was difficult. Many
people died from disease and
starvation. Most of the
settlers (all men) were only
searching for treasure. They
didn't want to work and few of
them knew how to farm, fish, or
hunt. In the summer of 1608,
John Smith became the president
of the colony.
 Leader of As a leader, Smith was tough and egotistical.
Few of the settlers liked him. However, they
did recognize that he was a strong leader and

Jamestown
would keep them alive. Smith demanded that
everyone at the settlement work. His rule was
"if you don't work, you don't eat."

Smith also knew that the colony needed to

establish better relations with the Powhatan
people, the local Native American tribe. He
bravely went to meet with their leader and was
captured. He likely would have been killed had
it not been for the Powhatan chief's daughter,
Pocahontas. Pocahontas pled for John Smith's
life and the Powhatan chief decided to release
him. After this encounter, the relationship
between the colonists and the local tribes
improved.
Exploring New England
He led an expedition to explore the northern coast of
America. He named the land "New England" and mapped the
northeastern coastline.

Death and Legacy

After returning to London, Smith retired to write detailed
descriptions of his adventures. Although much of what he
wrote about did actually happen, Smith also tended to
embellish his stories quite a bit. Smith died in London on
June 21, 1631.
 Interesting to know!
John Smith is the deuteragonist of
Disney's 1995 animated feature film,
Pocahontas. He is a renowned English
explorer that took part in Governor
Ratcliffe's expedition to Virginia,
where he would meet and fall in love
with Pocahontas. Smith is very
loosely based on the actual
historical figure of the same name.