Compare And Contrast Jamestown And John Smith

Jamestown was founded in 1607 by Captain John Smith. John Smith was a soldier, explorer and an adventurer. Smith was the leader of Jamestown from 1607 to 1608. Many of the settler were not fond of Smith because of his strict discipline government policies. Smith believed if he would have remain leader of Jamestown the people would have experienced better conditions than what they did. John Smith returned to England in 1608 after a gunpowder accident. George Percy took over control of Jamestown after John Smith. George Percy was the president of Jamestown during the remaining time of the starving times. Both John Smith and President George Percy wrote primary documents describing the starving times. President Percy wrote his document impart
to justify his role in the starving time. Both documents share a similar theme with different point of views. John smith and President Percy both described the starving times as a harsh winter with very scarce food. More than 75 percent of the man at Jamestown died of starvation. Conditions got so bad that people resorted to cannibalism. One story was told by both man that a husband killed his pregnant wife and ate her. The man was put to death at the orders of President Percy. Similar stories were told about how people ate rats, snakes, boots, shoes, and anything else they could fine. Due to the conditions that both men described, I now agree with historians that claim Jamestown was a failure. I find these documents very helpful and reliable because they come from men who experienced the starving times first hand.