The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles (London, 1624). John Smith (1580–1631),

John Smith map ExKa_Americana_1624q_map_following_p40The soldier and adventurer Captain John Smith became president of the Jamestown Colony’s governing council in 1608. He led the colony through its first year by improving defenses, cultivating land, and maintaining relations with Native Americans, whose agricultural knowledge and food stores were vital to the colonists’ survival. Between 1623 and 1624, during a period of weakening trust in the Virginia Company, Smith rushed to publish this major work supporting the Jamestown settlement. This copy bears the arms of King James I of England (r. 1603–1625). Rare Book Division.

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.