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Listen to a short interview with Karen Ordahl Kupperman Host: Chris Gondek | Producer: Heron & Crane Captain John Smith's 1607 voyage to Jamestown was not his first trip abroad. He had traveled throughout Europe, been sold as a war captive in Turkey, escaped, and returned to England in time to join the Virginia Company's colonizing project. In Jamestown migrants, merchants, and soldiers who had also sailed to the distant shores of the Ottoman Empire, Africa, and Ireland in search of new beginnings encountered Indians who already possessed broad understanding of Europeans. Experience of foreign environments and cultures had sharpened survival instincts on all sides and aroused challenging questions about human nature and its potential for transformation. It is against this enlarged temporal and geographic background that Jamestown dramatically emerges in Karen Kupperman's breathtaking study. Reconfiguring the national myth of Jamestown's failure, she shows how the settlement's distinctly messy first decade actually represents a period of ferment in which individuals were learning how to make a colony work. Despite the settlers' dependence on the Chesapeake Algonquians and strained relations with their London backers, they forged a tenacious colony that survived where others had failed. Indeed, the structures and practices that evolved through trial and error in Virginia would become the model for all successful English colonies, including Plymouth. Capturing England's intoxication with a wider world through ballads, plays, and paintings, and the stark reality of Jamestown--for Indians and Europeans alike--through the words of its inhabitants as well as archeological and environmental evidence, Kupperman re-creates these formative years with astonishing detail. (20070215)

listen To A Short Interview With Karen Ordahl Kupperman

host: Chris Gondek | Producer: Heron & Crane

captain John Smith's 1607 Voyage To Jamestown Was Not His First Trip Abroad. He Had Traveled Throughout Europe, Been Sold As A War Captive In Turkey, Escaped, And Returned To England In Time To Join The Virginia Company's Colonizing Project. In Jamestown Migrants, Merchants, And Soldiers Who Had Also Sailed To The Distant Shores Of The Ottoman Empire, Africa, And Ireland In Search Of New Beginnings Encountered Indians Who Already Possessed Broad Understanding Of Europeans. Experience Of Foreign Environments And Cultures Had Sharpened Survival Instincts On All Sides And Aroused Challenging Questions About Human Nature And Its Potential For Transformation.

it Is Against This Enlarged Temporal And Geographic Background That Jamestown Dramatically Emerges In Karen Kupperman's Breathtaking Study. Reconfiguring The National Myth Of Jamestown's Failure, She Shows How The Settlement's Distinctly Messy First Decade Actually Represents A Period Of Ferment In Which Individuals Were Learning How To Make A Colony Work. Despite The Settlers' Dependence On The Chesapeake Algonquians And Strained Relations With Their London Backers, They Forged A Tenacious Colony That Survived Where Others Had Failed. Indeed, The Structures And Practices That Evolved Through Trial And Error In Virginia Would Become The Model For All Successful English Colonies, Including Plymouth.

capturing England's Intoxication With A Wider World Through Ballads, Plays, And Paintings, And The Stark Reality Of Jamestown—for Indians And Europeans Alike—through The Words Of Its Inhabitants As Well As Archeological And Environmental Evidence, Kupperman Re-creates These Formative Years With Astonishing Detail.

publishers Weekly

the Jamestown Story Needs Retelling, Says Nyu Historian Kupperman (providence Island) Not Just Because 2007 Marks The 400th Anniversary Of Its Settlement. It Also Needs Retelling Because Americans Tend To Locate Our Origins In Plymouth And Distance Ourselves From Jamestown, Which We Associate With Greedy, Grasping Colonists Backed By Arrogant English Patrons. The First Decade Of Jamestown's History Was Messy, Admits Kupperman, But Through That Mess, Settlers Figured Out How To Make Colonization Work. Plymouth, In Fact, Benefited From The Lessons Learned At Jamestown. What Is Remarkable Is That A Colonial Outpost On The Edge Of Virginia, In A Not Very Hospitable Location, Survived At All. Kupperman, Of Course, Shows How The Colonists Negotiated Relationships With Indians. But Her More Innovative Chapters Focus On Labor. Colonists Began Experimenting With Tobacco, And Colonial Elites Gradually Realized That People Were More Willing To Work When They Were Laboring For Themselves. Backers In England Began To Think More Flexibly About How To Create Colonial Profits. But The Dark Side Of This Success Story Is The Institution Of Indentured Servitude, Which Proved Key To Jamestown's Success. Kupperman, Marrying Vivid Narration With Trenchant Analysis, Has Done The History Of Jamestown, And Of Early America, A Great Service. 41 B&w Illus. (mar.)

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Reconfiguring The National Myth Of Jamestown's Failure [karen Kupperman] Shows How The Settlement's Distinctly Messy First Decade Actually Represents A Period Of Ferment In Which Individuals Were Learning How To Make A Colony Work ... The Structures And Practices That Evolved Through Trial And Error In Virginia Would Become The Model For All Successful English Colonies, Including Plymouth.--jacket. Acknowledgments -- Introduction : Creation Myths -- 1. Elizabethan England Engages The World -- 2. Adventurers, Opportunities, And Improvisation -- 3. Indian Experience Of The Atlantic -- 4. English Hunger For The New -- 5. Grasping America's Contours -- 6. A Welter Of Colonial Projects -- 7. Jamestown's Uncertain Beginnings -- 8. The Project Revised -- 9. James Cittie In Virginia -- Notes -- Index. Karen Ordahl Kupperman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 329-369) And Index. "Reconfiguring the national myth of Jamestown's failure, Karen Kupperman shows how the settlement's distinctly messy first decade actually represents a period of ferment in which individuals were learning how to make a colony work. Despite the settlers' dependence on the Chesapeake Algonquians and strained relations with their London backers, they forged a tenacious colony that survived where others had failed. Indeed, the structures and practices that evolved through trial and error in Virginia would become the model for all successful English colonies, including Plymouth."--Page 4 of cover Despite the settlers' dependence on the Algonquians and strained relations with London backers, they forged a colony that survived where others had failed. Reconfiguring the myth of Jamestown's failure, Kupperman shows how the settlement's first decade represented a period of ferment in which individuals were learning how to make a colony work. A history of the Jamestown colony, draws on archaeological, environmental, and historical research to describe the lives of the early settlers and their complex relationship with local Native American tribes.