Review: A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America

A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America by James Horn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jamestown, Virginia, is the site of the first English-sponsored settlement in America and the birthplace of our now United States. English settlers arrived in Jamestown 14 years before pilgrims landed in Plymouth, and despite the many hardships that settlers faced, including disease, natural disasters, and political warfare, the town endured.

Historian James Horn chronicles the history of Jamestown from the first landing by English colonists through the end of the English settlement charter. In 1606, an English trading company known as the "Virginia Company," sponsored by King James I, commissioned three ships to colonize America. Under the leadership of Captain Christopher Newport, the Susan (or Sarah) Constant anchored in Jamestown along with the Discovery and Godspeed. Among the men who sailed on these ships were historical notables John Smith and John Rolfe. Horn relates their stories, situating them in the context of early American political history. Horn describes the relationship of the English settlers with the indigenous people of the area, particularly with Powhatan tribes and their leaders, Wahunsonacock and Opechancanough. The English promoted and worked toward Christianizing Powhatans. Although the indigenous people under the leadership of Opechancanough and other high-ranking Powhatans appeared to fall under the whims of the English, rebellion eventually broke out, leading to death and destruction for both peoples. On many occasions, the English settlers were nearly decimated by disease, hunger, natural disasters, and warfare. After the uprising by the Powhatans, the English charter was pulled, causing the Virginia Company to disband in 1624. By then, Jamestown was established, and local settlers continued with their own leadership as a royal colony of England.

In summation, Horn makes an interesting point, "Had Jamestown failed, as seemed probable on any number of occasions in its first fifteen years, English attempts to establish settlements in the Chesapeake might have been delayed for several decades, or even abandoned." (p. 288) America could have been settled at a much different time, by a different sovereignty, or not at all. If relations with Indigenous people had turned out differently with a different group of colonizers, perhaps the country would have been left with those who rightfully belong to it.

This is an excellent resource for early American political and racial history.

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