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

by Horn, James

• ISBN13: 9780465030958
• ISBN10: 0465030955
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-26
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Although it was the first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown is too often overlooked in the writing of American history. Founded thirteen years before the Mayflowersailed, Jamestown's courageous settlers have been overshadowed ever since by the pilgrims of Plymouth. But as historian James Horn demonstrates in this vivid and meticulously researched account, Jamestown-not Plymouth-was the true crucible of American history. Jamestown introduced slavery into English-speaking North America; it became the first of England's colonies to adopt a representative government; and it was the site of the first white-Indian clashes over territorial expansion. As we approach the four-hundredth anniversary of Jamestown in 2007, A Land As God Made Itoffers the definitive account of the colony that give rise to America.

Author Biography

James Horn is O’Neill Director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and lecturer at the College of William & Mary. He has written and edited several books on topics in colonial and early American history. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Prologue: Before Jamestown	1	(10)
Two Worlds	11	(28)
The ``Pearl and the Gold''	39	(34)
Smith's Epic	73	(26)
Innocence Lost	99	(32)
Virginea Britannia	131	(26)
War and Retribution	157	(36)
Redeeming Pocahontas	193	(32)
For ``The Good of the Plantation''	225	(24)
``Fatall Possession''	249	(30)
Epilogue: After the Fall	279	(12)
Illustration Credits	291	(2)
Notes	293	(30)
Index	323