Volume 33, Number 18 · November 20, 1986
Right Man, Wrong Place
By T.H. Breen
The Complete Works of Captain John Smith (1580–1631)
edited by Philip L. Barbour
University of North Carolina Press, 513 pp., $150.00
The conquest of North America brought fame to Elizabethans who otherwise would surely have died in obscurity. Because they took a chance on colonization, modern schoolchildren now memorize their names. This motley group included gentlemen down on their luck, courtiers hoping to catch the monarch's eye, mercenaries eager for booty, sea captains who dabbled in piracy, and ordinary farmers who simply longed to better their lot in a new place. These adventurers traveled to the New World in search of opportunity, and though many came to unhappy ends, they managed by fair means and foul to plant an empire.
Review, 2838 words
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