John Smith's Journey In The New World

John Smith was born in 1580, in Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England. He worked many jobs and had many different roles throughout his history. He worked as a merchant’s apprentice, a soldier, an explorer and a founder of one of the first permanent English colonies in the New World. John Smith was also a publisher and wrote many books on his journeys in America. He faced many obstacles in his life. He was enslaved by the Turks as a young man in the military. He also faced some of his own crew when he was accused of mutiny and had almost been hanged for it. He was very nearly killed by the Native American chief Powhatan. His life was also filled with many successes. He was one of the founders of Jamestown, one of the first permanent English colonies in the Americas. Smith left home at the age of 16. He left because of his father’s death. After leaving home, Smith joined the fight against the Dutch for independence. Two years after enrolling for the army, Smith boarded a merchant ship and …show more content…
They explored the James, Nanticok, and Pocomoke Rivers, along with the Potomac and Patapsco Rivers. Smith’s second excursion began on July 24, 1608. The voyage ended on September 7, 1608. Smith’s second voyage began only several days after his first one ended. On this voyage, Smith only took 12 men with him. With less men, he was able to leave more room for supplies. On this journey, Smith discovered there was not a way reach the Pacific Ocean by going the way they were headed. Even though they gave up on their main objective, they discovered many new territories and came in contact with many more tribes of natives. This voyage however was full of sickness and conflict. The trip ended on September 7, 1608, when john Smith and his crew retuned to Jamestown. Over the course of the two voyages Smith and his crew discovered a total of 15 different rivers, including the Nansemond, Piankatank, Patuxent, Elk and Sassafras