1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: I'm Katie Lambert and I'm fair Dowdy. And after we 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: recorded our episode on Pocaconta's Last Fall, listeners like Katrina 5 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: and Ron wanted to hear more on one point in particular, 6 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: and that was the shipwreck that stalled John Rolfe's arrival 7 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: in Jamestown. Yeah, and the shipwreck in itself is a 8 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: pretty amazing story. We've got St Elmo's fire and wild 9 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: hogs and even the devil um. But it's also a 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: make or break moment in early American history because the 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: passengers survived the wreck and they saved Jamestown. And because 12 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: they saved Jamestown and send back all these amazing New 13 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: World stories of their own, they boost English support for 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: American colonization. So it's a really good story, so good 15 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: in fact, that Shakespeare wrote about it in The Tempest. 16 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: So our wrecked ship was bound for Jamestown. So we're 17 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: gonna give you a little rundown and start there. Start 18 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: with the Virginia Company. So Jamestown was supposed to be 19 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: a money making operation for for the Virginia Company. Obviously, 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: if you're going to invest in something, you wanted to 21 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: have a return. And so in sixteen o seven they 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: sent folks. They're hoping to set up industries like silk manufacturer, 23 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: pitch and tar, soap, ashes, glassmaking, lumber, sassafrass. Really anything 24 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: would do. Maybe they'd even find some gold. They just 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: wanted to get some money out of it. But of 26 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: course that doesn't happen. And in sixteen o nine, according 27 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: to Sarah's outline, Jamestown is terrible, but it's true. It's 28 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: built on this marshy land. There's lots of mosquitoes, no 29 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: fresh water because the James River is only potable for 30 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: part of the year. All of their crops are failing, 31 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: and the settlers are warring with the Native Americans and 32 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: with each other. So they have an investment of not 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: only money, but people too. I mean, you can't just 34 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: abandon the people you've sent to live in the New World. 35 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: So the Virginia Company pours all it has into the 36 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: third Supply Relief Mission, and that's going to be a 37 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: nine ship fleet headed up by the two forty ton 38 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: merchant ship, the Sea Venture, and it's going to have 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: six hundred new settlers to go and revitalize Jamestown and 40 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: a ton of supplies, and also really good leadership and 41 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: big names on board. Yeah, and that's important because part 42 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: of Jamestown's problems were coming from their their poor leadership 43 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: and all their in fighting. So we're going to have 44 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: Admiral Sir George Summers, who was a war hero. He's 45 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: actually coming out of retirement for this very mission. Captain 46 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,519 Speaker 1: Christopher Newport, who's on his fourth voyage to the New World, 47 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: which pretty impressive. I mean, this is sixteen o nine. 48 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: The first one was sixteen o seven, so very impressive. 49 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: And Sir Thomas Gates, who's going to be the governor 50 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: and actually has a decree from King James himself seating 51 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: the crowns authority to the Virginia Company, which is, uh, 52 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: it's kind of a stretch, but that's a little quasi independence. 53 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: They're back in sixteen o nine. So this relief mission 54 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: leaves Plymouth Harbor on June two, sixteen o nine, and 55 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: thinks go well for most of the journey. They're almost 56 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: there when something terrible happens, and the night before St 57 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: James Day, Monday, July a terrible storm hits this ship, 58 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: and the sea venture is separated from the others in 59 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: the fleet, and the survivor William Strikey later writes, a 60 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: dreadful storm and hideous gant a blow from out the northeast, which, 61 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: swelling and roaring, as it were, by fits some hours 62 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: with more violence than others. At length diould be all 63 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: light from heaven, which like an hell of darkness, turned 64 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: black upon us. So a scary scene here. Imagine being 65 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on your 66 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: um seventeenth century ship, and the ship is beaten by 67 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: the storms. Streaky says again, prayers might well be in 68 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: the heart and lips, but drowned in the outcries of 69 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,839 Speaker 1: the officers. Nothing heard that could give comfort, nothing seen 70 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: that might encourage hope. And then these ships starts to 71 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: break apart and take on water. The water is already 72 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: five ft above the ballast, so they're sinking. So the 73 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: crew rushes about with candles to try to plug all 74 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: of the leaks, and they plug the leaks with anything 75 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: they can find. His account even mentions them using slabs 76 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: of beef um. But they can't find that leak that's 77 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,919 Speaker 1: sinking the ship, and it's still filling up. So the 78 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 1: governor organizes all of the men on the ship into 79 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: three companies to bail water and shifts at three different points. 80 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: So imagine um three groups working around the clock in 81 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: hour long shifts, just bailing water and manning the pumps, 82 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: and even the great men on the ship, like the admiral, 83 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: like the governor, take their hour long turns. And remember 84 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: they started this on Monday, and by Thursday this is 85 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: still going on, so it can't go on much longer. 86 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: But the watch spots st. Elmo's Fire, which was named 87 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: by Mediterranean sailors and was considered a sign of salvation 88 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: because it usually comes at the end of the storm. 89 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: But the sea venture, you know, they're not saved yet. 90 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: By Friday morning, they're still sinking. They've been bailing water 91 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: for days now, and they're getting completely exhausted, and it's 92 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: clear that they won't make it through another night, and 93 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: as Striky said, they'll have to commit the ship to 94 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: the mercy of the sea. But then just miraculously, George 95 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: Summers spots land and the land is close enough that 96 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: he can even see the trees swaying in the wind. 97 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: But they're still not safe. The seafloor is rising so 98 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: quickly underneath them that it's possible their ship is going 99 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: to break up. You know, their rickety old ship will 100 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: break before they can get close enough to the land. 101 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: So Summers does some very impressive Blackbeard style maneuvering and 102 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: manages to steer hard and wedge the ship between two 103 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: rocks about three quarters of a mile off the island, 104 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 1: and all one hundred fifty aboard, including the dog, make 105 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: it ashore on longboats by nightfall. So great, right, you 106 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: know they're they've been saved. They made it through the tempest. 107 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: They're on land. Not so fests, no, because they're actually 108 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: in hell. They realize, like they really think they're in Hell. 109 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: They're on the Devil's Islands, which kind of reminds me 110 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: of Lost Everybody sorry. And the Devil's Islands were discovered 111 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: by Wanda Bermudas a century before, and they were named 112 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: for the devil screams that the Spanish heard there. Um Fortunately, 113 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: though it's not Hell, they realized pretty quickly that the 114 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: Devil's screams are really just some bird squawking, some delicious birds, 115 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: as they soon discover, and they like eating their eggs 116 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: as well their Bermuda patrols, but no natives or europe 117 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: Hands had lived on the island, but they find evidence 118 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: of Spanish influence. Someone has been there, including feral hogs 119 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: that probably escaped from capsized galleons. So they've got petrol, 120 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: pork and mulberries, cedar berries and the prickly pear um 121 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: from the land, and tons of fish and tortoises. So 122 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: again not really Hell yeah, Devil's Island turns out to 123 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: be a paradise and they build structures, including a church. 124 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: They thatch it with a palmetto roof, and maybe this 125 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: is this is probably a legend, but they are supposed 126 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: to have salvaged the ship's bell for their church, and 127 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: they have funerals there for John Rolf, who is aboard 128 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: his his wife dies, and their baby, who was born 129 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: on the island and named Bermuda, dies there um. They 130 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: also celebrate a wedding though some baptisms, and they get 131 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: to work building new ships. They're not going to just 132 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: kick back and enjoy this pork filled paradise that they've 133 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: landed on. They're gonna work on getting back to their mission, right, 134 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: So they salvage the rigging and iron bolts from their 135 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: wreck and they harvest cedar from the forests, as well 136 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: as barrels of wax from wrecked Spanish ships that they find, 137 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: and they use that to help culk thears and Bermuda 138 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: limestone acts as a ballast. There's only one shipwright, but 139 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: he helped build the thirty ton Patients and the eight 140 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: ton deliver and astute named ships, and the nobles and 141 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: the countrymen all work together on building these ships. Are 142 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: very democratic. Yeah, it's kind of this feel good story. UM, 143 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: at least at first glance. Admiral Summers is supposed to 144 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 1: have labored from morning until night as duly as any workman, 145 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:50,319 Speaker 1: which has some fun kind of old timey spelling to that. UM. 146 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: But it's it's not a perfect paradise here. Some people 147 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: don't want to leave, um, and they refuse to help 148 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: build the ships. Others mutiny against the gold in her 149 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: because of course his contract isn't uh specifically allowing him 150 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: to govern Bermuda, it's for Jamestown in Virginia, um. And 151 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: then some people are coveting their their wealthier neighbors goods 152 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: that they managed to save from the ships. Somewhere right, 153 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: at least one man is executed, one or two were murdered, 154 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: and two were left behind because they were hiding from punishments. 155 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: But how bad would that be really? I mean, apparently 156 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: execution got caught and I guess, yeah, pork and petrol 157 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 1: if you didn't well. Anyways, by May tenth, ten months 158 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: after they landed, a hundred and forty two castaways leave 159 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: for Jamestown and they reached Chesspeake Bay after ten days 160 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: of sailing. And you'd think their shiftwreck survivors, they're coming 161 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 1: to Jamestown, they'd probably expect, you know, a decent settlement there. 162 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 1: They know it's not going to be amazing, but they'd 163 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 1: expect thing. Instead, they find a ghost town, ruined houses, 164 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,559 Speaker 1: the gates are hanging off their hinges. No one is 165 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: in sight. They go into the church and ring the 166 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: bell and a few people trickle out of the fort. 167 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: It turns out that only sixty of the six hundred 168 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: settlers of Jamestown are left, right, because the winter of 169 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: sixteen o nine sixteen ten was starving time, and we're 170 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 1: arriving right after that. So let's tuck a little bit 171 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: about what was happening while our shipwrecked people were in Bermuda. 172 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 1: So the survivors of the fleet, you know, the rest 173 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,239 Speaker 1: of the fleet was separated from the C Venture. The survivors, 174 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: who don't think, managed to struggle on through the tempest 175 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: to Jamestown and they got there the previous August, which 176 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: was later than they were supposed to get there, but 177 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: but not too much later. They come with a really 178 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: bad news that the C Venture was lost. Presumably everyone 179 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: on board is dead, when all of their leaders, all 180 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: their leaders, yeah, the governor of the admiral, and this 181 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: is devastating news for the colonists at Jamestown who are 182 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: who are counting on all the supplies and the leadership 183 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 1: and the new people coming in um from there, some 184 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: of the fleet returns to England and they carry on 185 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,319 Speaker 1: this bad news. So it's it's also terrible stuff to 186 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: hear for the investors of the Virginia Company when some 187 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: of them stay in Jamestown but without again those strong 188 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: leaders and the democratic example of Gates, a lot of 189 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 1: them are simply too hoity toity to work, or they 190 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: go off looking for gold instead of you know, harvesting 191 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: crops or something helpful. Yeah, and other people in Jamestown 192 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: just become consumed by the internal politics of the city 193 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: and they waste all their time trying their former governor 194 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: gowner John Smith for all these crimes and sending and 195 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: packing for England instead of doing stuff like, you know, 196 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: finishing the harvest and storing it all up for winter, 197 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,680 Speaker 1: when this isn't exactly a good time to be playing around, 198 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: because again, this is where Powaton is considering exterminating these 199 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,680 Speaker 1: very mettlesome settlers, and we're in the middle of the 200 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: worst tidewater drought in eight hundred years, so there's absolutely 201 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,719 Speaker 1: no room for air um and they're making every conceivable 202 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 1: air But obviously the winter doesn't go well. The people 203 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: are reduced to eating the start from their Elizabethan roffs 204 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: and bugs and horses, and eventually eating each other. And 205 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: the Sea Venture survivors find the Jamestown settlers much worse 206 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: off than they are themselves, and many of them are 207 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: too weak to stand there. Well has collapse that they 208 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: don't have fresh water anymore, and they're clearly on the 209 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: brink of death. But fortunately the Sea Venture rescue crew 210 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: has lots of that yemmy bermudan food that they found 211 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: deliverance from the Deliverance, and Gates is a very compelling leader, 212 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,680 Speaker 1: but even he, after a few days, has come to 213 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,679 Speaker 1: the realization that this isn't going to work. Jamestown is done. 214 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: They've got to get out of Jamestown. So they pack 215 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 1: up the two ships that were made in the in 216 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 1: Bermuda and on June seven, sixteen ten, everybody gets on 217 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: board head back to England, maybe by way of Newfoundland. 218 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: But the Jamestown people are so ashamed of their failure 219 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: of this. You know, it must be a horrible memory. 220 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: If you're cannibals the winter before, you're probably pretty upset by, um, 221 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 1: how things went. So let's set the city on fire. 222 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: They want to just erase it from history. Gate says, no, 223 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: you know, maybe somebody else will come here eventually and 224 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: it will be of use to them, and the group sales. 225 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: They're almost in open water when they run into an 226 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: English fleet that's coming to save them, which is if 227 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: this were Burke and Wills, I think they'd miss each 228 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: other probably and they wouldn't leave a note. But um, yeah, 229 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,319 Speaker 1: the new fleet has provisions to re establish Jamestown. They 230 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:58,600 Speaker 1: have new people, and they're saved. Although It's an important 231 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 1: note that if the James towners had had to rely 232 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: on this fleet's arrival, they would have been dead by this. 233 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: It was the Bermudan ships that saved them. So of 234 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 1: course this is a really fantastic story, and popular accounts 235 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 1: start to come out back in England. Sylvester Jordana wrote 236 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: Discovery of the Bermudas otherwise called Isle of Devils, which 237 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: may have been the first best seller about colonial America, 238 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: and William Strakey's account, which is the one we've been 239 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: quoting for, was even more candid and intense. It was 240 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: originally a letter, so you know, it's got lots of 241 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: juicy details in it. Um Sarah, do you wonder if 242 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: maybe the story would be good enough for a play? 243 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: It might be. I think it's pretty inspirational, so I'm 244 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: sure you know where we're going with this. It's right 245 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: to Shakespeare and the writing of the Tempest. Alden Vaughan, 246 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: a professor of history at Columbia, thinks that the Wreck 247 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: of the Sea venture was, unquestioned doubly an inspiration for 248 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: Shakespeare's writing of the Tempest, which is a romance about 249 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: a terrible storm, a shipwreck, and a mysterious island. Some 250 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: don't think though, that that's the case, that Shakespeare writing 251 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: about the New World was a quote fanciful conceit. But 252 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with yes. We're gonna lay down our 253 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: points at least for for why we think it's pretty viable. 254 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: So first, consider that North American exploration and settlement happened 255 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: concurrently with Shakespeare's writing career. The Tempest was written in 256 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: sixteen ten or sixteen eleven, which is the same year 257 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: the accounts were published in England. Point one and second, 258 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 1: Shakespeare definitely knew some of the Virginia Company investors, maybe 259 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 1: even Admiral Somers himself. William Strakey. Also, the guy who 260 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: who wrote one of the famous accounts was a poet 261 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: in London before going abroad, so uh, we're not sure 262 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: Shakespeare knew him, but they may have run in the 263 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: same circle. And uh. Our third point is in the language. 264 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: Look to the language as English Major Ship always looked 265 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: to the language, and the language used to describe the 266 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: storm in the play sometimes picks up directly from the 267 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: Streaky and Jordana accounts, although the action is different. I 268 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 1: think in the play the nobles Hamper rather than help 269 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: save the ship, and obviously Shakespeare drew from lots of 270 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: different sources. Um, the Tempest probably has bits of Avid's 271 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: metamorphosis and the I needed in it. And also in 272 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: the Tempest, the ship is leading from North Africa, so 273 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: there's a lot of Mediterranean scenes mixed in with the 274 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: Bermuda stuff. But it seems pretty clear that this huge 275 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: national event in sixteen ten, you know, the survival of 276 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:53,960 Speaker 1: these lost men at sea, would would maybe have a 277 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: little influence on Shakespeare or a lot or a lot. 278 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: So The Tempest was first performed at Whitehall Palace November one, 279 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: sixteen eleven, for King James, and it's sometimes called Shakespeare's 280 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: American Play and it's believed to be his last. But 281 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: to sort of wrap this one up, we're gonna go 282 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: even broader than the Sea venture, being responsible for saving 283 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: james Town and maybe inspiring a great work of literature. 284 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: UM investors liked Bermuda. So when these accounts, yeah, I 285 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: know what, Katie and I both would like to vacation 286 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 1: in Bermuda now, Um. But when these accounts came back 287 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 1: to England, you know, Strachy and Jordan's um people realize 288 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: Bermuda not an isle of devils, actually a really nice place, 289 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 1: maybe a good place to invest some money in a 290 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: jewel in fact. Yeah, and it becomes the site of 291 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: the first English Parliament in the New World and a 292 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 1: really important, uh important stopping point on journeys to the 293 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: New World and important just for setting up other colonies. 294 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: The islands become test farms for foods to grow on 295 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: the mainland, and just some interesting little they cast money 296 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: that has a hog on one side and the Sea 297 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: Venture on the other, which is the first English currency 298 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,880 Speaker 1: minted in the New World. And even today Bermuda's flag 299 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 1: has the image of a sinking ship on the motto 300 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 1: whichever way the fates should carry us. So this is 301 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: why of the story. Yeah, and of course the survivors 302 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 1: of the Cea Venture are also really important, and listeners 303 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 1: suggested that we record this story because of one of 304 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 1: the survivors. But we're gonna start with Gates, who is 305 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: very important for the survival of Jamestown, the long term 306 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: survival of it. He's a strict leader, but he's successful. 307 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: He builds this house of stone over the collapsed well. 308 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:54,680 Speaker 1: So that's a really great image of Jamestown's revival when 309 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: he makes his own hearth from that Bermuda limestone ballast. Yeah, 310 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: and maybe at least partly because of him, and partly 311 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: because of the experience in Bermuda, people are a little 312 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: bit less concerned about class distinctions because they work together 313 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: to save the ship and to live together in Bermuda. 314 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: You know, you've got to think of that relatively, but 315 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: still it's something. And then we have our guy Rolf, 316 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: who doesn't just marry pocahonas he's more important than that. 317 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:29,440 Speaker 1: He figured in Virginia's first big export. And hint, it's 318 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 1: not gold, it's tobacco. And seven years after Rolf's arrival, 319 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: Virginia's tobacco experts were at twenty thousand pounds. Twelve years 320 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 1: after that they were at one and a half million 321 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 1: pounds a year. So this is clearly the big point here. 322 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: Rolf figures out that you can grow um West Indies 323 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,359 Speaker 1: varieties of tobacco in Virginia, which is the kind that 324 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: people back in Europe like, and they can make a 325 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: ton of money, and not only someone like Rolf, but 326 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: investors back in England. It's the real key to the 327 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: financial success of Virginia. So really a shipwreck led us 328 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: to a success story, and we would like to end 329 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: with a pretty cool quote that Sarah found, and this 330 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,199 Speaker 1: is from Shakespeare's The Tempest. Now would I give a 331 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,360 Speaker 1: thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground, 332 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,680 Speaker 1: long heath, brown furs, anything the wills above be done? 333 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: But I would fain die a dry death. And since 334 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,120 Speaker 1: we can't follow Shakespeare, we will go to listener mail 335 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: and let y'all do it instead. So this is real 336 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: mail from Hillary in Portland's She sent us a beautiful 337 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: postcard of the Bahamas Um and she's from the island, 338 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,439 Speaker 1: so we thought we would we would pick up on 339 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: that beam for listener meal today. So she wrote that 340 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: she wanted to thank us for helping me step up 341 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: my Jeopardy game. Last night, I correctly guessed Lord Byron 342 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: for the final Jeopardy clue, and I owe my success 343 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: entirely to your podcast. He really does pop up everywhere. Yeah, 344 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 1: it's good to hear we're helping people step up their 345 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,359 Speaker 1: Jeopardy games too. If you're not a big center of mail, 346 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: you can join our Facebook fan page or follow us 347 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: on Twitter at missed in History. And if you'd like 348 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,119 Speaker 1: to hear a little bit more about the scientific aspects 349 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: of our podcast, this particular one. You can check out 350 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: the article what is St. Almo's Fire that Sarah edited 351 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: on our homepage at www dot how stuff works dot com. 352 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics. Is 353 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: it how stuff works dot com and be sure to 354 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: check out the stuff you missed in History Glass Blog 355 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:47,560 Speaker 1: on the how stuff works dot com home page.