Description
Book Synopsis: For thirty-five years, as writer, lecturer, and chief archaeologist at Colonial Williamsburg, Ivor Noel Hume has enlivened for us the material culture of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century America. After his warmly praised book Martin's Hundred, he now turns to the two earliest English outposts in Virginia -- Roanoke and James Towne -- and pieces together revelatory information extrapolated from the shards and postholes of excavations at these sites with contemporary accounts found in journals, letters, and official records of the period. He illuminates narratives that have a mythic status in our early history: the exploits of Sir Walter Ralegh, Captain John Smith, and Powhatan; the life and death of Pocahontas; and the disappearance of the Roanoke colony. He recounts a recent important excavation at Roanoke where he and his colleagues found the work site of a metallurgist named Joachim Gans, whose findings about the mineral wealth of Virginia helped to convince London merchants that America was a worthy risk. This is an account of high and low adventure, of noble efforts and base impulses, and of the inevitably tragic interactions between Indians and Europeans, marked by greed, treachery, and commonplace savagery on both sides. The astonishment of this history is that despite bad luck, bad management, and bad blood, the English presence in America persisted and the Virginia settlements survived as the birthplace of a country founded on English law and language. With clarity, authority, and elegant wit, Noel Hume has enhanced our understanding of the historical forces and principal players behind England's first perilous ventures into the New World, and proved again that he is without a doubt one of the great interpreters of our early colonial past.
Details
Discover the untold stories of America's earliest English outposts with The Virginia Adventure: Roanoke to James Towne: An Archaeological and Historical Odyssey. As you delve into the pages of this captivating book, you'll be transported back in time to the seventeenth and eighteenth-century America, unravelling the mysteries that have fascinated historians for centuries.
Ivor Noel Hume, renowned writer, lecturer, and chief archaeologist at Colonial Williamsburg, has expertly pieced together revelatory information from excavations at Roanoke and James Towne. By combining the fragments and postholes unearthed with contemporary accounts from journals, letters, and official records, he brings to life the captivating narratives of Sir Walter Ralegh, Captain John Smith, Powhatan, and the iconic Pocahontas.
But this book goes beyond the well-known figures and legends; it uncovers the lesser-known stories and ordinary lives of the men and women who played a crucial role in the English presence in America. Noel Hume's meticulous excavation at Roanoke reveals the work site of metallurgist Joachim Gans, whose groundbreaking findings about the mineral wealth of Virginia helped convince London merchants to take the risk of investing in America.
Prepare yourself for a riveting journey of high and low adventure, noble efforts, and base impulses. Noel Hume fearlessly explores the tragic interactions between the indigenous people and the European settlers, exposing the depths of greed, treachery, and savagery on both sides. Despite the challenges faced, the English presence in America perseveres, and the Virginia settlements survive, laying the foundation for a nation founded on English law and language.
With his trademark clarity, authority, and elegant wit, Noel Hume offers an unparalleled understanding of the historical forces and principal players behind England's perilous ventures into the New World. This book is an absolute must-read for history enthusiasts, archaeology aficionados, and anyone eager to uncover the intriguing tales that shaped America's early colonial past.
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