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Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World
In April 1586, Queen Elizabeth I acquired a new and exotic title. A tribe of North American Indians had made her their weroanza - 'big chief'.
The news was received with great joy, both by the Queen and her favourite, Sir Walter Ralegh. His first American expedition had brought back a captive, Manteo, whose tattooed face had enthralled Elizabethan London. Now Manteo was returned to his homeland as Lord and Governor. Ralegh's gamble would result in the first English settlement in the New World, but it would also lead to a riddle whose solution lay hidden in the forests of Virginia.
A tale of heroism and mystery, Big Chief Elizabeth is illuminated by first-hand accounts to reveal a remarkable and long-forgotten story.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Giles Milton
50 books574 followersBritish writer and journalist Giles Milton was born in Buckinghamshire in 1966. He has contributed articles for most of the British national newspapers as well as many foreign publications, and specializes in the history of travel and exploration. In the course of his researches, he has traveled extensively in Europe, the Middle East, Japan and the Far East, and the Americas.
Knowledgeable, insatiably curious and entertaining, Milton locates history's most fascinating—and most overlooked—stories and brings them to life in his books.
He lives in London, where he is a member of the Hakluyt Society, which is dedicated to reprinting the works of explorers and adventurers in scholarly editions, some of which he uses in his research. He wrote most of Samurai William in the London Library, where he loves the "huge reading room, large Victorian desks and creaking armchairs". At home and while traveling, he is ever on the lookout for new untold stories. Apparently he began researching the life of Sir John Mandeville for his book The Riddle and the Knight after Mandeville’s book Travels "literally fell off the shelf of a Paris bookstore" in which he was browsing.
Copyright BookBrowse.com 2007
Knowledgeable, insatiably curious and entertaining, Milton locates history's most fascinating—and most overlooked—stories and brings them to life in his books.
He lives in London, where he is a member of the Hakluyt Society, which is dedicated to reprinting the works of explorers and adventurers in scholarly editions, some of which he uses in his research. He wrote most of Samurai William in the London Library, where he loves the "huge reading room, large Victorian desks and creaking armchairs". At home and while traveling, he is ever on the lookout for new untold stories. Apparently he began researching the life of Sir John Mandeville for his book The Riddle and the Knight after Mandeville’s book Travels "literally fell off the shelf of a Paris bookstore" in which he was browsing.
Copyright BookBrowse.com 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
December 11, 2012
I chose this book with my usual criterion for history books: several reviewers said it “read like a novel.” Unfortunately, I don’t agree. It focused on the personalities behind the early American colonies, which definitely helped, but I found my mind wandering fairly often. Also, since the quotes from the primary sources (the “dialogue” of history books) were written in Elizabethan English, it was a bit of a chore to get through all the odd spelling. The history itself is worth the effort, but be forewarned: this is not the whitewashed version of Jamestown you learned in school. At times, this is one grisly tale.
If there’s a hero in this book, it’s Sir Walter Ralegh, but he wasn’t the first Englishman to spearhead an expedition to the New World. The first was Richard Hore, but his idea was more of a money-making scheme than a plan for colonization. He hoped to go to the New World, capture a native, bring him back to England, and turn him into a traveling freak show. It might have worked, except the crew he put together was completely unprepared for the trip. One boat returned to England after a storm. The ones that reached the New World were either decimated by natives or died of starvation and disease. The few who survived had to resort to cannibalism and returned to England in disgrace.
Sir Walter Ralegh had the good sense to learn from his predecessor’s mistakes. First, he used his abundant charm to curry favor with Queen Elizabeth so that his venture would be properly financed. Meanwhile, he read everything he could get his hands on about the New World. The key to his plan came from a Frenchman who had befriended a native and taught him French. Ralegh understood who knew best about the land he wanted to colonize. His mission would be one of peace. His crew would work with the natives until they became the willing subjects of “Big Chief” Elizabeth.
Sir Walter then hired a mathematician named Richard Harriot, the introverted complement to his extroversion. While Raleigh was out drumming up publicity for his plan, Harriot was teaching the crew navigation so they would actually arrive, unlike Hore’s crew. Once they did arrive, they settled on the island of Roanoke, and Harriot put his mathematical mind to learning the native language. He created a phonetic alphabet so that the colonists could learn it, too.
Amazingly, he succeeded. The natives were not always happy with the British, but they preferred them to the ruthless Spanish conquistadors. What do you expect from the inventors of the Inquisition?
When it was time to return to England, Harriot brought back not one, but two natives, not as a freak show but as ambassadors of the New World. One saw the Englishmen as captors and wanted no part of it, but the other, Manteo, embraced his new role and the honors that went with it. But other factors threatened to choke the new colony. The Englishmen who returned spread the word about how hard life was in Roanoke. They were well-born gentlemen who were not used to manual labor. So Sir Walter had to take subsequent groups of colonists from the poorer, crime-ridden areas of London. He wanted honest, hard-working artisans who had little to lose in leaving England. He made sure to include more women, too.
As we know, the colony at Roanoke disappeared. It’s considered a mystery because no bones were ever found, and that’s the subject of the epilogue of the book, but the disappearance doesn’t seem very mysterious to me. Manteo did not have complete control over the natives, nor did the colonists always behave as peaceably as Sir Walter Raleigh had intended, so bloodshed was inevitable. And when Queen Elizabeth died, Sir Walter Raleigh’s rivals made sure to get him imprisoned in the Tower of London. Roanoke lost its visionary and advocate, and with no one to send supplies, starvation and disease set in. Once again, the “civilized” Englishmen turned to savage cannibalism.
King James did not share his predecessor’s enthusiasm for the American colonies, so it is ironic that Jamestown, the first surviving colony, was named after him. The chapters on Jamestown include the famous story of how Pocahontas saved John Smith, but that wasn’t her only intervention. She also informed him of an impending native attack once, and when she married John Rolfe, she ended up becoming a better native ambassador than Manteo ever was. Of all figures in the book, she fascinates me the most. What in the world motivated her?
If my detailed summary hasn’t spoiled the book for you, I recommend it. It’s a little less dry than your average history book, though nowhere as readable as a novel. But it’s still history that every American should know. To me, the main lessons are three: 1) Life was so hard in the colonies, it’s miraculous that anyone survived at all; 2) Our great American democracy would not exist at all if not for that lethal cash crop, tobacco; and 3) Behind every success story lies a whole lot of failure.
If there’s a hero in this book, it’s Sir Walter Ralegh, but he wasn’t the first Englishman to spearhead an expedition to the New World. The first was Richard Hore, but his idea was more of a money-making scheme than a plan for colonization. He hoped to go to the New World, capture a native, bring him back to England, and turn him into a traveling freak show. It might have worked, except the crew he put together was completely unprepared for the trip. One boat returned to England after a storm. The ones that reached the New World were either decimated by natives or died of starvation and disease. The few who survived had to resort to cannibalism and returned to England in disgrace.
Sir Walter Ralegh had the good sense to learn from his predecessor’s mistakes. First, he used his abundant charm to curry favor with Queen Elizabeth so that his venture would be properly financed. Meanwhile, he read everything he could get his hands on about the New World. The key to his plan came from a Frenchman who had befriended a native and taught him French. Ralegh understood who knew best about the land he wanted to colonize. His mission would be one of peace. His crew would work with the natives until they became the willing subjects of “Big Chief” Elizabeth.
Sir Walter then hired a mathematician named Richard Harriot, the introverted complement to his extroversion. While Raleigh was out drumming up publicity for his plan, Harriot was teaching the crew navigation so they would actually arrive, unlike Hore’s crew. Once they did arrive, they settled on the island of Roanoke, and Harriot put his mathematical mind to learning the native language. He created a phonetic alphabet so that the colonists could learn it, too.
Amazingly, he succeeded. The natives were not always happy with the British, but they preferred them to the ruthless Spanish conquistadors. What do you expect from the inventors of the Inquisition?
When it was time to return to England, Harriot brought back not one, but two natives, not as a freak show but as ambassadors of the New World. One saw the Englishmen as captors and wanted no part of it, but the other, Manteo, embraced his new role and the honors that went with it. But other factors threatened to choke the new colony. The Englishmen who returned spread the word about how hard life was in Roanoke. They were well-born gentlemen who were not used to manual labor. So Sir Walter had to take subsequent groups of colonists from the poorer, crime-ridden areas of London. He wanted honest, hard-working artisans who had little to lose in leaving England. He made sure to include more women, too.
As we know, the colony at Roanoke disappeared. It’s considered a mystery because no bones were ever found, and that’s the subject of the epilogue of the book, but the disappearance doesn’t seem very mysterious to me. Manteo did not have complete control over the natives, nor did the colonists always behave as peaceably as Sir Walter Raleigh had intended, so bloodshed was inevitable. And when Queen Elizabeth died, Sir Walter Raleigh’s rivals made sure to get him imprisoned in the Tower of London. Roanoke lost its visionary and advocate, and with no one to send supplies, starvation and disease set in. Once again, the “civilized” Englishmen turned to savage cannibalism.
King James did not share his predecessor’s enthusiasm for the American colonies, so it is ironic that Jamestown, the first surviving colony, was named after him. The chapters on Jamestown include the famous story of how Pocahontas saved John Smith, but that wasn’t her only intervention. She also informed him of an impending native attack once, and when she married John Rolfe, she ended up becoming a better native ambassador than Manteo ever was. Of all figures in the book, she fascinates me the most. What in the world motivated her?
If my detailed summary hasn’t spoiled the book for you, I recommend it. It’s a little less dry than your average history book, though nowhere as readable as a novel. But it’s still history that every American should know. To me, the main lessons are three: 1) Life was so hard in the colonies, it’s miraculous that anyone survived at all; 2) Our great American democracy would not exist at all if not for that lethal cash crop, tobacco; and 3) Behind every success story lies a whole lot of failure.
August 3, 2020
A light, popular history of Sir Walter Raleigh and the first attempts at English settlements in North America. I hadn't realized that before the famous "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Raleigh had attempted a colony at the same location. That effort failed and the survivors were taken back to England, except for a small garrison of fifteen men. The next effort, which became the Lost Colony, had been intended to settle on the southern shore of Chesapeake Bay, was landed again on Roanoke Island, where all they found of the garrison was a skeleton. They were then left there when the captain of their small fleet refused to take them on to the Chesapeake and went off hunting for Spanish treasure ships. The need to keep all ships at home to fight the Spanish Armada delayed the dispatch of a supply ship, and when a ship finally did arrive the colonists were gone, leaving the word Croatoan, the name of an island occupied by friendly Indians, carved on a tree. But the colonists were never seen again.
The author continues the story with the successful establishment of the colony at Jamestown, and the efforts to establish what happened to the colonists. He presents some information which I hadn't heard before. Captain John Smith claimed that he was told by the Chief Powhatan that the colonists had moved to the southern shore of Chesapeake Bay where they had settled with friendly Indians. Powhatan, seeing them as a threat, had ordered them massacred just before the Jamestown settles arrived in 1607. A few survivors supposedly had taken shelter with other tribes, but the Jamestown people where never able to find them. The last word on the colony came from a surveyor in North Carolina in 1701 who came upon a tribe of Indians some of whom had brown hair and gray eyes, who claimed to have taken in survivors who'd gone to Croatoan. An interesting story, though the truth of it will probably never be known.
The author continues the story with the successful establishment of the colony at Jamestown, and the efforts to establish what happened to the colonists. He presents some information which I hadn't heard before. Captain John Smith claimed that he was told by the Chief Powhatan that the colonists had moved to the southern shore of Chesapeake Bay where they had settled with friendly Indians. Powhatan, seeing them as a threat, had ordered them massacred just before the Jamestown settles arrived in 1607. A few survivors supposedly had taken shelter with other tribes, but the Jamestown people where never able to find them. The last word on the colony came from a surveyor in North Carolina in 1701 who came upon a tribe of Indians some of whom had brown hair and gray eyes, who claimed to have taken in survivors who'd gone to Croatoan. An interesting story, though the truth of it will probably never be known.
April 17, 2018
Account of the initial colonisation of the New World of America by the English – with many failed attempts before a fledging colony was eventually established at Jamestown.
Interesting discussions include:
The changing political environment – with Elizabeth very supportive (particularly with for many years Walter Raleigh as her favourite) and an active investor, but James very opposed to both the New World, the “Savages” living it and the tobacco it produced;
The interplay between Spain and England, with Elizabeth actively supporting the privateers who were very involved in the colonisation in their raids on Spanish shipping and in Drake’s case his daring capture of Santa Domingo, but the threat of the Armada leading to the colonisation being stopped;
The interplay between the colonists and the local Indians – who will helpless to fight against the (by European standards) primitive English armour or in some cases to resist their diseases (leading to a belief that the English must have magical powers) were in the end crucial to the survival of the colonies, who often foolishly lost their goodwill by massacres or extreme demands;
The inappropriateness of those chosen as colonisers – with the upper classes unwilling to do practical work, the artisans such as miners, stonemasons and smithies having skills reflecting an over optimistic view of the mineral wealth of the colonies or of the ease with which they would be established, and the lower classes being too ill disciplined and with few women to help with the practicalities;
The need for the colonies to find a useful product to sell in the UK (especially as hopes of the natives providing a market for English goods proved ill founded) – finally eased when a transplantation of Spanish New World seeds to Virginian soil produced a successful tobacco (much vaunted for its healthy properties due to its hot and dry humours).
Despite the above – what is unusual about the book compared to most fiction books is that it seems to lack: any obvious central themes; the author’s new interpretation of previously “known” facts; attempts to draw historical parallels with the modern world.
None of these should be regarded as a disadvantage though and the book is extremely accessible and readable and provides an engrossing and enjoyable account.
Interesting discussions include:
The changing political environment – with Elizabeth very supportive (particularly with for many years Walter Raleigh as her favourite) and an active investor, but James very opposed to both the New World, the “Savages” living it and the tobacco it produced;
The interplay between Spain and England, with Elizabeth actively supporting the privateers who were very involved in the colonisation in their raids on Spanish shipping and in Drake’s case his daring capture of Santa Domingo, but the threat of the Armada leading to the colonisation being stopped;
The interplay between the colonists and the local Indians – who will helpless to fight against the (by European standards) primitive English armour or in some cases to resist their diseases (leading to a belief that the English must have magical powers) were in the end crucial to the survival of the colonies, who often foolishly lost their goodwill by massacres or extreme demands;
The inappropriateness of those chosen as colonisers – with the upper classes unwilling to do practical work, the artisans such as miners, stonemasons and smithies having skills reflecting an over optimistic view of the mineral wealth of the colonies or of the ease with which they would be established, and the lower classes being too ill disciplined and with few women to help with the practicalities;
The need for the colonies to find a useful product to sell in the UK (especially as hopes of the natives providing a market for English goods proved ill founded) – finally eased when a transplantation of Spanish New World seeds to Virginian soil produced a successful tobacco (much vaunted for its healthy properties due to its hot and dry humours).
Despite the above – what is unusual about the book compared to most fiction books is that it seems to lack: any obvious central themes; the author’s new interpretation of previously “known” facts; attempts to draw historical parallels with the modern world.
None of these should be regarded as a disadvantage though and the book is extremely accessible and readable and provides an engrossing and enjoyable account.
April 12, 2008
After traveling to the Outer Banks last summer on vacation and actually walking over the territory that the first colonists lived on, I had to learn more. If, like me, you have been to this remote area of N. Carolina and you want to learn more, start with this book.
What is most useful about this book, and there are many useful qualities, is that it does give a fair amount of background to the political and social scene of the late 1500's. After reading this book, I realised that our astronauts have a far, far easier time than these earlier explorers. Modern American minds have come to expect in our minds that England has always been the preiminant power in Western Europe. How different that perception would have been had not these intrepid explorers arrived on our shores with no knowledge of the area, no food, no shelter and no allies.
What Milton does best is to give the characters of his story a balanced hearing. The natives are neither entirely naive nor entirely innocent, the English are neither entirely gospel and adventure loving or entirely cruel and conquering.
Too often in the books I have read on the "Lost Colony" (and Miles presents a very plausible explanation about where White's colonists ended up), the colonists are placed out of context even for the contemporary Jamestown colony. Here Miles shows why this early colony became strategically unimportant (why the English politicians did not care what happened to them) and important for what they taught about how to start a colony.
The only complaint I have about the book is that it tends to not flow very easily. The back and forth of Virginia and England tends to get a little hurried sometimes and makes it a bit hard to read in a few points. I do appreciate Miles stepping out and making conclusions about the events.
Overall, this is a FUN history book with sound scholarship backing it. The pages turn quickly. The book really does show the philosophical beginnings of the idea of English North America and why and where our ideas of law and commerce come from.
What is most useful about this book, and there are many useful qualities, is that it does give a fair amount of background to the political and social scene of the late 1500's. After reading this book, I realised that our astronauts have a far, far easier time than these earlier explorers. Modern American minds have come to expect in our minds that England has always been the preiminant power in Western Europe. How different that perception would have been had not these intrepid explorers arrived on our shores with no knowledge of the area, no food, no shelter and no allies.
What Milton does best is to give the characters of his story a balanced hearing. The natives are neither entirely naive nor entirely innocent, the English are neither entirely gospel and adventure loving or entirely cruel and conquering.
Too often in the books I have read on the "Lost Colony" (and Miles presents a very plausible explanation about where White's colonists ended up), the colonists are placed out of context even for the contemporary Jamestown colony. Here Miles shows why this early colony became strategically unimportant (why the English politicians did not care what happened to them) and important for what they taught about how to start a colony.
The only complaint I have about the book is that it tends to not flow very easily. The back and forth of Virginia and England tends to get a little hurried sometimes and makes it a bit hard to read in a few points. I do appreciate Miles stepping out and making conclusions about the events.
Overall, this is a FUN history book with sound scholarship backing it. The pages turn quickly. The book really does show the philosophical beginnings of the idea of English North America and why and where our ideas of law and commerce come from.
April 27, 2023
This book was fantastic!!! I learned a ton of new and interesting facts about Sir Walter Raleigh, the English Privateers, and the various Native peoples of Tsenacommacah (America). I loved reading about the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Chief Manteo, and my Turkish ancestors who were "dumped" on the Outer Banks of NC by Sir Francis Drake (also an ancestor!!). I can't help but wonder "What If?" regarding so many of the storylines seamlessly woven together in this book. As entertaining as it is informative, this is a MUST READ for history buffs!
September 1, 2024
Milton has written a history of the famed “Lost Colony” of Roanoke, the first major English effort at establishing a permanent colony in North America. He clearly relies on primary source material, which is always welcome. The initial effort in 1586 is often overlooked, as that was abandoned and attempted again the following year, which became the legendary lost colonists. Milton provides large portions of the work to discussion about the British royal court of Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Walter Ralegh serves as the central character around which the history of the Roanoke Colony coalesced.
My greatest frustration was how little is actually written about the colony. I qualify that complaint by siding with Milton, in that virtually all sources are secondary, aside from that of the ill fated Governor John White(grandfather of the famous Virginia Dare, first English child born in North America). However, the narrative often is focused so intensely on affairs in England, it distracts from the tale unfolding in the coastal region of North America in the late 16th Century. Despite my criticism, it is a fascinating account of an often poorly understood chapter in the first efforts to settle Europeans in North America. Certainly an important work, well worth reading.
My greatest frustration was how little is actually written about the colony. I qualify that complaint by siding with Milton, in that virtually all sources are secondary, aside from that of the ill fated Governor John White(grandfather of the famous Virginia Dare, first English child born in North America). However, the narrative often is focused so intensely on affairs in England, it distracts from the tale unfolding in the coastal region of North America in the late 16th Century. Despite my criticism, it is a fascinating account of an often poorly understood chapter in the first efforts to settle Europeans in North America. Certainly an important work, well worth reading.
May 6, 2025
This book explores the Elizabethan colonisation of North America, stretching from John Cabot's voyage in 1497 up to the finally successful settling of Jamestown in 1611 - although the real focus of the book is Walter Ralegh's repeated efforts to establish a permanent colony at Roanoke. You have to admire his persistence, and that of the colonists - no fewer than four attempts were made, most ending in death and starvation and disaster.
This isn't an especially scholarly read, and I do question some of Milton's conclusions - most particularly his confident assertion about what happened to the colonists who disappeared from Roanoke. Surely if the answer was so easily discovered it wouldn't have been a mystery all this time? However, I digress.
This is an immensely entertaining read, fast-paced, lively-told, and full of an extraordinary cast of characters, from Ralegh himself, to Grenville and John White, John Smith and Pocahontas, Manteo and Powhatan. I could have done with a bit more depth and detail, but it serves for a light introduction to the era.
This isn't an especially scholarly read, and I do question some of Milton's conclusions - most particularly his confident assertion about what happened to the colonists who disappeared from Roanoke. Surely if the answer was so easily discovered it wouldn't have been a mystery all this time? However, I digress.
This is an immensely entertaining read, fast-paced, lively-told, and full of an extraordinary cast of characters, from Ralegh himself, to Grenville and John White, John Smith and Pocahontas, Manteo and Powhatan. I could have done with a bit more depth and detail, but it serves for a light introduction to the era.
March 22, 2019
Greed and exploitation have not changed much in three hundred years. But what else is new. I found the recounting of the Elizabethan colonists sailing through many difficulties to the new world strangely parallel to the exploits of similar entrepreneurs of today. The technology sector is not much different from the early English explorers of the New world. The opening up of economic opportunities without any regulations made the way for pirates, crushed dreams, lost fortunes, and the only ones coming out unscathed were those protected by the umbrella of the filthy rich.
The carnage along the way, when populations are only a means to reap rewards considered easy pickings.
This story is an eye opening tragedy for those long passed due to the never diminishing drive of unchecked greed in the face of unexploited opportunities.
The carnage along the way, when populations are only a means to reap rewards considered easy pickings.
This story is an eye opening tragedy for those long passed due to the never diminishing drive of unchecked greed in the face of unexploited opportunities.
December 10, 2015
Came across Giles Milton before in the shape of Nathaniel's Nutmeg, which was an engrossing account of the spice trade and life aboard those disease-inducing trading ships. Also liked that to a popcorn-eating 4*.
Duration: 10 hours 55 mins. Reader: Richard Heffer
The summing up of Plymouth versus Chesapeake choice for communal memory is accurately, astutely and succinctly made by Heather Burns
December 31, 2021
內容講述從第一批英格蘭冒險家多次試圖在美洲定居，到最後成功在詹姆士敦建立英國第一個美洲永久定居地的故事，當中又以沃爾特．雷利爵士(Sir Walter Raleigh)的影響最為深遠。
感到有點反差的是詹姆士敦雖然是以詹姆士一世的名字來命名，但詹姆士對美洲的興趣還不如伊莉莎白。另外書裡談到詹姆士的衛生習慣那段，真是令人不敢恭維XD。印象深刻的還有原來風中奇緣裡面的寶嘉康蒂(Pocahontas)是真有其人啊!
這本書引用了大量冒險者留下來的一手資料，讀起來很精采。
感到有點反差的是詹姆士敦雖然是以詹姆士一世的名字來命名，但詹姆士對美洲的興趣還不如伊莉莎白。另外書裡談到詹姆士的衛生習慣那段，真是令人不敢恭維XD。印象深刻的還有原來風中奇緣裡面的寶嘉康蒂(Pocahontas)是真有其人啊!
這本書引用了大量冒險者留下來的一手資料，讀起來很精采。
July 24, 2023
Absolutely loved this
August 19, 2021
Absolutely astonishing!
January 8, 2012
I've just read this on the back of reading another book on American history, 'Savage Kingdom' by Benjamin Woolley. In contrast to that book, Big Chief Elizabeth is more of a popular history. It's ultimately a true story, told as a story. It mentions historical sources and has a fairly comprehensive bibliography at the back but doesn't have the many pages of accompanying notes that some other history books I've read do. It was less concerned with the politics and detail than the general overview of what went on, and the characters that were a part of it. The part on the Jamestown colony was quite rushed, the main part of the book being about Walter Raleigh's attempts at founding an English colony in Virgina, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was also in part a biography of Sir Walter Raleigh, at least so far as his involvement with America went (which was his major life's work).[return][return]Overall a great history book, entertaining, easy to read and I learned a lot from it. Leaves me wanting more.
October 28, 2015
Great book. Despite growing up in Virginia I knew very little about the first English settlements or the Indians they encountered, or the situation in England at that time. The whole story is much more interesting and dramatic than I realized. Milton is a great historical writer, as I already knew from reading Russian Roulette; his style is very simple and straightforward and you just keep on reading.
This book has a special kicker because Milton's research seems to have resolved the longstanding question of what happened to the settlers of Roanoke. Here I would have appreciated a little more in the way of footnotes or discussion of how exactly he could resolve this when others failed, and whether others agree with him. Apparently John Smith knew the answer but I was not clear in what source Milton found Smith's account.
This book has a special kicker because Milton's research seems to have resolved the longstanding question of what happened to the settlers of Roanoke. Here I would have appreciated a little more in the way of footnotes or discussion of how exactly he could resolve this when others failed, and whether others agree with him. Apparently John Smith knew the answer but I was not clear in what source Milton found Smith's account.
Read
September 29, 2015Giles Milton is definitely popular, rather than academic, history, but he has a great readable style and his books seem to be well researched. This book is about the precursors to the Jamestown colony in Virginia, including the lost colony of Roanoke.
May 15, 2024
A remarkable and entertaining tale of the first English attempt to colonize America told with style, grace and a sense of humor. I've read this twice, bumped it up to 5 stars, and consider this history at its finest.
September 2, 2023
SJC Review: 5.72
Milton has produced a more entertaining follow-up to his previous outing in charting the history of Elizabethan voyages of discovery to America. Cabot's discoveries in 1497 had sparked intense interest in the possible riches to be made across the Atlantic, and even during the reign of Henry VIII this vision had drawn ambitious adventurers to it. In 1536 a wealthy London merchant, Richard Hore, inspired by the appearance at court of a captured South American native from William Hawkins' expedition of the previous year, set out on an expedition to Newfoundland. However, this expedition suffered from lacking in sufficient supplies and its members, wracked by starvation, succumbed to cannibalism. The next tragic episode in this history concerns the ill-fated expeditions of 1578 and 1583 of Sir Humfrey Gilbert. The former was complete farce as only one ship of his flotilla was actually able to brave the harsh weather conditions and depart English waters, only to return similarly battered to the disgrace of it's young captain, Gilbert's half-brother, Walter Ralegh. Though bankrupt, Gilbert was able through his friends at court, principally Sir Francis Walsingham, to launch a second expedition on the ingenious premise that investors would accrue semi-feudal rights to vast acres of discovered land -in eight months of such sales Gilbert sold estates of some 8.5 million acres. The second expedition reached St John's Newfoundland, where, despite the presence of Spanish and Portuguese ships, Gilbert proudly claimed the territory for Queen Elizabeth. Yet, tragedy awaited when the expedition set sail south to explore the American coastline, with many being disheartened by the barren Newfoundland landscape. Not only did the lack of a clear vision of where to plant the English colony sow the seeds for diaster, but also so did Gilbert's own arrogance and weak leadership. with the loss of the flagship, wrecked on the shallows, Gilbert was swayed by the discontent among his fleet to abandon the voyage and set sail for home. Moreover, having been taunted as lacking resolve, he deliberately set sail aboard the smallest, most vulnerable ship of the fleet, and was lost to the first storm encountered. The mantle of spearheading the voyages and establishing an English colony now passed to Ralegh, who had been forced to abandon the 1583 voyage when his crew were laid low by dysentery. In the meantime, he had quickly established himself as the Queen's favourite, with his dashing charm and flirtatious pursuit of Elizabeth - his rise coincided with the decline in favour of Robert Dudley. Ralegh regarded the colonisation across the Atlantic as his destiny, and therefore, offered his household at Durham House on the banks of the Thames as a meeting point for experts of all kinds. Chief among these was his mathematician Thomas Harriot whose command of this discipline Ralegh regarded as essential to accurate navigation. Ralegh lost little time, sending an expedition in 1584 to return with a native who could be taught English and thus acquaint the English with greater knowledge of the American lands. The expedition not only achieved this but also discovered the island of Roanoke as an ideal site for the future colony, being hidden by the outer banks of North Carolina from Spanish fleets. Thus, when Elizabeth agreed to provide a flagship and a name for the new colony in her honour, Virginia, but failed to finance the expedition, Ralegh used the concealed nature of an English presence in America as an opportunity for investors to reap dividends from plundering Spanish shipping. Knighted to undertake the mission of planting the colony, Ralegh entrusted command of the expedition to Sir Richard Grenville, a hot-headed firebrand and adventurer, whose father had perished in the 'Mary Rose' disaster. His task was to ferry the colonists across the Atlantic before returning to England, although he had never set sail previously. The settlement itself was left to the control of Sir Ralph Lane, the governor of the first colony, a battle-hardened soldier and expert on fortification who had been entrusted with defending Ireland's coastline against Spanish invasion. However, the true linchpin of the expedition would be Thomas Harriot who had mastered some command of the indigenous languages from contact with the natives captured by the 1584 expedition. Setting sail in April 1585, Grenville succeeded in landing the colonists at Roanoke, but with his flagship grounded and battered on the sand bars of the Outer Banks, many of their supplies and seeds were spoiled by salt-water, thereby making the colonists totally reliant on the natives for food until the first harvests could be gathered in around a year's time. The increasing tension between Elizabeth and Philip II fed by the former's belligerent involvement in the Spanish Netherlands and support for piratical raids on Spanish shipping, and the latter's attempt to seize English merchant ships and enforce an embargo on English goods, made a fertile environment for Grenville's return to England in October 1585 laden with the Spanish prize he had captured en route. The investors in the Roanoke enterprise regarded the settlement as an opportunity to reap rewards from seizing Spanish ships, while the Spanish shared this vision of an English outpost from which to launch piratical raids on their New`World interests, so became determined to locate and destroy the settlement. Grenville also arrived with the news of the colonists' plight with regards to lack of supplies and though Ralegh had his supply ship ready to sail under the command of Drake's brother, Bernard, he had to relinquish the ship to national interests as Elizabeth commanded that the ship sail to protect English fishing fleets off Newfoundland. Thus, when a fleet commanded by Sir Francis Drake arrived off the Outer Banks in June 1586 he came to the aid of the half-starved settlement at Roanoke. The settlers had just carried out an attack on the neighbouring tribes who had attempted to wipe out the settlement, tired of being asked to contribute food to the newcomers. Drake had long taken an interest in this colony, having served on the parliamentary committee which had scrutinised Ralegh's plans, and, despite being commissioned to free captured English grain ships and raid Spanish coastal towns, had a more ambitious plan to plunder the Caribbean islands and the treasure fleet. Having overrun the Spanish seat of government in the New World at Santa Domingo on the island of Hispaniola as the New Year dawned, Drake had learned of Spanish designs to obliterate English presence on the American mainland. This had been the impetus for his arrival at Roanoke, but in attempting to resupply the settlement a great storm scattered the fleet and Drake and Lane agreed that with war on the horizon making further supplies uncertain it would be best to abandon the settlement. On returning to England, gentlemen survivors spread disastrous reports as to the hardships endured and a subsistence diet of acorns, while Lane had lost his previous enthusiasm and dismissed the area around Roanoke as being far from conducive to colonise. By contrast, Harriot returned eager to advance the benefits of a healthier diet and a local population responsive to trade and settlement. Not only did his reports blindly ignore the Indians' obvious hostility to keep the vision of an Anglicised America alive, but Harriot quickly realised that his claims of the medicinal benefits of tobacco would maintain the colony's future should smoking be popularised as a pastime. Lane and the surviving settlers already were 'hooked', and Ralegh added his enthusiasm to spread the habit within the Court. While the Roanoke survivors recounted the failure of their settlement at home, Grenville arrived with a second contingent of settlers at the Outer Banks expecting to discover a thriving colony. Ralegh had dispatched this expedition, together with a supply ship, months before the vanquished settlers returned home, and Grenville witness to the ruins of the abandoned site determined that a small garrison should be left to retain possession of this stretch of land. Therefore, fifteen soldiers under the command of Master Coffin remained with provisions to last two years and four pieces of heavy artillery. When news of these events reached Ralegh, already uncertain as to the validity of the project, he became torn between his responsibility to these men and his own colonial projects in Ireland. The American project could have ended here but for the failure of the Babington plot to assassinate Elizabeth in 1587. The Queen determined that the vast estates of the fabulously wealthy Catholic traitor, Anthony Babington, should be presented to Ralegh, thereby providing him with the funds to finance another expedition to Virginia. Ralegh had paid attention to Lane and Harriot's accounts of the fertile landscape they had explored around Chesapeake Bay to the north of the original settlement and set his sights on planting a new settlement there. The only leading settler willing or able to return was the appointed artist and mapmaker of the Roanoke expedition, John White, who Ralegh appointed as governor to the new colony. White experienced great difficulty in recruiting settlers for this 1587 expedition, but managed to attract many from the London slums, including whole families attracted to Ralegh's promise to provide each settler with 500 acres of prime farmland. The expedition would prove the biggest fiasco yet, due to White's own lack of leadership. This led to the colonists being forced ashore at Roanoke, where they had arranged to recover Coffin's party, as the fleet navigator regarded the plantation as secondary to the rewards for capturing Spanish shipping in the Caribbean. Having discovered that Coffin and his men had been killed by hostile tribes and in desperate straits themselves, especially given the fact that any further supplies would be sent to Chesapeake, the colonists became so disillusioned with their governor that they nominated him to return to England to report their fate. Reaching England after a desperate voyage in October 1587, White discovered a country in preparation for invasion. Not only had the Queen ordered a ban on any shipping leave English shores without permission to ensure all available resources were in a state of readiness to face the reported Armada, but also 1587 marked the rise in Elizabeth's favour of the Earl of Essex displacing Ralegh as her favourite at court. Ralegh was embroiled in the defence of the realm even in securing Ireland from attack by the remnants of the scattered Armada so could not consider his American venture until March 1589. White in the meantime had secured two ill-equipped ships which ignominiously fell prey to French pirates forcing him to limp once again home. The tragedy was that White had left behind his own daughter and grand-daughter with the colonists and when the rescue mission finally set sail in March 1590 he would search in vain for signs of his lost colony, before returning to England a broken man. Many of those who had played their part in the American venture now left centre-stage, with Lane returning to ireland where he served with honour in defeating the rebels in 1593. The most illustrious ending was that of Grenville whose 'Revenge' formed part of a 1591 fleet commanded by Lord Howard in search of the treasure fleet. Encountering stronger odds Howard and the fleet retreated while Grenville's misplaced but heroic arrogance led him to pitch battle against 53 adversaries and the rest is history. Ralegh had fallen in love with one of the Queen's maids-of-honour, Bess Throckmorton, and secretly married her which led to his and his bride's imprisonment in the Tower. Fortune smiled upon Ralegh as his release was provoked by the Queen's need for her admiral to persuade unruly mariners from stripping clean the biggest prize ever captured - the Madre de Dios. Although he and Bess only spent four months in the Tower towards the end of 1592, Ralegh would remain in disgrace for a further five years. His interest in his colonists only resurfaced when the legal proclamation of the death of White's son-in-law and placement of his estates in trust brought home to Sir Walter the frailty of his own title as Governor of Virginia as it was dependent upon his having secured a permanent colony there within seven years. However, he was by now enthused by the discovery of El Dorado in Guiana, and only as a stop en route did he finally set sail for Roanoke himself to fail not only in discovering the fabled city but also in discovering the colonists' fate. Between 1599 and 1602 he sent a further four expeditions to attempt to discover the whereabouts of his lost colony, but with the death of`Elizabeth in 1603 Ralegh's fortunes dipped never to truly recover. The dour James I did not care for Ralegh's flamboyance and laid the blame for the wasteful habit of smoking at Ralegh's door, and deprived him of his titles and monopolies. Worse he was quizzed on trumped-up charges of treason in July 1603 and confined to the Tower. For his own part the King had no interest in colonising the Americas, believing contact with savages would turn any colonist barbarian, and wished to destroy Ralegh. Popular sympathy lay with Ralegh leading to James reluctantly issuing a reprieve on the day of Ralegh's execution, and during his imprisonment he kept alive his dreams of Guiana and Virginia. Ironically, the next figure to promote the opportunities in America would be the Lord Chief Justice who presided over Ralegh's trial, Popham. Without any royal interest, he established the Virginia Company of merchants who funded a 1606 voyage to Chesapeake Bay. It would be this expedition which would establish Jamestown, though once again the settlers would require the support of neighbouring tribes to survive. The most striking figure of the expedition, who gradually would assume leadership over it was Captain John Smith who claimed to have been a mercenary and pirate who had escaped servitude under the Ottomans. Aside from his hirsute ginger beard, his bravery under attack brought him to the attention of the local chieftain, Powhatan, whose daughter would intercede saving Smith from execution. Meanwhile, Ralegh's incarceration in the Tower did not prevent him from influencing events in Virginia. Firstly, he shared his confinement with the Earl of Northumberland, himself wrongfully accused of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, and whose private fortune allowed them to make their captivity as comfortable as possible, while establishing a scientific workshop in the Tower's derelict outhouses. Secondly, the Earl's brother was an integral member of the 1606 expedition and the latter's reports kept them updated as to the fate of the settlement. Thus, Ralegh had the means to act as unofficial advider to the Virginia Company without the knowledge of the King. His influence can be gleaned from an essay on colonisation he produced in which he advocated the education of the indigenous natives to transform them into loyal vassals of the monarchy as opposed to their subjugation by force. Such attitudes probably influenced the crowning of Powhatan as subject'king, the only coronation ever staged on American soil. However, this merely added to the chief's arrogance and when tiring of the demands of the settlers, Powhatan withdrew their food supplies. In attempting to parley with Powhatan, Smith also made it clear that the coronation had not enlarged the chief's rule but rather had passed control of Virginia to the King of England. Vowing to slaughter Smith and his men, Powhatan's plans would be undone by his twelve year-old daughter, Pocohantas who fled to warn the English of the imminent attack. Yet, relations soured further, and the extreme hardships deepened so much so that Smith's leadership came under so much criticism that it led to his electing to sail home. His successor, the Earl of Northumberland's brother was unequal to the task and the colony was decimated by starvation and some succumbed to cannibalism, until the decision by the survivors to finally abandon Jamestown in 1610. Nevertheless, their departure was halted by the arrival of a fleet carrying their new governor together with supplies and new recruits. Chastised for their idleness, they were forced to return to the settlement to face the autocratic rule of Lord De La Warr, whose belligerent attitude towards`the Indians ran counter to everything Ralegh had espoused. His bloodthirsty subjugation and massacres of local tribes was only halted by illness which led to him being removed to the Carribbean, only to be replaced by an even more brutal figure. Sir Thomas`Dale issued a new legal code on the colony which virtually made every crime punishable by death and was even more warlike in his dealings with the natives. However, simultaneously, the virginia Company sought to implement Ralegh's continued suggested policy of civilising local tribes to assimilate them more peaceably into the service of the Crown. In line`with this policy, Pocahantas was taken to be anglicised and christianised, though dale sought to use her as a bargaining chip to extract the subjection of her father. Unbeknown to him, one of his negotiators, John Rolfe, had fallen in love with the chieftain's daughter and risked the wrath of Dale in securing her hand in marriage. Their wedding of 1614 would bring about the end of hostilities and secure the future of the Virginia colony, thus proving Ralegh to have been foresighted in his advancement of co-operation with civilised natives. In 1616, Dale travelled to London accompanied by Mr & Mrs Rolfe, in a master-stroke of marketing for the new colony and securing the future financing of the Jamestown project. This year also witnessed the release of Ralegh, as the King's failing finances finally persuaded him to listen to his captive's promises of securing untold fortune in Guinea. Pocahantas took the anglicised name Rebecca, and her husband deserves mention for securing the future of England's possession of America in that Rolfe had been the first to plant tobacco in the Chesapeake settlement, proving the terrain and climate ideal for its cultivation, and thereby providing the financial means to keep the colony viable. Rumours persisted of the survival in the bush of White's lost settlers, and Smith belatedy revealed that he had been promised to keep silent by Powhatan that the crowned vassalof the English crown had had them massacred just before the arrival in 1607 of the expedition which established Jamestown. This is a gem of historical research, wonderful to experience and so full of illustrious figures of the age.
Milton has produced a more entertaining follow-up to his previous outing in charting the history of Elizabethan voyages of discovery to America. Cabot's discoveries in 1497 had sparked intense interest in the possible riches to be made across the Atlantic, and even during the reign of Henry VIII this vision had drawn ambitious adventurers to it. In 1536 a wealthy London merchant, Richard Hore, inspired by the appearance at court of a captured South American native from William Hawkins' expedition of the previous year, set out on an expedition to Newfoundland. However, this expedition suffered from lacking in sufficient supplies and its members, wracked by starvation, succumbed to cannibalism. The next tragic episode in this history concerns the ill-fated expeditions of 1578 and 1583 of Sir Humfrey Gilbert. The former was complete farce as only one ship of his flotilla was actually able to brave the harsh weather conditions and depart English waters, only to return similarly battered to the disgrace of it's young captain, Gilbert's half-brother, Walter Ralegh. Though bankrupt, Gilbert was able through his friends at court, principally Sir Francis Walsingham, to launch a second expedition on the ingenious premise that investors would accrue semi-feudal rights to vast acres of discovered land -in eight months of such sales Gilbert sold estates of some 8.5 million acres. The second expedition reached St John's Newfoundland, where, despite the presence of Spanish and Portuguese ships, Gilbert proudly claimed the territory for Queen Elizabeth. Yet, tragedy awaited when the expedition set sail south to explore the American coastline, with many being disheartened by the barren Newfoundland landscape. Not only did the lack of a clear vision of where to plant the English colony sow the seeds for diaster, but also so did Gilbert's own arrogance and weak leadership. with the loss of the flagship, wrecked on the shallows, Gilbert was swayed by the discontent among his fleet to abandon the voyage and set sail for home. Moreover, having been taunted as lacking resolve, he deliberately set sail aboard the smallest, most vulnerable ship of the fleet, and was lost to the first storm encountered. The mantle of spearheading the voyages and establishing an English colony now passed to Ralegh, who had been forced to abandon the 1583 voyage when his crew were laid low by dysentery. In the meantime, he had quickly established himself as the Queen's favourite, with his dashing charm and flirtatious pursuit of Elizabeth - his rise coincided with the decline in favour of Robert Dudley. Ralegh regarded the colonisation across the Atlantic as his destiny, and therefore, offered his household at Durham House on the banks of the Thames as a meeting point for experts of all kinds. Chief among these was his mathematician Thomas Harriot whose command of this discipline Ralegh regarded as essential to accurate navigation. Ralegh lost little time, sending an expedition in 1584 to return with a native who could be taught English and thus acquaint the English with greater knowledge of the American lands. The expedition not only achieved this but also discovered the island of Roanoke as an ideal site for the future colony, being hidden by the outer banks of North Carolina from Spanish fleets. Thus, when Elizabeth agreed to provide a flagship and a name for the new colony in her honour, Virginia, but failed to finance the expedition, Ralegh used the concealed nature of an English presence in America as an opportunity for investors to reap dividends from plundering Spanish shipping. Knighted to undertake the mission of planting the colony, Ralegh entrusted command of the expedition to Sir Richard Grenville, a hot-headed firebrand and adventurer, whose father had perished in the 'Mary Rose' disaster. His task was to ferry the colonists across the Atlantic before returning to England, although he had never set sail previously. The settlement itself was left to the control of Sir Ralph Lane, the governor of the first colony, a battle-hardened soldier and expert on fortification who had been entrusted with defending Ireland's coastline against Spanish invasion. However, the true linchpin of the expedition would be Thomas Harriot who had mastered some command of the indigenous languages from contact with the natives captured by the 1584 expedition. Setting sail in April 1585, Grenville succeeded in landing the colonists at Roanoke, but with his flagship grounded and battered on the sand bars of the Outer Banks, many of their supplies and seeds were spoiled by salt-water, thereby making the colonists totally reliant on the natives for food until the first harvests could be gathered in around a year's time. The increasing tension between Elizabeth and Philip II fed by the former's belligerent involvement in the Spanish Netherlands and support for piratical raids on Spanish shipping, and the latter's attempt to seize English merchant ships and enforce an embargo on English goods, made a fertile environment for Grenville's return to England in October 1585 laden with the Spanish prize he had captured en route. The investors in the Roanoke enterprise regarded the settlement as an opportunity to reap rewards from seizing Spanish ships, while the Spanish shared this vision of an English outpost from which to launch piratical raids on their New`World interests, so became determined to locate and destroy the settlement. Grenville also arrived with the news of the colonists' plight with regards to lack of supplies and though Ralegh had his supply ship ready to sail under the command of Drake's brother, Bernard, he had to relinquish the ship to national interests as Elizabeth commanded that the ship sail to protect English fishing fleets off Newfoundland. Thus, when a fleet commanded by Sir Francis Drake arrived off the Outer Banks in June 1586 he came to the aid of the half-starved settlement at Roanoke. The settlers had just carried out an attack on the neighbouring tribes who had attempted to wipe out the settlement, tired of being asked to contribute food to the newcomers. Drake had long taken an interest in this colony, having served on the parliamentary committee which had scrutinised Ralegh's plans, and, despite being commissioned to free captured English grain ships and raid Spanish coastal towns, had a more ambitious plan to plunder the Caribbean islands and the treasure fleet. Having overrun the Spanish seat of government in the New World at Santa Domingo on the island of Hispaniola as the New Year dawned, Drake had learned of Spanish designs to obliterate English presence on the American mainland. This had been the impetus for his arrival at Roanoke, but in attempting to resupply the settlement a great storm scattered the fleet and Drake and Lane agreed that with war on the horizon making further supplies uncertain it would be best to abandon the settlement. On returning to England, gentlemen survivors spread disastrous reports as to the hardships endured and a subsistence diet of acorns, while Lane had lost his previous enthusiasm and dismissed the area around Roanoke as being far from conducive to colonise. By contrast, Harriot returned eager to advance the benefits of a healthier diet and a local population responsive to trade and settlement. Not only did his reports blindly ignore the Indians' obvious hostility to keep the vision of an Anglicised America alive, but Harriot quickly realised that his claims of the medicinal benefits of tobacco would maintain the colony's future should smoking be popularised as a pastime. Lane and the surviving settlers already were 'hooked', and Ralegh added his enthusiasm to spread the habit within the Court. While the Roanoke survivors recounted the failure of their settlement at home, Grenville arrived with a second contingent of settlers at the Outer Banks expecting to discover a thriving colony. Ralegh had dispatched this expedition, together with a supply ship, months before the vanquished settlers returned home, and Grenville witness to the ruins of the abandoned site determined that a small garrison should be left to retain possession of this stretch of land. Therefore, fifteen soldiers under the command of Master Coffin remained with provisions to last two years and four pieces of heavy artillery. When news of these events reached Ralegh, already uncertain as to the validity of the project, he became torn between his responsibility to these men and his own colonial projects in Ireland. The American project could have ended here but for the failure of the Babington plot to assassinate Elizabeth in 1587. The Queen determined that the vast estates of the fabulously wealthy Catholic traitor, Anthony Babington, should be presented to Ralegh, thereby providing him with the funds to finance another expedition to Virginia. Ralegh had paid attention to Lane and Harriot's accounts of the fertile landscape they had explored around Chesapeake Bay to the north of the original settlement and set his sights on planting a new settlement there. The only leading settler willing or able to return was the appointed artist and mapmaker of the Roanoke expedition, John White, who Ralegh appointed as governor to the new colony. White experienced great difficulty in recruiting settlers for this 1587 expedition, but managed to attract many from the London slums, including whole families attracted to Ralegh's promise to provide each settler with 500 acres of prime farmland. The expedition would prove the biggest fiasco yet, due to White's own lack of leadership. This led to the colonists being forced ashore at Roanoke, where they had arranged to recover Coffin's party, as the fleet navigator regarded the plantation as secondary to the rewards for capturing Spanish shipping in the Caribbean. Having discovered that Coffin and his men had been killed by hostile tribes and in desperate straits themselves, especially given the fact that any further supplies would be sent to Chesapeake, the colonists became so disillusioned with their governor that they nominated him to return to England to report their fate. Reaching England after a desperate voyage in October 1587, White discovered a country in preparation for invasion. Not only had the Queen ordered a ban on any shipping leave English shores without permission to ensure all available resources were in a state of readiness to face the reported Armada, but also 1587 marked the rise in Elizabeth's favour of the Earl of Essex displacing Ralegh as her favourite at court. Ralegh was embroiled in the defence of the realm even in securing Ireland from attack by the remnants of the scattered Armada so could not consider his American venture until March 1589. White in the meantime had secured two ill-equipped ships which ignominiously fell prey to French pirates forcing him to limp once again home. The tragedy was that White had left behind his own daughter and grand-daughter with the colonists and when the rescue mission finally set sail in March 1590 he would search in vain for signs of his lost colony, before returning to England a broken man. Many of those who had played their part in the American venture now left centre-stage, with Lane returning to ireland where he served with honour in defeating the rebels in 1593. The most illustrious ending was that of Grenville whose 'Revenge' formed part of a 1591 fleet commanded by Lord Howard in search of the treasure fleet. Encountering stronger odds Howard and the fleet retreated while Grenville's misplaced but heroic arrogance led him to pitch battle against 53 adversaries and the rest is history. Ralegh had fallen in love with one of the Queen's maids-of-honour, Bess Throckmorton, and secretly married her which led to his and his bride's imprisonment in the Tower. Fortune smiled upon Ralegh as his release was provoked by the Queen's need for her admiral to persuade unruly mariners from stripping clean the biggest prize ever captured - the Madre de Dios. Although he and Bess only spent four months in the Tower towards the end of 1592, Ralegh would remain in disgrace for a further five years. His interest in his colonists only resurfaced when the legal proclamation of the death of White's son-in-law and placement of his estates in trust brought home to Sir Walter the frailty of his own title as Governor of Virginia as it was dependent upon his having secured a permanent colony there within seven years. However, he was by now enthused by the discovery of El Dorado in Guiana, and only as a stop en route did he finally set sail for Roanoke himself to fail not only in discovering the fabled city but also in discovering the colonists' fate. Between 1599 and 1602 he sent a further four expeditions to attempt to discover the whereabouts of his lost colony, but with the death of`Elizabeth in 1603 Ralegh's fortunes dipped never to truly recover. The dour James I did not care for Ralegh's flamboyance and laid the blame for the wasteful habit of smoking at Ralegh's door, and deprived him of his titles and monopolies. Worse he was quizzed on trumped-up charges of treason in July 1603 and confined to the Tower. For his own part the King had no interest in colonising the Americas, believing contact with savages would turn any colonist barbarian, and wished to destroy Ralegh. Popular sympathy lay with Ralegh leading to James reluctantly issuing a reprieve on the day of Ralegh's execution, and during his imprisonment he kept alive his dreams of Guiana and Virginia. Ironically, the next figure to promote the opportunities in America would be the Lord Chief Justice who presided over Ralegh's trial, Popham. Without any royal interest, he established the Virginia Company of merchants who funded a 1606 voyage to Chesapeake Bay. It would be this expedition which would establish Jamestown, though once again the settlers would require the support of neighbouring tribes to survive. The most striking figure of the expedition, who gradually would assume leadership over it was Captain John Smith who claimed to have been a mercenary and pirate who had escaped servitude under the Ottomans. Aside from his hirsute ginger beard, his bravery under attack brought him to the attention of the local chieftain, Powhatan, whose daughter would intercede saving Smith from execution. Meanwhile, Ralegh's incarceration in the Tower did not prevent him from influencing events in Virginia. Firstly, he shared his confinement with the Earl of Northumberland, himself wrongfully accused of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, and whose private fortune allowed them to make their captivity as comfortable as possible, while establishing a scientific workshop in the Tower's derelict outhouses. Secondly, the Earl's brother was an integral member of the 1606 expedition and the latter's reports kept them updated as to the fate of the settlement. Thus, Ralegh had the means to act as unofficial advider to the Virginia Company without the knowledge of the King. His influence can be gleaned from an essay on colonisation he produced in which he advocated the education of the indigenous natives to transform them into loyal vassals of the monarchy as opposed to their subjugation by force. Such attitudes probably influenced the crowning of Powhatan as subject'king, the only coronation ever staged on American soil. However, this merely added to the chief's arrogance and when tiring of the demands of the settlers, Powhatan withdrew their food supplies. In attempting to parley with Powhatan, Smith also made it clear that the coronation had not enlarged the chief's rule but rather had passed control of Virginia to the King of England. Vowing to slaughter Smith and his men, Powhatan's plans would be undone by his twelve year-old daughter, Pocohantas who fled to warn the English of the imminent attack. Yet, relations soured further, and the extreme hardships deepened so much so that Smith's leadership came under so much criticism that it led to his electing to sail home. His successor, the Earl of Northumberland's brother was unequal to the task and the colony was decimated by starvation and some succumbed to cannibalism, until the decision by the survivors to finally abandon Jamestown in 1610. Nevertheless, their departure was halted by the arrival of a fleet carrying their new governor together with supplies and new recruits. Chastised for their idleness, they were forced to return to the settlement to face the autocratic rule of Lord De La Warr, whose belligerent attitude towards`the Indians ran counter to everything Ralegh had espoused. His bloodthirsty subjugation and massacres of local tribes was only halted by illness which led to him being removed to the Carribbean, only to be replaced by an even more brutal figure. Sir Thomas`Dale issued a new legal code on the colony which virtually made every crime punishable by death and was even more warlike in his dealings with the natives. However, simultaneously, the virginia Company sought to implement Ralegh's continued suggested policy of civilising local tribes to assimilate them more peaceably into the service of the Crown. In line`with this policy, Pocahantas was taken to be anglicised and christianised, though dale sought to use her as a bargaining chip to extract the subjection of her father. Unbeknown to him, one of his negotiators, John Rolfe, had fallen in love with the chieftain's daughter and risked the wrath of Dale in securing her hand in marriage. Their wedding of 1614 would bring about the end of hostilities and secure the future of the Virginia colony, thus proving Ralegh to have been foresighted in his advancement of co-operation with civilised natives. In 1616, Dale travelled to London accompanied by Mr & Mrs Rolfe, in a master-stroke of marketing for the new colony and securing the future financing of the Jamestown project. This year also witnessed the release of Ralegh, as the King's failing finances finally persuaded him to listen to his captive's promises of securing untold fortune in Guinea. Pocahantas took the anglicised name Rebecca, and her husband deserves mention for securing the future of England's possession of America in that Rolfe had been the first to plant tobacco in the Chesapeake settlement, proving the terrain and climate ideal for its cultivation, and thereby providing the financial means to keep the colony viable. Rumours persisted of the survival in the bush of White's lost settlers, and Smith belatedy revealed that he had been promised to keep silent by Powhatan that the crowned vassalof the English crown had had them massacred just before the arrival in 1607 of the expedition which established Jamestown. This is a gem of historical research, wonderful to experience and so full of illustrious figures of the age.
January 17, 2025
4.5 stars
This is a very well written, thrilling, almost nerve-racking account of the first British colony on North American soil. The project was conceived by Sir Walter Raleigh, a huge favourite of Queen Elizabeth who could not do enough for him, showering him with favours, wealth, land and manor houses.
After several false starts resulting in mutiny, shipwreck and cannibalism, the first woefully unprepared settlers were landed on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of what today is North Carolina. From the start the project was under an unlucky star and the settlers faced every imaginable kind of ordeal, first and foremost near starvation but also diseases, accidents and Indian clubs, arrows and cruelly refined tortures, which in no way means that it was always the settlers who were on the receiving end of massacres and cruelty as the British did not show much kindness to whom they considered “savages” unless they provided desperately needed food. There was one Indian, though, who was taken to London and became something of a high society pet. He was later taken back to his home island and remained a faithful ally of the British until the end.
Anyway, the colonists held on for dear life for as long as they could, then left a cryptic message carved into a tree trunk and vanished, never to be found, though, to tell the truth, nobody was ever seriously looking for them.
A later settlement at Jamestown fared better but in the end most of those colonists were massacred by Indians and only the appearance of light-skinned grey-eyed Indian children testified to the survival of a few.
This book is packed with historical facts. The author paints a realistic picture of Elizabethan London, contrasting a hotbed of poverty, crime, prostitution and appalling living conditions with the sumptuous lives of nobles, courtiers and sycophants during the “Golden Age”, the reign of the eccentric, exuberant Virgin Queen who was succeeded by the depressingly dour, narrow-minded King James I, an uninspired, unimaginative, narrow-minded ruler who had no interest in the American project whatsoever and who was Sir Walter Raleigh’s nemesis. This was also the time of the sea battles between the British Navy and the famous, though not invincible, Spanish Armada. Sir Francis Drake was one of the best-known corsairs to raid and plunder the treasure-filled Spanish galleons in the Caribbean.
Last but not least the author gives us Sir Walter Raleigh’s life. He was an intelligent, curious, energetic, enterprising, heartily envied and disliked man who worked his way to the pinnacle of power under Queen Elizabeth, was temporarily replaced by a rival upstart but ultimately restored to her favours. He organised the expeditions to Virginia and “El Dorado”, fell into disgrace under King James, spent years in the Tower of London, was released and finally convicted of treason and beheaded.
I hope that "Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan" by the same author will be as interesting and enjoyable.
This is a very well written, thrilling, almost nerve-racking account of the first British colony on North American soil. The project was conceived by Sir Walter Raleigh, a huge favourite of Queen Elizabeth who could not do enough for him, showering him with favours, wealth, land and manor houses.
After several false starts resulting in mutiny, shipwreck and cannibalism, the first woefully unprepared settlers were landed on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of what today is North Carolina. From the start the project was under an unlucky star and the settlers faced every imaginable kind of ordeal, first and foremost near starvation but also diseases, accidents and Indian clubs, arrows and cruelly refined tortures, which in no way means that it was always the settlers who were on the receiving end of massacres and cruelty as the British did not show much kindness to whom they considered “savages” unless they provided desperately needed food. There was one Indian, though, who was taken to London and became something of a high society pet. He was later taken back to his home island and remained a faithful ally of the British until the end.
Anyway, the colonists held on for dear life for as long as they could, then left a cryptic message carved into a tree trunk and vanished, never to be found, though, to tell the truth, nobody was ever seriously looking for them.
A later settlement at Jamestown fared better but in the end most of those colonists were massacred by Indians and only the appearance of light-skinned grey-eyed Indian children testified to the survival of a few.
This book is packed with historical facts. The author paints a realistic picture of Elizabethan London, contrasting a hotbed of poverty, crime, prostitution and appalling living conditions with the sumptuous lives of nobles, courtiers and sycophants during the “Golden Age”, the reign of the eccentric, exuberant Virgin Queen who was succeeded by the depressingly dour, narrow-minded King James I, an uninspired, unimaginative, narrow-minded ruler who had no interest in the American project whatsoever and who was Sir Walter Raleigh’s nemesis. This was also the time of the sea battles between the British Navy and the famous, though not invincible, Spanish Armada. Sir Francis Drake was one of the best-known corsairs to raid and plunder the treasure-filled Spanish galleons in the Caribbean.
Last but not least the author gives us Sir Walter Raleigh’s life. He was an intelligent, curious, energetic, enterprising, heartily envied and disliked man who worked his way to the pinnacle of power under Queen Elizabeth, was temporarily replaced by a rival upstart but ultimately restored to her favours. He organised the expeditions to Virginia and “El Dorado”, fell into disgrace under King James, spent years in the Tower of London, was released and finally convicted of treason and beheaded.
I hope that "Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan" by the same author will be as interesting and enjoyable.
September 5, 2017
I knew very little about the Roanoke Island colony, even tho I knew about Virginia Dare and that all of these first colonists were 'lost'. I think most of us know a little more about the second colony, Jamestown. BUT, this book is not the grade school version of Roanoke or Jamestown! It is a pretty gruesome tale...like all medieval and 1500s life. But, be ready for the gory details! Milton used many actual quotes in Elizabethan English. With the details, the well-researched personalities, and the language, Shorto made this history compelling. I loved it.
I am thrilled that I now know the real story about the first English settlements, the Indians they met, and the situation in England that prompted the colonization effort and disasters. I have a clear picture of Sir Walter Raleigh, and the famous Sir Francis Drake. Author Milton presented a formidable story about Sir Walter Raleigh's life and his determined efforts to establish an English colony in the New World, in spite of the Spanish threat. There is plenty of background on the exploits of other famous and not so famous English explorers of the era.
Raleigh had the right focus...study, research, fund ... and figure out the politics of making a project successful. Milton included so many quotes/letters between Queen Eliz and Walter; I was completely invested in the authenticity and felt like I was living in the Elizabethan court. The same goes for the plight and experiences of the colonists. Men returning from trips across the Atlantic to the colonies wrote about their experience and about the colonists they saved, and the conditions they encountered, and the stories told by the colonists. I did not know that there was so much written documentation! Very fascinating.
I know my American history now! John Smith, Powhatan, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, the colonists. I especially appreciated knowing the details about how the English men in the 1600s, like William Strachey, tried their best to look for, and figure out, what happened to those Roanoke colonists.
The first 'governor' was voted by the Roanoke Island colonists to return to England for help in 1587. He TRIED to get back but the English had to deal with the Spanish Armada. Tragic. When he finally returned 17 years later, there was a clue carved in the tree (CROatan?)...but the weather forced the ships to leave before they could look for the colonists. UGH!! When the Jamestown colonists finally returned, they found a well-established, but burned & abandoned, colony on the Chesapeake. There are clues that it was the Roanoke colonists. They whole story and research are fascinating.
No question: life was nearly impossible for the 'gentlemen' colonists. They were not equipped for the ordeal, it’s miraculous that anyone survived at all. It is quite clear that our great America would not exist at all if not for help from the native peoples and the lethal cash crop, tobacco. Finally, the story of so much failure finally resulted in a resounding success!
I am thrilled that I now know the real story about the first English settlements, the Indians they met, and the situation in England that prompted the colonization effort and disasters. I have a clear picture of Sir Walter Raleigh, and the famous Sir Francis Drake. Author Milton presented a formidable story about Sir Walter Raleigh's life and his determined efforts to establish an English colony in the New World, in spite of the Spanish threat. There is plenty of background on the exploits of other famous and not so famous English explorers of the era.
Raleigh had the right focus...study, research, fund ... and figure out the politics of making a project successful. Milton included so many quotes/letters between Queen Eliz and Walter; I was completely invested in the authenticity and felt like I was living in the Elizabethan court. The same goes for the plight and experiences of the colonists. Men returning from trips across the Atlantic to the colonies wrote about their experience and about the colonists they saved, and the conditions they encountered, and the stories told by the colonists. I did not know that there was so much written documentation! Very fascinating.
I know my American history now! John Smith, Powhatan, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, the colonists. I especially appreciated knowing the details about how the English men in the 1600s, like William Strachey, tried their best to look for, and figure out, what happened to those Roanoke colonists.
The first 'governor' was voted by the Roanoke Island colonists to return to England for help in 1587. He TRIED to get back but the English had to deal with the Spanish Armada. Tragic. When he finally returned 17 years later, there was a clue carved in the tree (CROatan?)...but the weather forced the ships to leave before they could look for the colonists. UGH!! When the Jamestown colonists finally returned, they found a well-established, but burned & abandoned, colony on the Chesapeake. There are clues that it was the Roanoke colonists. They whole story and research are fascinating.
No question: life was nearly impossible for the 'gentlemen' colonists. They were not equipped for the ordeal, it’s miraculous that anyone survived at all. It is quite clear that our great America would not exist at all if not for help from the native peoples and the lethal cash crop, tobacco. Finally, the story of so much failure finally resulted in a resounding success!
December 23, 2013
Giles Milton offers up an account of the early days of English exploration and its halting attempts at colonization in North America, in his third “non-fiction” offering, entitled Big Chief Elizabeth. The book centers largely around the determined efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh to establish an English colony in the New World during the Elizabethan era of the late sixteenth century. but provides plenty of background on the exploits of other famous and not so famous English explorers of the era as well. The book's opening chapter briefly mentions the excitement occasioned by John Cabot's seemingly successful voyages during the reign of King Henry VII, upon which English claims of sovereignty over North America were based. This is followed by a more detailed account of an ill-fated scheme launched, by wealthy London merchant Richard Hore, who attempted to duplicate the accomplishment of fellow Englishman William Hawkins. Sir Hawkins had returned from a voyage to South America, with a Brazilian savage in tow which, “caused a sensation in Tudor London, especially when he was ushered into the commanding presence of King Henry VIII.”1 Hore was convinced that thousands of curious Londoners would eagerly line up and pay handsomely to view such an exotic creature, netting him and his investors a fortune. He had little trouble finding men of means, eager to invest in the venture, but the plan failed miserably. According to the author, this was because in large part of Hore's poor planning, as well as the ill-preparedness of most of his gentlemen companions for the hardships of such an arduous journey.
The adventurers soon find the harsh environs of the North Atlantic a very difficult place to scrounge up a meal and after they are stranded on Labrador when their ship is damaged, they are reduced to stealing the fish which a mother Osprey was regularly bringing to her nest full of hungry fledglings for a time. The mother soon grew wise of their activities and moved the nest, after which starvation reduced them to utter desperation and some resorted to cannibalism. The groups aim to capture a native were thwarted as well. They did see one native canoe, but its occupants easily out distanced their boats and the natives made landfall and disappeared into the forest. They managed to escape possible starvation, by signaling a passing French fishing vessel, and then quite quickly and ungentlemanly seizing for their own return to England.2
Some of Sir Francis Drake's adventures are also recounted in a thrilling manner as well as are those of other lesser known Englishman who had visited the New World and lived to tell their tales in sixteenth century England, like Sir Humfrey Gilbert and Davy Ingrams. Milton recounts that it was the latter's extraordinary tale which convinced Gilbert his belief in the fabled northwest passage to the East Indies was not unfounded. However the discerning reader will quickly recognize that it is highly reminiscent the of far more famous adventures of Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. He was one the few survivors of the disastrous 1527 Narváez expedition, commissioned by the Spanish crown to colonize Florida. After being shipwrecked near modern day Galveston, he spent years trekking across America, accompanied by hundreds of Native Americans who had come to revere him as a healer. However while de Vaca's comparatively well documented odyssey lasted over eight years and covered about fifteen hundred miles, Ingrams claimed that he and two others twice that, some three thousand miles, from Mexico to Nova Scotia in just twelve months. Added to that, along the way he claimed to have seen bright red sheep and rabbits, as well as birds of prey with heads the size of a man's fist. This all seems quite far fetched, certainly to a trained historian, like the bad, but popular history spewed out of Hollywood
His professional scrutiny appears little better in the latter pages of the book dealing with the early days of Jamestown, by which time he has apparently gotten far to engrossed in the swashbuckling storyline. His analysis here amounts to what might well have served as the first draft of the script from Disney's animated feature Pocahontas, and likewise Pirates of the Caribbean might well be added as a source for the sections on Sir Francis Drake. He bubbles out the popularized version of the famous tale of how the daughter of the chief Powhatan saved the life of Captain John Smith, which has long since been discounted by modern scholarship. Long before this point however, it becomes clear that Milton relies too heavily on the “Historical Writings from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries”, listed first in the rather oddly formatted bibliography then he does on “Reference Works” then listed. This section contains a rather exhaustive listing of secondary sources dating back as far as 1847, with many dating from the early twentieth century through the 1960's, and only a handful published since then.3 But conspicuously missing from that list is Roanoke:The Abandoned Colony written by Karen Kupperman in 1984, which is widely considered to be the best work on the topic.
While the story of Sir Walter Raleigh's exhaustive efforts to found an English colony across the Atlantic is well presented, his treatment of Raleigh borders closely on hero worship. Most irritating of all though is that in over three hundred pages, Milton offers no new factual information here. Nor does the work inspire an abundance of confidence in the author's critical analysis skills In the epilogue however he toys too loosely with the line between fictional and nonfiction. Claiming that the British government and the Virginia Company had known all along that the settlers from the “lost colony” of Roanoke were slaughtered, save for a few lucky ones, by the direct order of Chief Powhatan. Supposedly this was revealed to Smith by the chief, who also showed Smith relics which had belonged to the colonists, just before he was saved from death by Pocahontas. Smith then secretly forwarded to the news to the court of King James and from there it was leaked to the company. This is but one of the theories presented by Kupperman and others as a plausible, perhaps even likely explanation for the colony's disappearance, however Milton implies it to be proven, documented fact. There is a huge difference though between historical conjecture and verifiable facts and good history should deal with fact, not fiction. Thus while this book is well suited for casual reading, it should not be considered as a viable resource by serious scholars.
The adventurers soon find the harsh environs of the North Atlantic a very difficult place to scrounge up a meal and after they are stranded on Labrador when their ship is damaged, they are reduced to stealing the fish which a mother Osprey was regularly bringing to her nest full of hungry fledglings for a time. The mother soon grew wise of their activities and moved the nest, after which starvation reduced them to utter desperation and some resorted to cannibalism. The groups aim to capture a native were thwarted as well. They did see one native canoe, but its occupants easily out distanced their boats and the natives made landfall and disappeared into the forest. They managed to escape possible starvation, by signaling a passing French fishing vessel, and then quite quickly and ungentlemanly seizing for their own return to England.2
Some of Sir Francis Drake's adventures are also recounted in a thrilling manner as well as are those of other lesser known Englishman who had visited the New World and lived to tell their tales in sixteenth century England, like Sir Humfrey Gilbert and Davy Ingrams. Milton recounts that it was the latter's extraordinary tale which convinced Gilbert his belief in the fabled northwest passage to the East Indies was not unfounded. However the discerning reader will quickly recognize that it is highly reminiscent the of far more famous adventures of Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. He was one the few survivors of the disastrous 1527 Narváez expedition, commissioned by the Spanish crown to colonize Florida. After being shipwrecked near modern day Galveston, he spent years trekking across America, accompanied by hundreds of Native Americans who had come to revere him as a healer. However while de Vaca's comparatively well documented odyssey lasted over eight years and covered about fifteen hundred miles, Ingrams claimed that he and two others twice that, some three thousand miles, from Mexico to Nova Scotia in just twelve months. Added to that, along the way he claimed to have seen bright red sheep and rabbits, as well as birds of prey with heads the size of a man's fist. This all seems quite far fetched, certainly to a trained historian, like the bad, but popular history spewed out of Hollywood
His professional scrutiny appears little better in the latter pages of the book dealing with the early days of Jamestown, by which time he has apparently gotten far to engrossed in the swashbuckling storyline. His analysis here amounts to what might well have served as the first draft of the script from Disney's animated feature Pocahontas, and likewise Pirates of the Caribbean might well be added as a source for the sections on Sir Francis Drake. He bubbles out the popularized version of the famous tale of how the daughter of the chief Powhatan saved the life of Captain John Smith, which has long since been discounted by modern scholarship. Long before this point however, it becomes clear that Milton relies too heavily on the “Historical Writings from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries”, listed first in the rather oddly formatted bibliography then he does on “Reference Works” then listed. This section contains a rather exhaustive listing of secondary sources dating back as far as 1847, with many dating from the early twentieth century through the 1960's, and only a handful published since then.3 But conspicuously missing from that list is Roanoke:The Abandoned Colony written by Karen Kupperman in 1984, which is widely considered to be the best work on the topic.
While the story of Sir Walter Raleigh's exhaustive efforts to found an English colony across the Atlantic is well presented, his treatment of Raleigh borders closely on hero worship. Most irritating of all though is that in over three hundred pages, Milton offers no new factual information here. Nor does the work inspire an abundance of confidence in the author's critical analysis skills In the epilogue however he toys too loosely with the line between fictional and nonfiction. Claiming that the British government and the Virginia Company had known all along that the settlers from the “lost colony” of Roanoke were slaughtered, save for a few lucky ones, by the direct order of Chief Powhatan. Supposedly this was revealed to Smith by the chief, who also showed Smith relics which had belonged to the colonists, just before he was saved from death by Pocahontas. Smith then secretly forwarded to the news to the court of King James and from there it was leaked to the company. This is but one of the theories presented by Kupperman and others as a plausible, perhaps even likely explanation for the colony's disappearance, however Milton implies it to be proven, documented fact. There is a huge difference though between historical conjecture and verifiable facts and good history should deal with fact, not fiction. Thus while this book is well suited for casual reading, it should not be considered as a viable resource by serious scholars.
August 12, 2016
Giles Milton offers up an account of the early days of English exploration and its halting attempts at colonization in North America, in his third “non-fiction” offering, entitled Big Chief Elizabeth. The book centers largely around the determined efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh to establish an English colony in the New World during the Elizabethan era of the late sixteenth century. but provides plenty of background on the exploits of other famous and not so famous English explorers of the era as well. The book's opening chapter briefly mentions the excitement occasioned by John Cabot's seemingly successful voyages during the reign of King Henry VII, upon which English claims of sovereignty over North America were based. This is followed by a more detailed account of an ill-fated scheme launched, by wealthy London merchant Richard Hore, who attempted to duplicate the accomplishment of fellow Englishman William Hawkins. Sir Hawkins had returned from a voyage to South America, with a Brazilian savage in tow which, “caused a sensation in Tudor London, especially when he was ushered into the commanding presence of King Henry VIII.”1 Hore was convinced that thousands of curious Londoners would eagerly line up and pay handsomely to view such an exotic creature, netting him and his investors a fortune. He had little trouble finding men of means, eager to invest in the venture, but the plan failed miserably. According to the author, this was because in large part of Hore's poor planning, as well as the ill-preparedness of most of his gentlemen companions for the hardships of such an arduous journey.
The adventurers soon find the harsh environs of the North Atlantic a very difficult place to scrounge up a meal and after they are stranded on Labrador when their ship is damaged, they are reduced to stealing the fish which a mother Osprey was regularly bringing to her nest full of hungry fledglings for a time. The mother soon grew wise of their activities and moved the nest, after which starvation reduced them to utter desperation and some resorted to cannibalism. The groups aim to capture a native were thwarted as well. They did see one native canoe, but its occupants easily out distanced their boats and the natives made landfall and disappeared into the forest. They managed to escape possible starvation, by signaling a passing French fishing vessel, and then quite quickly and ungentlemanly seizing for their own return to England.2
Some of Sir Francis Drake's adventures are also recounted in a thrilling manner as well as are those of other lesser known Englishman who had visited the New World and lived to tell their tales in sixteenth century England, like Sir Humfrey Gilbert and Davy Ingrams. Milton recounts that it was the latter's extraordinary tale which convinced Gilbert his belief in the fabled northwest passage to the East Indies was not unfounded. However the discerning reader will quickly recognize that it is highly reminiscent the of far more famous adventures of Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. He was one the few survivors of the disastrous 1527 Narváez expedition, commissioned by the Spanish crown to colonize Florida. After being shipwrecked near modern day Galveston, he spent years trekking across America, accompanied by hundreds of Native Americans who had come to revere him as a healer. However while de Vaca's comparatively well documented odyssey lasted over eight years and covered about fifteen hundred miles, Ingrams claimed that he and two others twice that, some three thousand miles, from Mexico to Nova Scotia in just twelve months. Added to that, along the way he claimed to have seen bright red sheep and rabbits, as well as birds of prey with heads the size of a man's fist. This all seems quite far fetched, certainly to a trained historian, like the bad, but popular history spewed out of Hollywood
His professional scrutiny appears little better in the latter pages of the book dealing with the early days of Jamestown, by which time he has apparently gotten far to engrossed in the swashbuckling storyline. His analysis here amounts to what might well have served as the first draft of the script from Disney's animated feature Pocahontas, and likewise Pirates of the Caribbean might well be added as a source for the sections on Sir Francis Drake. He bubbles out the popularized version of the famous tale of how the daughter of the chief Powhatan saved the life of Captain John Smith, which has long since been discounted by modern scholarship. Long before this point however, it becomes clear that Milton relies too heavily on the “Historical Writings from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries”, listed first in the rather oddly formatted bibliography then he does on “Reference Works” then listed. This section contains a rather exhaustive listing of secondary sources dating back as far as 1847, with many dating from the early twentieth century through the 1960's, and only a handful published since then.3 But conspicuously missing from that list is Roanoke:The Abandoned Colony written by Karen Kupperman in 1984, which is widely considered to be the best work on the topic.
While the story of Sir Walter Raleigh's exhaustive efforts to found an English colony across the Atlantic is well presented, his treatment of Raleigh borders closely on hero worship. Most irritating of all though is that in over three hundred pages, Milton offers no new factual information here. Nor does the work inspire an abundance of confidence in the author's critical analysis skills In the epilogue however he toys too loosely with the line between fictional and nonfiction. Claiming that the British government and the Virginia Company had known all along that the settlers from the “lost colony” of Roanoke were slaughtered, save for a few lucky ones, by the direct order of Chief Powhatan. Supposedly this was revealed to Smith by the chief, who also showed Smith relics which had belonged to the colonists, just before he was saved from death by Pocahontas. Smith then secretly forwarded to the news to the court of King James and from there it was leaked to the company. This is but one of the theories presented by Kupperman and others as a plausible, perhaps even likely explanation for the colony's disappearance, however Milton implies it to be proven, documented fact. There is a huge difference though between historical conjecture and verifiable facts and good history should deal with fact, not fiction. Thus while this book is well suited for casual reading, it should not be considered as a viable resource by serious scholars.
The adventurers soon find the harsh environs of the North Atlantic a very difficult place to scrounge up a meal and after they are stranded on Labrador when their ship is damaged, they are reduced to stealing the fish which a mother Osprey was regularly bringing to her nest full of hungry fledglings for a time. The mother soon grew wise of their activities and moved the nest, after which starvation reduced them to utter desperation and some resorted to cannibalism. The groups aim to capture a native were thwarted as well. They did see one native canoe, but its occupants easily out distanced their boats and the natives made landfall and disappeared into the forest. They managed to escape possible starvation, by signaling a passing French fishing vessel, and then quite quickly and ungentlemanly seizing for their own return to England.2
Some of Sir Francis Drake's adventures are also recounted in a thrilling manner as well as are those of other lesser known Englishman who had visited the New World and lived to tell their tales in sixteenth century England, like Sir Humfrey Gilbert and Davy Ingrams. Milton recounts that it was the latter's extraordinary tale which convinced Gilbert his belief in the fabled northwest passage to the East Indies was not unfounded. However the discerning reader will quickly recognize that it is highly reminiscent the of far more famous adventures of Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. He was one the few survivors of the disastrous 1527 Narváez expedition, commissioned by the Spanish crown to colonize Florida. After being shipwrecked near modern day Galveston, he spent years trekking across America, accompanied by hundreds of Native Americans who had come to revere him as a healer. However while de Vaca's comparatively well documented odyssey lasted over eight years and covered about fifteen hundred miles, Ingrams claimed that he and two others twice that, some three thousand miles, from Mexico to Nova Scotia in just twelve months. Added to that, along the way he claimed to have seen bright red sheep and rabbits, as well as birds of prey with heads the size of a man's fist. This all seems quite far fetched, certainly to a trained historian, like the bad, but popular history spewed out of Hollywood
His professional scrutiny appears little better in the latter pages of the book dealing with the early days of Jamestown, by which time he has apparently gotten far to engrossed in the swashbuckling storyline. His analysis here amounts to what might well have served as the first draft of the script from Disney's animated feature Pocahontas, and likewise Pirates of the Caribbean might well be added as a source for the sections on Sir Francis Drake. He bubbles out the popularized version of the famous tale of how the daughter of the chief Powhatan saved the life of Captain John Smith, which has long since been discounted by modern scholarship. Long before this point however, it becomes clear that Milton relies too heavily on the “Historical Writings from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries”, listed first in the rather oddly formatted bibliography then he does on “Reference Works” then listed. This section contains a rather exhaustive listing of secondary sources dating back as far as 1847, with many dating from the early twentieth century through the 1960's, and only a handful published since then.3 But conspicuously missing from that list is Roanoke:The Abandoned Colony written by Karen Kupperman in 1984, which is widely considered to be the best work on the topic.
While the story of Sir Walter Raleigh's exhaustive efforts to found an English colony across the Atlantic is well presented, his treatment of Raleigh borders closely on hero worship. Most irritating of all though is that in over three hundred pages, Milton offers no new factual information here. Nor does the work inspire an abundance of confidence in the author's critical analysis skills In the epilogue however he toys too loosely with the line between fictional and nonfiction. Claiming that the British government and the Virginia Company had known all along that the settlers from the “lost colony” of Roanoke were slaughtered, save for a few lucky ones, by the direct order of Chief Powhatan. Supposedly this was revealed to Smith by the chief, who also showed Smith relics which had belonged to the colonists, just before he was saved from death by Pocahontas. Smith then secretly forwarded to the news to the court of King James and from there it was leaked to the company. This is but one of the theories presented by Kupperman and others as a plausible, perhaps even likely explanation for the colony's disappearance, however Milton implies it to be proven, documented fact. There is a huge difference though between historical conjecture and verifiable facts and good history should deal with fact, not fiction. Thus while this book is well suited for casual reading, it should not be considered as a viable resource by serious scholars.
May 6, 2021
I'm a sucker for old-fashioned adventures, particularly in the New World and knowing what it grew into (the ending of this book gave me excited chills). Big Chief Elizabeth was perfect for me. It chronicles – in a roaming narrative that is the epitome of popular history – the first tentative English footsteps in America, from the raids on Spanish treasure ships and the pretty-damn-cool mystery of the Roanoke settlement, through the naming of the land of Virginia and the efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh, to Jamestown and the legendary Pocahontas.
It has a wealth of research and anecdote, a keen eye for rip-roaring adventure ("[he] had the two qualities that were deemed essential: a yearning for adventure and a hatred of Spain" (pg. 86)), and does not shy from the many hardships that come with colonisation: starvation and settlement, cannibalism and brutality, weevils and loneliness and hostile natives. The Elizabethan age has some indescribable richness and vitality to it, despite the hardships, even if some of the Tudor spelling and phrasings quoted by author Giles Milton can sometimes make things unintentionally funny ("his heade was grevouslye broken and blede abundantlye" (pg. 55)).
If you're looking for a deeply-sourced, sober academic history of Elizabethan colonization, this isn't it. Milton's book is enjoying itself far too much to get bogged down in that. But if you want a swift and yet comprehensive overview of the subject, focusing only on the really interesting, crowd-pleasing stuff, Big Chief Elizabeth is highly recommended.
It has a wealth of research and anecdote, a keen eye for rip-roaring adventure ("[he] had the two qualities that were deemed essential: a yearning for adventure and a hatred of Spain" (pg. 86)), and does not shy from the many hardships that come with colonisation: starvation and settlement, cannibalism and brutality, weevils and loneliness and hostile natives. The Elizabethan age has some indescribable richness and vitality to it, despite the hardships, even if some of the Tudor spelling and phrasings quoted by author Giles Milton can sometimes make things unintentionally funny ("his heade was grevouslye broken and blede abundantlye" (pg. 55)).
If you're looking for a deeply-sourced, sober academic history of Elizabethan colonization, this isn't it. Milton's book is enjoying itself far too much to get bogged down in that. But if you want a swift and yet comprehensive overview of the subject, focusing only on the really interesting, crowd-pleasing stuff, Big Chief Elizabeth is highly recommended.
November 9, 2019
This is an enjoyable read, well researched and full of extracts from letters and quotes. The story reads as a novel, tracing the characters highs and lows through the period.
At times some of the language choices jarred (I.e the consistent use of “Indian” by the narrator rather than the more appropriate term “Native American” - or better yet, the name of the actual tribe....) which may be caused by the fact that the book was older than I had realised and was first published 2001. There were also a few incidences where it felt like there was some glossing over/denial - one paragraph in particular sticks in my mind where the author casually made the comment that a particular English settler has written about how much he didn’t find the women of the local tribe attractive, so the author concluded he must not have ever slept with them. This seems naive considering the amount of violence being carried out against the local tribes.
Overall, I still would recommend this and particularly to anyone (like me) who didn’t know anything about this period before.
At times some of the language choices jarred (I.e the consistent use of “Indian” by the narrator rather than the more appropriate term “Native American” - or better yet, the name of the actual tribe....) which may be caused by the fact that the book was older than I had realised and was first published 2001. There were also a few incidences where it felt like there was some glossing over/denial - one paragraph in particular sticks in my mind where the author casually made the comment that a particular English settler has written about how much he didn’t find the women of the local tribe attractive, so the author concluded he must not have ever slept with them. This seems naive considering the amount of violence being carried out against the local tribes.
Overall, I still would recommend this and particularly to anyone (like me) who didn’t know anything about this period before.
September 14, 2021
A fascinating and well researched book highlighting a period in the very, very earliest period of English colonization of North America. The author makes excellent use of primary source material to give an overview of the motivations behind the earliest colonial movements, and details the often-overlooked earliest interactions between the English and the North American Indians. A fascinating and well written work.
March 31, 2018
Spoiler: Milton does tell what happened to the Lost Colony -- but you'll have to read the book to get the details.
Milton does an admirable job of placing the history of the first American Colony in perspective in terms of the important historical figures -- which include Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Ralegh -- and of other historical concerns -- the expansion of European powers, the mapping of colonies and constructing of trade routes (always an eye to economics), and the developing rivalry especially between Britain and Spain. Milton draws from much primary historical literature and uses such quotes as make the book quite captivating. He makes real the struggles of these early colonists at the Outer Banks and in Virginia -- their horrific experiences are presented quite well. Wow. How people could persevere and how America ever took of...Well worth the read.
Milton does an admirable job of placing the history of the first American Colony in perspective in terms of the important historical figures -- which include Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Ralegh -- and of other historical concerns -- the expansion of European powers, the mapping of colonies and constructing of trade routes (always an eye to economics), and the developing rivalry especially between Britain and Spain. Milton draws from much primary historical literature and uses such quotes as make the book quite captivating. He makes real the struggles of these early colonists at the Outer Banks and in Virginia -- their horrific experiences are presented quite well. Wow. How people could persevere and how America ever took of...Well worth the read.
January 18, 2022
This was an engaging read with compelling story-telling derived largely from journal entries and logs of personalities involved in the English exploration of the mid- and southern Atlantic Coast of North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. The story-telling is an effective way to deliver the history but I think the book could have pushed back harder than it did on “facts” as they were transcribed from the primary documents. It didn’t press so hard and the result was a rather Anglocentric account of efforts to colonize the New World at Roanoke Island and Jamestown. It seemed the author imitated the somewhat stilted and archaic language of the old time accounts in his own secondary explanation of events and historical theories, giving me the feeling I was getting only a partial history of English exploration.
August 17, 2024
Giles Milton is an exceptional writer of historical non-fiction. I have enjoyed so many of his books prior to this one. I did learn a lot from reading this but there was a bit of a downside in that there wasn't a lot happening and very little moved along. Not the fault of the writing but of the historical facts. A good text for a student but not so entertaining as his others. The expeditions to set up a colony, the struggles, the natives fluctuating between friendly and hostile. I would have enjoyed a biography of Sir Walter Raleigh more rather than the jumping around characters. Not a bad book and I am glad to have read it.
June 30, 2019
I feel like the author was living at the time as he relates this true story about the folly and failure that led up to America's first successful colony. The extensive research brings to life the events that occurred before 1616 in England and the new land as the desire for adventure and profit motivated the attempts to settle a wild and unknown land. Since there are many excerpts from surviving journals and drawings, the reader hears the voices of the men who undertook these journeys. The author wrote an entertaining and informative narrative that kept me interested from beginning to end.
June 23, 2020
Although I was keen to learn more about this aspect of Elizabethan history, I thought it’d take me ages to read this book. I was wrong. The style of the writing is so engaging that I couldn’t put it down. I particularly liked the excellent use of quotes from primary sources. Even though occasional words were difficult to make out, I felt the quotes were always embedded in a way where meaning could easily be inferred. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in the early history of the colonisation of America.
October 28, 2022
This is the second time I have read this book. Since last time I have visited the Outer Banks, Roanoke, Jamestown, and Chesapeake. I’ve seen the Outlander series and read the books regarding that area. Jame Mitchner’s books as well. It’ll be interesting when DNA data connects the dots between lost colonists and Native Americans in the area. Nothing was friendly and easy for decades. Very riveting read.
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