skip to main content

World Explorers: John Smith

4 minutes 44 seconds
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • captions off, selected

      (female narrator) The English explorer John Smith was a soldier, a pirate, a slave, and a sea captain. He was crucial for the establishment of the first permanent English colony in the New World, at Jamestown, Virginia. He explored and mapped the Chesapeake Bay, as well as the region now known as New England.

      (Describer) Titles: PBS Education. World Explorers: John Smith.

      (Describer) As a pointer on a timeline goes to 1580, a map zooms in on the United Kingdom, then turns into an old map of England.

      Born in January, 1580, near Alford, England, John Smith was raised in a family of poor farmers. With the death of his father, he sought his fortune at 16. He became a mercenary-- a soldier for hire-- and joined the army of the French king Henry IV. When he was 18, he bought a ship and sailed the Mediterranean Sea, sometimes as a trader, sometimes as a pirate. Two years later, fighting against the Ottoman Turks for the Austrian prince, Smith was promoted to captain for his valor in battle. In 1602, Smith was captured by the Turks and sold into slavery far away in Russia. Smith eventually escaped, and after many adventures along his journey home through Europe and North Africa, he returned to England in 1604. In 1606, the Virginia Company of London, a private corporation that funded settlements in North America, hired Smith to help establish and lead a colony. The company wanted Smith along because his military experience would help protect the colony. He was made one of seven members of the governing council of the colony. On December 20, 1606, Smith and his colonists set sail in three ships-- Discovery, Susan Constant, and Godspeed. They founded the colony of Jamestown in May of 1607. However, the site they chose was mainly marshland and lacked fresh drinking water. Hunger and disease took a fearful toll and by December, only 40 of the original 104 colonists were still alive.

      (Describer) In a painting, men carry a body.

      That month, while exploring, Smith was captured by the native inhabitants, the Powhatans. According to Smith, as the tribe's warriors were about to club him to death, the chief's young daughter, Pocahontas, intervened and begged for John Smith's life. Pocahontas's rescue is a controversial story. Some historians believe that Smith made it up. But if he did, there's evidence he did so so the British royalty would treat Pocahontas as a heroine when she visited England.

      (Describer) Another painting depicts her visit.

      Regardless of how it happened, meeting the chief was fortuitous, as the Powhatans became an important ally in Jamestown's survival.

      (Describer) A tall ship sails through a bay.

      In the summer of 1608, Smith explored and mapped the Chesapeake Bay's shoreline, covering nearly 3,000 miles. The following September, Smith was elected president of the colony's council. With winter bearing down, Smith established a strict policy of discipline and work, so that food could be procured. He commanded... The settlers worked industriously and survived the winter. After returning to England for five years, Smith sailed back to America in 1614. On this expedition, he charted the coast of what is now Massachusetts and Maine. In fact, Smith created the map the pilgrims used to reach Plymouth Rock.

      (Describer) Men consult a map in a painting.

      Smith spent his remaining years encouraging his countrymen to colonize America. He wrote dozens of publications about how settlers could achieve success in the New World, not by discovering gold, but rather through industrious work and farming, building, or fishing. He died in 1631. Were it not for John Smith's leadership and the discipline he instituted at Jamestown, the colony might have failed. Smith championed British settlement in the New World. His maps and charts of the American coast led to British colonization of what would become the 13 colonies. Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

      (Describer) Titles: PBS Education. World Explorers: John Smith. Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

      Transcript Options


      Now Playing As: English with English captions (change)

      The English explorer John Smith was crucial to the exploration of and establishment of colonies within the Northeastern United States. The first permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown owes its creation to Smith, as does the mapping of the Chesapeake Bay. Part of the "World Explorers" series.

      Media Details

      Runtime: 4 minutes 44 seconds

      ASL
      Painting of a man with a dark mustache and forked beard wearing a gray turban and red and gold tunic sitting cross-legged. Images of animals on circles form a floating circle around him. Caption. Battuta would travel to even more distant lands.
      World Explorers
      Episode 1
      4 minutes 21 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Dark gray statues of vikings, Erik the Red and Leif Erikson, superimposed over a parchment-colored old-style map of Western Europe, Iceland, and Greenland. Caption. Erik the Red and his son, Leif Erikson.
      World Explorers
      Episode 2
      4 minutes 49 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Illustration of Marco Polo wearing red coat and furry cap holding a sword and bow and arrow. His image is superimposed over a color map with a compass rose and Gothic-style text, enclosed by elaborate patterned border. Caption. Marco Polo returned with amazing tales.
      World Explorers
      Episode 3
      5 minutes 23 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Computer rendering of explorer Zheng He wearing a black bonnet-style hat and red cloak. He is superimposed over a colorful map with Chinese writing. Caption. Assembled the largest fleet of ships ever seen.
      World Explorers
      Episode 4
      4 minutes 34 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Sepia-tone sketch of explorer John Cabot with Shakespeare-era hat and forked white beard. He is superimposed over an old-style map of the globe. Caption. Caboto decided to also try to find a westerly route to Asia.
      World Explorers
      Episode 5
      4 minutes 23 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Painting of a man wearing a dark velvet hat and a red velvet vest over a jacket with puffy sleeves. An old-style map of western Africa is under yellow text on the screen and reads, "Vasco da Gama." Caption. Was the first person to sail from Europe to India.
      World Explorers
      Episode 6
      4 minutes 31 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Painting of Christopher Columbus wearing a triangle hat and a large, dark cloak on the left. He is superimposed over a map of the globe drawn in maroon. Caption. Many Americans honor the feats of Christopher Columbus.
      World Explorers
      Episode 7
      4 minutes 47 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Painting of explorer Amerigo Vespucci holding a large golden drawing compass on a map on a wood table. An illustration of a ship with a dark sky and a compass rose are in the background. Caption. Securing a position as a mapmaker and astronomer.
      World Explorers
      Episode 8
      4 minutes 24 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Sepia-tone sketch of 3 conquistadors in armor carrying a wounded soldier over a dead soldier. 2 wooden gun stocks are on each side of the screen. Caption. Ponce de León was wounded in the battle.
      World Explorers
      Episode 9
      4 minutes 54 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      ASL
      Illustration of the islands of the Caribbean. Haiti and the Dominican Republic highlighted. Caption: Cortés lived on the island for six years.
      World Explorers
      Episode 10
      5 minutes 37 seconds
      Grade Level: 4 - 8
      Drag to Position