Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections

New England, by Captain John Smith. 1616. From The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, 1624.

Title

New England, by Captain John Smith. 1616. From The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, 1624.

Description

The bold and arrogant John Smith, who emblazoned his portrait on his map, had no intention of retiring from his life of adventure after leaving Jamestown. He envisioned creating his own colony to the north of Virginia, a more realistic, better organized settlement with him in charge.

In 1614 he explored and surveyed the coast of Maine and Massachusetts Bay and in 1616 published this map, the first to use the name New England. He replaced many of the indigenous names with English ones, but his only surviving place names are Cape Ann, Charles River, and Plymouth. Storms, shipwrecks, pirates, and capture by the French ended his later attempts to settle there, and his map remains as the most positive result of this venture. Thwarted as a colonizer, in part because of his boldness, he settled for writing books about his adventures and the New World.

Date

1624

Creator

John Smith

Files

Smith_NewEngland.png

Citation

John Smith, “New England, by Captain John Smith. 1616. From The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, 1624.,” Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections , accessed October 9, 2024, http://digitalarchives.columbusstate.edu/items/show/12.