Smith Takes Command: Jamestown's Survival Secured
Captain John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown Council on September 10, 1608, taking control of a colony that was dying of disease, starvation, and its own incompetence. Jamestown's original settlers were mostly gentlemen adventurers who considered manual labor beneath them. Smith imposed a simple rule: "He that will not work shall not eat." He organized foraging expeditions, negotiated (sometimes forcibly) with the Powhatan Confederacy for food, and imposed military discipline on the settlement. His nine months of leadership stabilized the colony long enough for supply ships to arrive. When Smith was injured in a gunpowder explosion and returned to England in October 1609, the colony nearly collapsed in the "Starving Time" that followed.
September 10, 1608
418 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on September 10
Bishops across Visigothic Gaul gathered at the Council of Agde to codify forty-seven canons governing church discipline and clerical conduct. By standardizing r…
Pope Urban II convened seventy bishops and twelve abbots at the first synod in Melfi to enforce new church laws and mend ties with the Greek Orthodox Church. Th…
John the Fearless earned his nickname at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, where his reckless cavalry charge contributed to a catastrophic crusader defeat. He su…
Constantinople in 1509 was still recovering from Ottoman conquest when the earth hit it with what survivors called 'The Lesser Judgment Day.' The earthquake — e…
Thomas Wolsey was the son of an Ipswich butcher who became the most powerful man in England after Henry VIII. His investiture as Cardinal in 1515 capped a rise …
English forces crushed the Scottish army at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, utilizing superior naval artillery and cavalry to secure a brutal victory. This rout fo…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.