A Tale of Two Colonies: What Really Happened in Virginia and Bermuda?

by Virginia Bernhard

In 1609, two years after its English founding, colonists struggled to stay alive in a tiny fort at Jamestown.John Smith fought to keep order, battling both English and Indians. When he left, desperate colonists ate lizards, rats, and human flesh. Surviving accounts of the “Starving Time” differ, as do modern scholars’ theories.Meanwhile, the Virginia-bound Sea Venture was shipwrecked on Bermuda, the dreaded, uninhabited “Isle of Devils.” The castaways’ journals describe the hurricane at sea as well as murders and mutinies on land. Their adventures are said to have inspired Shakespeare’s The Tempest.A year later, in 1610, the Bermuda castaways sailed to Virginia in two small ships they had built. They arrived in Jamestown to find many people in the last stages of starvation; abandoning the colony seemed their only option. Then, in what many people thought was divine providence, three English ships sailed into Chesapeake Bay. Virginia was saved, but the colony’s troubles were far from over.Despite glowing reports from Virginia Company officials, disease, inadequate food, and fear of Indians plagued the colony. The company poured thousands of pounds sterling and hundreds of new settlers into its venture but failed to make a profit, and many of the newcomers died. Bermuda—with plenty of food, no native population, and a balmy climate—looked much more promising, and in fact, it became England’s second New World colony in 1612.In this fascinating tale of England’s first two New World colonies, Bernhard links Virginia and Bermuda in a series of unintended consequences resulting from natural disaster, ignorance of native cultures, diplomatic intrigue, and the fateful arrival of the first Africans in both colonies. Written for general as well as academic audiences, A Tale of Two Colonies examines the existing sources on the colonies, sets them in a transatlantic context, and weighs them against circumstantial evidence.From diplomatic correspondence and maps in the Spanish archives to recent archaeological discoveries at Jamestown, Bernhard creates an intriguing history. To weave together the stories of the two colonies, which are fraught with missing pieces, she leaves nothing letters written in code, adventurers’ narratives, lists of Africans in Bermuda, and the minutes of committees in London. Biographical details of mariners, diplomats, spies, Indians, Africans, and English colonists also enrich the narrative. While there are common stories about both colonies, Bernhard shakes myth free from truth and illuminates what is known—as well as what we may never know—about the first English colonies in the New World.

Genres: History

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2011

About the author

Virginia Bernhard (B.A., Rice; M.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., Rice) is Professor Emerita of History at the University of St. Thomas. Born in Austin, Texas, she grew up in Houston, attending Lanier Junior High School, San Jacinto High School, and Rice University. After graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania she returned to Houston and earned a Ph.D. in history at Rice. She lives in Houston, Texas, is married to Jim Bernhard, actor/writer, and has three grown children.

Awards and honors:
• Katherine Munson Foster Memorial Award for Literature, Brazos County Historical Museum, 2014
• B.K. Smith Lecturer in History, University of St. Thomas, 2011.
• Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Academic Achievement, 2003.
• Texas Historical Commission Award, Best Local History Publication, for Ima Hogg:The Governor’s Daughter, 1984
• Woodrow Wilson Fellow 1960-61.
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1959

Reviews

[Mike Shoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible, readable account of the settling of the first two English colonies in America. Bernhard has combed through the available evidence and crafted a good narrative of the settling of Virginia and the hardships getting permanently established, the shipwreck of the "Sea Venture" on Bermuda and the paradise the colonists found there. Virginia had desperate problems: bad relations with the Indians, fighting among the colony's leaders, starvation, no luck find the missing Roanoke colonists or gold, etc. When it was decided to establish a colony at Bermuda, on the other hand, it was actually more successful from the beginning, providing a profit to the Somers Isles Company within a year. The Virginia Company after 7 years had gotten no return on its investment. Factions and infighting within the Virginia Company, mismanagement, poor leadership, decisions to send thousands of colonists to Virginia only to die created a disturbing and hostile situation. Both colonies eventually had to deal with the arrival of Africans, which began problems that would last for 400 years. Bernhard covers familiar ground with the various personalities and events (Pocahontas, John Smith, the "Starving Time") but also adds newer research, especially new discoveries at Jamestown and material found in the Spanish Archives. A solid overview.

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent research and presentation. Thinking I would find it dry, as I was already familiar with the early events in both Jamestown and Bermuda, I opened it in the middle with the intent of merely dipping in here and there. Once I started reading I could not stop. I sped through to the end as if the book in my hands was an exciting thriller. When I came to the end I went to the beginning and read the book all the way through in only a couple of sittings.
Thank you, Ms Bernhard, for your evident love of history and your talent for making it so interesting.

[Jm Rollins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well research and a fascinating bit of history. Reads more like a grad thesis than a book though.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who likes to read about early American history will like this book. Virgina Bernhard wrote a historical fiction of the Jamestown settlement in a book entitled A Durable Fire, which is excellent.

This book, A Tale of Two Colonies is not fiction, but explains the politics and problems among the members of the Virginia Company, who provided the financing for the first trip to the settlement. It is fascinating to read about how the Sea Venture (one of the original ships sailing to Jamestown) arrived accidentally on the island of Bermuda, which had been uninhabited. I would love to visit Bermuda one day and see the historical sites.

Kudos to Virginia Bernhard! A lot of research from various parts of England, Burmuda, Jamestown and Spain is referenced here.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled through the beginning of the book. I found the writing to be terribly boring despite the fascinating history. The book does pick up toward the middle and from there on out it was very interesting. I did learn quite a bit. I had no idea that Bermuda was the second colony for the British and it all happened by chance. I am happy that I finished after my trip to Bermuda as the story brought up many pleasant memories from our explorations around the town of St. Georges. I can't wait to go back and scout out more of the historical landmarks mentioned.

[Gayle Styles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book if you have an interest in this part of the world. I learnt a lot that I had not come across before. Thank you to the author for putting a lot of it in plain English - made it easier to follow.