The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America

by Lorri Glover, Daniel Blake Smith

A freshly researched account of the dramatic rescue of the Jamestown settlersThe English had long dreamed of colonizing America, especially after Sir Francis Drake brought home Spanish treasure and dramatic tales from his raids in the Caribbean. Ambitions of finding gold and planting a New World colony seemed within reach when in 1606 Thomas Smythe extended overseas trade with the launch of the Virginia Company. But from the beginning the American enterprise was a disaster. Within two years warfare with Indians and dissent among the settlers threatened to destroy Smythe's Jamestown just as it had Raleigh's Roanoke a generation earlier.To rescue the doomed colonists and restore order, the company chose a new leader, Thomas Gates. Nine ships left Plymouth in the summer of 1609—the largest fleet England had ever assembled—and sailed into the teeth of a storm so violent that "it beat all light from Heaven." The inspiration for Shakespeare's The Tempest, the hurricane separated the flagship from the fleet, driving it onto reefs off the coast of Bermuda—a lucky shipwreck (all hands survived) which proved the turning point in the colony's fortune.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, Nautical, Historical, Adult

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2008

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book I've read in a row about the founding of Jamestown, and by now, certain patterns have begun to emerge. Like the other two books, Love and Hate in Jamestown and Savage Kingdom, The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown charts the tumultuous early years of the colony, largely glosses over the decade or so after that, and ends around the time of the Indian Massacre of 1622. Informative and well-written, this book is better narrativized than Savage Kingdom and more objective than Love and Hate in Jamestown. Lorri Glover does an arguably better job of succinctly relaying the exploits of Jamestown's ruling class than the other two, trimming away the fat. There's very little new information here, but the framing is different. A greater emphasis is placed on the spirituality at the heart of the journey, and the belief that God intended for the English to settle in the New World. All three books include foreshadowing of the aristocracy's waning influence, but while Love focuses on the individual (or rather, one specific individual) and Savage treats the audience to bloated passages on the monarchy, Glover falls somewhere in the middle, emphasizing both the opportunities the New World presented for ordinary people, and how only someone willing to greatly humble themselves could hope to survive in this dangerous climate. We also get a closer look at a few of The Sea Venture's primary characters, including George Somers, the captain who expertly led the ship to safety and requested to have his heart buried in Bermuda; and especially Thomas Gates, the merciful governor who never completely lost himself, even after having to embrace a harsher rule of law in order to save the colony from self-destruction.

As other reviews have mentioned, the title is a misnomer. It was the timely arrival of Thomas West's relief fleet, not the Sea Venture, that saved Jamestown from starvation and stopped the colonists from departing for England. The Sea Venture showing up when it did prevented everyone from leaving just long enough for West to arrive in time. At best, the ship saved the colony in a more circuitous way, bringing with it a handful of colonists who would contribute massively to it's survival: Gates; Richard Buck, a minister who became the town's religious leader; John Rolfe, whose successful tobacco crops stimulated Virginia's economy (and whose marriage to Pocahontas led to an eight-year long peace with the Powhatans); and William Strachey, who wrote it all down so that we have any idea of what happened in the first place.

While Shipwreck may do an excellent job of chronicling the ongoings of the elites (for whom we have the best records for), the rest of the colony is largely overlooked. The Powhatans only come up as a background threat to the settlers, with a few famous names (Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas) being occasionally name-dropped. The ordinary people of Jamestown are also all but forgotten, treated more like statistics than human beings. Surely there must be some records of the civilians who endured this incredibly strenuous fifteen-year period, more than just tales of cannibalism during the time of mass starvation and the gentry who refused to work. Yet you would never know it based on any of the books I've read on this subject thus far. Even with a growing interest in social and labor history, it would appear that there is still much left uncovered.

Lastly, while Glover is a good writer, the audiobook narration for this book was rough. The narrator's voice was like a cross between a 1930s radio host and an AI bot. I eventually got used to it, but it wasn't easy.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So after reading the really crappy book about Jamestown, where I learned that communism causes dysentery.

This book purports to argue that the shipwreck of the Sea Venture saved Jamestown, and I can't say that it's a super convincing argument. At times, it seems the author wanted the title more than she wanted to actually prove the statement. The last 5 minutes of the book (audiobook--had some knitting to do) tries to wrap it all up in a tidy bow, but I definitely felt the strain on the strings.

I also thought Glover's tendency to go back and forth in time without being very clear about when in the history we were very confusing--and helped by a nice trip to my local wikipedia page. We start with the storm, then we're back in England before they sail, then we're at the storm again, and then we're talking prior colonies...my head got a bit muddled.

However, the story of the Sea Venture is a compelling tale--and one I enjoyed learning about. Despite being a native Virginian, my knowledge of this history is almost pathetic. The book filled in a lot of blanks--especially why high school in my area were named what they were.

It's a good story. Interesting. However, I think the 'saving' of Jamestown seems to be a spiral of events rather than the good fortune of one ship landing on a deserted isle populated by feral hogs.

Feral hogs--dibs on band name.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I didn't grow up on the East Coast of the US, the version of early America I was taught in history class was very abridged and had a touch of the later Disney takes about it. I knew about the list colony of Roanoke but didn't realize how close the Jamestown colony came to failure or how many times. In addition to educating me about the winter of starvation (1609-1610) in which more than 60% of the colonists died and many resorted to cannibalism (I grew up knowing of the Donner Party and would have remembered if this was taught in history) this book brings to light the story about the shipwreck in Bermuda of one of the earliest ships carrying settlers. It was the providential nature of the survival of the shipwreck and their eventual Voyage to Virginia that convinced all and sundry that Gid had ordained and blessed the English colonization of America. It explains a lot about the thread of arrogance that is part of our national character.

I enjoyed learning about Bermuda and how it came to be settled. I found it interesting that there were no natives living there at the time of the shipwreck and possibly never had been any. Plus I get to count this book for both the Genreland Challenge for September (shipwrecks) and for the 666 Challenge.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is completely misleading, but it is still an enjoyable book about early Jamestown Years and English Colonial aspirations in the 1610s, Well written in a way that keeps the reader engaged.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several of the other reviews on this site indicate that this novel is repetitive; I don't agree with that statement. The book tells the story -in chronological order of what happens in Jamestown, but, yes, the Prologue sets up the storm and the misadventure of the ill-fated (or blessed) Sea Venture crew. Several reviews on this site indicate that the wreck on Bermuda was really 'no big deal,' and that the writer's argument is somewhat overblown. I don't agree with that either. Glover makes the point very succinctly that the wreck on Bermuda, while pure happenstance , turned into a great boon for the Virginia Colony.

During the winter of 1609-1610, some 80% of the settlers in Jamestown perished through famine, disease, dysentery, and homicide. They killed their breeding stock and, in the worst cases, turned to cannibalism. The lost crew of the Sea Venture returned at just the right moment in two new ships that they had built over the previous 10 months while thriving on an island paradise. The book makes the point, and I'm convinced, that their arrival wasn't just serendipity, it was the difference maker between success and failure (of Jamestown).

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure that the Sea Venture saved Jamestown, but it certainly played a major role in saving British North America by wrecking on Bermuda with its more salubrious climate. Glover and Smith tell a great tale, even considering some unnecessary repetition of major themes. I had not remembered the importance that civic religion played in the colonizing effort. (Glover and Smith tend to be overly tough on Anglican chauvinism when the Spanish Catholic variety proved worse in practice.) Nor did I recall the brutality of the Powhatans, the fecklessness of Jamestown leader George Percy, and the true horror of the “starving time.” One isolated fact will stay with me for a long while: two men from the Sea Venture survived the hurricane, survived being marooned on Bermuda, survived the 600-mile crossing to Virginia on an extemporized ship, only to be shot and killed by Indians in Virginia after just five days ashore. (191)

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to most of us know about the history of English America during the colonial period? Not much, that's what. In fact, many of us don't know much beyond what Disney's Pocahontas taught us - most of it flat out wrong. So this book is an absolute eye opener. The astonishing saga of the Sea Venture - being caught up in a hurricane and wrecking off the coast of the Bahamas - juxtaposed against the horrors of the "starving times" in the Jamestown settlement was almost poetic. Glover has taken a spotlight and illuminated one of the darkest corners of American history. A fantastic read.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is well researched, providing detailed understanding of 17th century dynamics surrounding English colonization attempts in the western hemisphere. Although not well publicized in my public school history classes, the story of the SEA VENTURE shipwreck was immensely significant and was used by those in London to marshall support for their economic ventures in British America. The authors also discuss the parallels of the survivors’ story with the play The Tempest in which William Shakespeare combined “..history and romance dramatizing what his contemporaries had lived.”

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opening with the tremendous storm that threatened to sink the ships sailing for Jamestown in 1609, the book lays out the premise that it was one ship in particular that helped to save the colony. It was almost destroyed and taking on water that required constant bailing at all hours, but the people aboard were saved when it reached Bermuda. They feared the island due to rumours that it was haunted and plagued by the devil, but it turned out to be a paradise, with fruit, an easy climate, no enemies, and an abundance of meat in the form of birds, hogs (left by Spanish who feared starving in a shipwreck and subsequently exploding in population), fish, and sea turtles. A direct opposite to Jamestown, where the colonists were attacked by the indigenous people for encroaching in their area and left to starve to the point of cannibalism, both murdering people for their flesh and digging up corpses to consume.

I’m not SURE that I buy that it was them landing in Bermuda that saved the waiting Virginia colonists; they arrived a year later with hardly any provisions and a group sent prior was slaughtered by the Powhatan people. I suppose one could argue Bermuda was a good stopping point and its bounty could prop up the Virginia Company to continue to funnel money into Jamestown’s financial pit, but it seems like the colony itself and Jamestown in particular was always treading water from the jump. Infighting and squabbling over power, provoking the indigenous people, seeking gold rather than planting food, illness from the region and poor hygiene…it was all a big mess, and it turns out sending more people to flounder was not a recipe for success.

I did learn a lot, though. I didn’t know the English colonised Bermuda, nor that some of the people who set sail for Virginia got waylaid there at all. But the author repeats information SO MUCH throughout the text, sometimes word for word. Yes, I already know the sailors resigned themselves to death and poured out a draught of alcohol for themselves. Yes, I already know that Ratcliffe was flayed alive by indigenous people. You already told me!

I’d give 3.5 stars out of 5.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much history of the US and England from this book. It focused on the settling and attempted growth of Jamestown, VA, while including the settlement of Bermuda and its attachment to the Virginia Company that founded Jamestown. Many things I'd learned over the years but there was much detail that I hadn't known before.
The biggest take-aways for me were these:
1. The privatized founding of colonies in the US points us to how space will get colonized, if it ever does. It will be private companies taking advantage of people and attempting to reap huge profits.
2. The incredible divisiveness that hampers our nation today, was eminently visible in the long-ago founding of Jamestown. Bitter disagreements, mutinies, rebellions, and outright fighting. It's in our blood.
3. The incredible role Christianity plays throughout the colonial period, both for good and for evil. Many things done in Christ's name were so horrible and NOT of Christ at all. Yet you see God's hand in many events that occurred which resulted in England gaining a dominant hold in N. America when it seemed Spain would have it all.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay to me. I did learn quite a bit about Jamestown, the founding of Bermuda, and how those two settlements are related (I had no idea that they were until this book), but I don't feel like the book lived up to its title.

The shipwreck didn't really "save" Jamestown; I feel like the ship carrying De La Warr did more to save Jamestown, simply because they brought supplies. If anything, the survivors of the shipwreck put more of a strain on Jamestown because they only added more mouths requiring to be food when the colonists were already starving.

If the authors had focused more on the founding of Bermuda and how the shipwreck described played a major role in that, I think the book would have been more interesting. As it was, I felt like the main premise was a stretch that was never fully supported by the evidence.

[Jessica Fulk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this browsing at the library! Easier read then most of the history books I've read so far. Mostly because the author's writing style is at times a tad dramatic, and she tended to repeat herself, and I found myself skimming a few times, lol. The story didn't need any more drama, since Jamestown had plenty. Everything about Jamestown seemed to thwart the colonists every move, even the colonists themselves were their own worst enemy. I wish I had read this stuff when I was in grade school, it would have so much more entertaining then the normal history books. It is astounding what people went through to colonize and build a new life in America.

[Jammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this was a decent book, but the name was misleading. I learned a lot about the history that I didn't know.

My biggest issue is that the timeline is confusing. It goes back and forth with no warning.

It was worth the time to learn about people and societies of the time. I would try another book by these two authors

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of the Jamestown colony. The Sea Venture castaways included Steven Hopkins who later went to Plymouth aboard the Mayflower. Learned a bit about him along with the overall history.
Listened to the unabridged audio book.

[Ginette Seare · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to read in parts because of the severe circumstances and some sobering brutality. I liked it for the fascinating insights into that time period.

[Backoff51 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Sonya Frostad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight for Early-American History buffs. #Spoiler - John Smith is an a**hole and I love it.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating account about a mostly unknown shipwreck, the success of the founding of Bermuda, and the failure of Jamestown. Almost like an adventure novel!

[Desirae · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2

Parts were interesting, but ultimately very dry.

[B. Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Good Read

Pretty decent history, not romanticizing the tale. Discusses warts as well as plums in the story of Jamestown and Bermuda.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good general book about Jamestown. Unfortunately, I was looking for more detailed book on the shipwreck. This spends more time on Jamestown.

[Sanaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more a telling of some of the history surrounding the Jamestown colony than it is a history of the colony itself. Minimal attention is paid to the colonists, and to a large degree I think they're sort of portrayed as an "other," just a group of stereotyped people for the real characters to react to. That's not a bad thing, it gives a different perspective, though it means that this is not a standalone work for someone looking to learn about early Virginia history.

I think the strongest part of the book is the descriptions of London in the early Jacobean era, and its history of what exactly happened on Bermuda.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning a lot!
I would rather have the actual book for this one.

Interestingly appropriate to have read this during hurricane central, Sept. 2017.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting history of the first years of the Jamestown settlement which and probably most people know little about other than the Pocahontas and John Smith story.
The Shipwreck mentioned in the title was an attempt by the Virginia company to save the initial settlement. Four of the five ships made it, but came in such condition that they were actually a burden to the colony. The food had been destroyed in a storm. Also, since the ship with instructions on who was to run the Virginia colony were lost so there was a dispute as to who was to run the colony. Relations with the Powhatans were horrible and the Powhatans were doing all they could to ruin Jamestown. (At the time this story took place it seems like it would have been an easy task.) Desperate settlers who left their compound to look for food or barter with the natives would often be murdered and subjected to horrible punishments. Times got so desperate that the colonists had to resort to cannibalism. They dug up relatively fresh graves and consumed the contents.

The fifth ship, holding the leader of the rescue mission appeared to be lost. It did survive a horrific storm by everyone bailing out water constantly for four days and lucking upon Bermuda, then know as the Isle of Devils. Nobody had actually landed on it before, because it was surrounded by coral reefs and it got its name for the ships that had been wrecked upon the reefs. The sailors thought they had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, but they were able to thread thru the reefs and land on the island. The island turned out to be their little bit of heaven. It had been untouched by humans, so the animals were not afraid of them and the settlers could walk right up to them and clobber them. There was bounteous fish, birds, and turtles on the island along with some feral pigs. For many of the men stranded on Bermuda this would be the best place they had ever lived. Stuck in grinding poverty back in England where they just had a bit of bread, meat and beer each day, on Bermuda they were able to pound away at all the exotic wildlife as well as a number of native fruit to the island. Most did not want to leave Bermuda and go to Virgina where death came knocking quite frequently and after a very short stay. But the Virginia company had some good company men their and they persuaded everyone to work on rebuilding the ship and after nine months or so set off for Virginia. A few men were left behind and Bermuda would become a colony of the UK. It could be the only country with a shipwreck on the flag.

So, out of the blue came the Sea Venture-the long lost lead ship. But, this was not enough for the starving colony. It did provide some sorely needed leadership , but the same problems remained. The colonists were on their way out of Virginia when another boat arrived from England and persuaded them to stick it out. In Britain the events that led to the saving of the colony were seen as the hand of God and although the Virgina company would eventually go belly up and colony would start making nice profits in the second quarter of the century.

For those of you interested in the early settlement of the colonies and aren't satisfied with the Disney version, I recommend this book. If you are satisfied with the Disney version, I still recommend this book and hope that it might help you appreciate the incredible hardships faced by these people. Also, if you liked "Mayflower" which was published a few years back, you will be well into this one.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid research and a balanced view make this a good book detailing how miserable the establishment of Jamestown was, and how The Sea Venture's time shipwrecked in Bermuda ultimately saved Jamestown.

[Sarah M. Shakour · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown; The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America by Glover and Smith.

Riveting!

On her way to the struggling settlement of Jamestown, a ship is destroyed by a hurricane.
She washes toward Bermuda just before she sinks. Her passengers have arrived in a serene paradise.

Oh! Stories of shipwrecks on exotic deserted islands have always captured my imagination. This delicious book fed my voracious appetite. Can you picture what Shakespeare must have dreamt in his head after he heard this tale?

"The Tempest"?

Hmmm. Wouldn't YOU love to be stranded in this warm, salty place? If I close my eyes tight and take a deep, slow breath, I can almost hear the monkeys chattering through the palm trees.

Wait. No, that's just my kids.
My bad.

Anyway, don't get too jealous of these shipwrecked folks. Their leader, Gates upheld the contract with the Virginia Company of London and forced the passengers to build makeshift boats to finish the journey to Jamestown.
*****************************************************************************************************


Warning: do not read anything about Jamestown the night before Easter.
It may affect your cheery holiday spirit...as it did mine.

My mind could only dwell on the stench and depravity of man.
Murder, cannibalism...
Basically, "Lord of the Flies" kinds of stuff went on here.

I will not write in disturbing, graphic detail.
But I couldn't help picture these details (a specific scene involving a pregnant woman) on Easter Sunday while I sat in my church pew.

That man portrayed the extent of human evil, I thought. He committed this crime against someone who had loved and trusted him.

Then, I realized that I was wrong.
We, the whole of humanity killed our Creator and Redeemer.
THIS was the extent of our corruption.

This thought was actually liberating.
If this is the worst, I have nothing to fear.
In the end after all the agony, Christ conquered both sin AND death.

Wow! In the light of that glorious news, the horrors of Jamestown (or anything you or I may face) seem like mere shadows of its former self.
If you know that your God can easily defeat the things you most fear, you only feel hope.



"...the tomb is gloriously empty. Not even death could crush this King of Love." -Easter morning hymn

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having lived near Jamestown for several years and reading many books about Jamestown over the past several months (in preparation for visiting the area with my children in April) I was surprised at how much I learned from this book - but most of it wasn't directly about Jamestown. Ms. Glover and Mr. Smith use a lot of ink discussing what was going on back in London during the 1607-1611 time period, including how the Virginia Company advertised for settlers and investors, the role that religion played, and the political and social mood of the time. They also focus (as the title implies) on the Sea Venture shipwreck on Bermuda. I appreciate that they found a new angle to investigate instead of retreading the same Jamestown ground that's been covered over and over. And the description of Bermuda certainly sounded like paradise - I probably would have been one of the travelers who really wanted to stay rather than carrying on to the mess that Jamestown was at the time.

I also liked the heavy use of quotes from first person narratives including contradictory accounts - it's nice to not hear only John Smith's viewpoint - though sometimes they were a bit hard to interpret with the odd spellings and u's & v's and i's and j's used interchangably. All that being said, it was a bit dry and was a book that I read out of a sense of obligation rather than enjoyment.

For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.

[Matt Chittum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book, I realized I'd been in a nautical mode for alot of this summer. It started with a book about the Nantucket whaleship Essex, continued with "Thunderstruck," Erik Larson's book about Marconi and the attempt to market the wireless telegraph to, among other people, cruise ship lines, moved to Tony Horwitz' "A Voyage Long and Strange," and culminated with this book. Pretty academic, especially for a guy who likes more literary history stuff. The most illuminating stuff for me was not the life in Jamestown, but the "Meanwhile, back in London..." side of the story of the Jamestown colony. Regrettably, the shipwrweck of the title, which marooned 150 people on a then uninhabited, unexplored Bermuda until they -- get this -- built not one but two ships that actually crossed the Atlantic, occupies a too small part of the story. I'd have enjoyed 300 pages just on that aspect alone.

[E.J. Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

150 brave and disenchanted travelers set out within small ships to rejuvenate a failing colony. Shipwrecked literally is the lead ship and they find Bermuda, a lush, welcoming land with fruits, hogs, (plenty of food) and no grumpy "indians," Captain directs new boats to be built pushes them onward towards Virginia. Some don't want to leave, (a few mutineers don't) and one cannot blame them. Jamestown is a disaster. Newly examined documents tell us that John Smith, the self-proclaimed hero of the show, whom we all learned about in grammar school, was hardly that, and left the place, possibly. in worse shape than he found it. After years of torment, disease, starvation, indian attacks and chaos...well, you know the rest of the story. Bermuda is still there, still nice, and still speaks with a British accent. We don't.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown was an easy read that told the story of the early years of the Jamestown colony and the difficulties the colonists endured, focusing particularly on the Sea Venture and its crew’s role in history. However, significant portions of this book were repetitive—the beginning of each chapter seemed to recap all of the prior chapters, and parts of this book were repeated almost word for word. Moreover, things got off track in the end. Rather than explain why the Virginia Company lost the colony (which would have been relevant) it went off track in a rambling condemnation of slavery, which didn’t seem to make much sense at all. A good read, but not a great one.