James Town Project

The key idea of this piece of reading can be narrowed down to forge the word “model”. As the title of Dr. Kupperman’s book reads, James Town, at some point can highly be regarded as a project.

I remember reading about the English Colonization of Ireland and how this boldness gave the acquired courage to the English in order to start their venture out of the old world; or at least it provided the concept. The logics is pretty clear. Once they got their hands dirty, they all got to know what it takes as well as what strategies to deploy if they wanted to reach the desired A.S.A.P.

The same goes with the story behind James Town. Kupperman believes the English were probing the whole area to choose the most appropriate coordinate to establish the brand new colony which was going to bear the name of the king who passed the charter. So they did; however, what had been destined to come was truly neither expected nor desired. As shocking as it is, the facts indicate the first settlers’, to boldly put, cannibalism. Kupperman imperviously jots down the true existing reality, the part of their history that most of Americans are likely to corner out and just start from the next wave of people setting foot on the America to come, if only they could. This should be the same reason, I believe, why Americans, deep down, have been going harsh on ethnic groups, because this is exactly where the spirit of American Exceptionalism clashes the issue of descent. Americans simply don’t want to be the offsprings of the first inhabitants’ “dog-eat-dog” desperation.

The truth, against their will, remains still, worn out and lived. The importance of this unpleasant experience is what Kupperman calls “project”. It, in every way, became to be held as a model for next generations of colonies which were to come and not repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. Followers, moreover, learned how to erect institutions and make the most of councils. James Town also showed them the way that if they wanted to achieve utilitarian goals, which was the shared interest of both settlers and sponsoring companies, they would have to give the individuals “a share” from the profits. This would give the immigrants enough incentive to put their heart in what they were doing.