Jamestown and the Poles

Captain John Smith and other English adventurers who settle Jamestown are already "worldly" men - many have literally traveled to the ends of the earth. Jamestown could be described as a dot on the map in the era's global pattern of movement, including Baltic, Mediterranean, and Far Eastern trade routes. So, when skilled labor is needed to develop the colony's economic potential, the English recruit accomplished tradesmen from around the globe: Germans to mine, French to make wine, and Poles to create pitch and potash. Patrick Griffin, James Horn, and John Radzilowski show how the Polish contribution and experience at Jamestown highlight the settlement as not only the "Birthplace of America," but also as a symbol of the era's emerging, complex global world. With Good Reason, a Virginia Humanities Radio program.