Origins

Question 1

When did Christopher Columbus arrive in America?

Answer 1

1492

Question 2

Who was Amerigo Vespucci?

Answer 2

Italian merchant and explorer, where America gets its name from

Question 3

“The convenience and excellence of the harbours in this island… surpass anything that would be believed by one who had seen it.” Who said this and what is its meaning?

Answer 3

Christopher Columbus, in his letter to the King and Queen of Spain 1493.
America represented the hope for a new world

Question 4

What are some other quotes from Columbus’ letter?

Answer 4

“destitute of arms”
“I took by force some Indians from the island.”
Often mentioned his attempts to introduce them to Christianity

Question 5

Who was Richard Hakluyt?

Answer 5

English writer who promoted the colonisation of North America (textual appropriation of America).
1598-1600 (Voyages and Discoveries)

Question 6

Who was John Smith?

Answer 6

English merchant and trader who sailed to America in 1606 and founded Jamestown.
Mythologised as America’s first self-made man.

Question 7

When was The Generall Historie of Virginia published?

Answer 7

1624

Question 8

Why was Jamestown a failure?

Answer 8

Smith’s formula = “he who does not work, shall not eat.”
Lack of survival skills
English gentry unwilling to relinquish their lust for fast profit.

Question 9

Pocahontas and John Smith: What is the myth?

Answer 9

Pocahontas as the incarnation of colonists’ desire. Saved John Smith from the “savagery” of Powhatan (her father)

Question 10

Pocahontas and John Smith: What is the allegory?

Answer 10

Pocahontas as a representation of the native people succumbing to a “higher culture.”
Gender also comes into play here, comparison of America itself and Pocahontas sacrificing her to a male conqueror.

Question 11

What did James Nelson Barker do?

Answer 11

Wrote the Indian Princess or La Belle Sauvage in 1808

- intercultural romance and America’s first play