The Jamestown Experiment: The Remarkable Story of the Enterprising Colony and the Unexpected Results That Shaped America, by Tony Williams, is a generally solid book, telling the story both of attempts by the English to settle North America (unsuccessfully) before the colony was founded and Jamestown itself.
Jamestown is a compelling story - and therefore hard to screw up. What shines through in this work is Williams obvious agenda. He ties the success of the colony to free-enterprise, freedom of religion and association – all ideals that would be a part of the founding of the United States. He denigrates the early years of the colony, when it was ruled by un-elected overlords who did not respect private property or enterprise.
The problem with this view is that early Jamestown required a dictatorial hand to prevent it from collapsing. So, there are not two ideologies at war here, but one by in place by necessity in the struggling years of the colony, and the other by luxury of its more prosperous times.
I can only imagine that Williams’ connection to The Bill of Rights Institute and other such organizations provides him with this neat, not entirely accurate depiction of the early days of English settlement in America.
Jamestown is a compelling story - and therefore hard to screw up. What shines through in this work is Williams obvious agenda. He ties the success of the colony to free-enterprise, freedom of religion and association – all ideals that would be a part of the founding of the United States. He denigrates the early years of the colony, when it was ruled by un-elected overlords who did not respect private property or enterprise.
The problem with this view is that early Jamestown required a dictatorial hand to prevent it from collapsing. So, there are not two ideologies at war here, but one by in place by necessity in the struggling years of the colony, and the other by luxury of its more prosperous times.
I can only imagine that Williams’ connection to The Bill of Rights Institute and other such organizations provides him with this neat, not entirely accurate depiction of the early days of English settlement in America.
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