Compare And Contrast Winslow And Captain Smith

During the early 1600s, Edward Winslow and Captain Smith each wrote a letter describing the “new world.” The two letters are very different and have very different focuses. Smith wrote his letter like a military report and focuses on how difficult it would be to control the land. Winslow focuses more on survival and the people that reside in the nearby areas. The two colonists look at the “new world” through very different eyes. Captain Smith starts his letter with, “The land [Virginia] is not populous, for the men be few; their far greater number is of women and children.” This quote shows that Captain Smith is already summing up that the Indian tribes are weak. His beginning sentence shows that he is already thinking about conquering the Indians. Winslow’s first sentence in the second paragraph says, “You shall understand, that in this little time, that a few of us have been here, we have built seven dwelling-houses, and four for the use of the plantation, and have made preparation for divers others.” This statement shows that Winslow is more focused on the survival of his people then the conquest of new lands. This is important because it shows

He wrote, “Some are of disposition fearful, some bold, most cautelous [wily], all Savage.” Smith is saying that he thinks the Indians are unsophisticated and very wild. He is implying that they are not worthy of equal status to Europeans. On the other hand, Winslow writes in last sentence of his letter, “They are a people without any religion or knowledge of God, yet very trusty, quick of apprehension, ripewitted, just.” Winslow first says that the Indians are not religious and don’t know about God, which would normally paint them as people who are not to be trusted. Then he goes on by saying they are very trusty, smart, and just. This is important because it shows that some colonists think that the Indians could be integrated into English