#58 Jamestown and the Powhatans Part 5
The History of the Americans
Jack Henneman
4.9 • 632 Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2022
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode we conclude John Smith’s run at Jamestown — he will depart on October 4, 1609 after a severe injury and, more relevantly, having been demoted after having lost corporate political battles inside the Virginia Company. Along the way we meet the first English women at Jamestown, consider the “coronation” of Powhatan, witness exciting exotic dancing, see Smith outwit both Powhatan and Opechancanough on the same trip for food, and be there when Pocahontas rescued Smith for the second time, or maybe only the first.
Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2
Selected references for this episode
James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America
James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America
David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation
Star Trek, the “balance of power” exchange from “A Private Little War”
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the History of the Americans podcast, episode 58. |
| 0:09.7 | I'm your host, Jack Heneman, and I'm recording this on February 4th, 2022, in sub-freezing 21 degrees right now. |
| 0:19.1 | Austin, Texas, where everybody has crossed their fingers, hoping that the grid will hold up. |
| 0:25.6 | Last year, traumatized us a bit. We're a bit behind this week, but longstanding listeners know that happens from time to time. |
| 0:33.4 | Sometimes we all have to chase the legal tender and hang out with our families and stuff like that. |
| 0:40.8 | If you are new to the podcast, we are telling the history of the lands now encompassed by the United States from the beginning without presentism. |
| 0:49.3 | We believe there's dignity in our national story, along with tragedy, triumph, brilliance, hypocrisy, magnificence, |
| 0:58.2 | depravity, corruption, venality, inspiration, oppression, genius, defeat, and glory. Mostly, we hope |
| 1:08.8 | you enjoy listening to the history of the Americans podcast as much as we enjoy making it, |
| 1:14.3 | and that you tell all your friends, spread the word on your social propaganda website of choice, |
| 1:20.3 | write us a nice review on Apple or Spotify, and subscribe in your favorite podcast app. |
| 1:27.3 | This is a labor of love, and your support is very motivating. |
| 1:32.6 | Before we get back to Jamestown, it occurs to me that I left you hanging on one item. |
| 1:37.9 | I had telegraphed in several episodes that I would be attending the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in New Orleans earlier in January. |
| 1:47.5 | I had assumed that I would have much to report from that meeting on the podcast, but as it all happened, I ended up catching the cron. |
| 1:57.5 | I was fortunate and had only the barest of sniffles for just a few hours. |
| 2:01.7 | Basically, it was a three-tissue cold in my case. |
| 2:05.4 | But I kept coming up positive on home antigen tests and isolated myself for 10 tedious days. |
| 2:14.9 | Fortunately, my beloved wife never caught it. So I missed out on all that fun and |
| 2:21.0 | interesting history, sad to say. Next year, the meeting is in Philadelphia, and I'm sure I'll do |
| 2:26.3 | my best to get there. In this episode, we will conclude John Smith's run at Jamestown, |
| 2:33.8 | which ended in October 1609 after a rather severe injury. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jack Henneman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jack Henneman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.