I am reminded of the prayer that goes with the Myers-Briggs type that I am INTJ.  "Lord give me the grace to accept the opinions of others, wrong though they may me."  :))

Smith saved the colony while he was there.  He recognized the problems, he put a plan in place, he executed the plan, and the colony survived thanks to his strong leadership.  Sure he trumpeted himself, and he ran things like a field general and that irritates us.  But at the time what the colony needed was a George S. Patton rather than a Thornton Wilder.

You cannot hold him responsible for what went on a year after he had departed for England, when lesser men could not fill his leadership shoes.   In fact you support my contention that Smith was a lynchpin in the survival of the colony.  Without him, I believe it would have folded.  When he left, as you point out, it all but folded, saved by a last minute touchdown as they were sailing England.

This series of GREAT VIRGINIANS is a terrific thing to do, here in the morose days of winter.  One thing that emerges is the various flavors of "Greatest" which we harbor.  As you have seen from my 18th and 19th and 20th century suggestions, I tend to favor the George S. Patton flavor of "If HE was not there, then........"

But to close the loop on my first paragraph, we are well advised to keep in mind that what we offer are "opinions."   I suggest that your use of credit "must" go to Edwin Sandys should more correctly be "should."  Remember that one of the threads which has run through a number of VA-HIST discussions is that History is a matter of opinions.  It depends on who is writing it and what he/she is looking at, and indeed the times from which we view it.  As most of you know, when it comes to "reported history"I march under the gonfalon of:

                                "It never was ' like it was.' "

modified suitably to my local county of Clarke.

            "Where its about as close, as it ever will be, to like it never was."

Cheers -- Randy Cabell    

PS  In discussing the discussion with my wife, she asked if there have been similar questions posed about the "greatest Virginia women" of the ___ century.  Hmmmmmmm.  That specific focus on "Virginia women" rather than "Virginian" might be wise and it would help level the playing field, AND a good follow up and keep us going until the first signs of spring.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Emily Rose" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 6:39 PM
Subject: Re: Great/Important 17th Century Virginian


> Dear Randy,
>       Captain John Smith did not save the colony as it was abandoned less
> than a year after he left (only to be re-established a couple of hours
> later). No one is as generous giving him credit as he is himself. Certainly
> the investors in Virginia did not think he was responsible for saving the
> enterprise.
>         If we are talking of *non-resident* 17thc. Virginians, the credit
> must go to Edwin Sandys, who as 'treasurer' of the Virginia Company is
> credited by many contemporaries with turning around the fortunes of the
> colony. Although he never sailed across the Atlantic, he was responsible for
> laying the groundwork for many of the most important institutions in
> Virginia including its representative assembly, recruited a number of other
> important Americans (including his nephew the governor Francis Wyatt),
> organized the shipping of unmarried women who settled in Virginia and made
> it a colony and not just a military outpost and generally speaking, put it
> on a firmer financial footing.
> 
> 
>>From: Randy Cabell <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: Randy Cabell <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Great/Important 17th Century Virginian
>>Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 10:02:37 -0500
>>
>>No question about it, Capt. John Smith.  He took command of a mess,
>>instilled military discipline to the benefit of the settlers, and as a show
>>of force to the Indians.  He saved the Jamestowne Colony in its first
>>years.
>>OK, so he wasn't born in Virginia :((, since of course it did not exist.
>>
>>Randy Cabell
> 
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