by Elisa Carbone
How can a reader be sure if a historical fiction book is based on enough fact that it can truly be called historical fiction. I have been taught about the Jamestown settlement many years ago. I also had the opportunity to teach it to fifth and sixth graders. The version of Jamestown and the first colonies has changed since I was young, but has it changed enough? Are text books and teachers still holding back on the true story of how Europeans and Native Americans mixed it up in the early years of settlement?In the book, Blood on the River, Samuel Collier, a juvenile delinquent in Great Britain, becomes the page, or servant boy, to Captain John Smith in the newly formed James Town settlement in the early 1600's. The story does a great job depicting the real purpose of the early colonists, to find gold and riches. It was this greed and lack of foresight that almost lead to the demise of the colony and maybe settlement in the Americas all together. In comes Captain John Smith to keep the Nobles in their place and make peace with the Native Americans. Samuel learns many skills from John Smith and develops his own relationships the the Native Americans. Samuel then becomes an important player in the future success of the early settlements.
The relationship between the Native Americans and the colonists is not described as an all friendly Thanksgiving type relationship. Many of the struggles of communication, ignorance of culture, and diseases are accurately depicted. This is a great book for anyone looking for a true adventure story. The historical images allows the reader to get a good idea of the early colonies and struggles of survival for both the Europeans and the Native Americans.
Are authors holding back? As a reader and a student of history, do you think that there was more to the physical and natural battles between colonist and the Native American people? How should the truth be told?
Mr. Kohl
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