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(cow mowing, metal
clanking and air whooshing)
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(water sprinkling)
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(compelling flute music)
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- [Narrator] When Captain John
Smith and other Englishmen
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arrived on the coast of America.
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He noticed a picturesque place
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where he decided to
unload his 108 passengers.
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There he established the first permanent
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British settlement in America.
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They chose Jamestown Island.
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(man singing)
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Early in the morning of May 14th, 1607,
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they took into their possession
the promised land, America.
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(compelling flute music)
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- We might never have learned
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about the existence of Poles in Jamestown
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if it hadn't been for very
well known walkie priest,
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Father Waclaw Kruszka on
his very monumental work
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on the history of the Poles,
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came across a book on glassblowing.
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He discovered that Poles were mentioned
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as blowing glass in Jamestown.
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And that became the start
of the investigation of,
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"Oh, the Pole were in
Jamestown that early.
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What were they doing there?
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How did they get there?
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What else are they doing there?
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What contributions did they make?"
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(compelling flute music)
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- Discovery of the new world,
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North and South America and the Caribbean
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beginning with Columbus
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opened up this whole area for investment.
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It brought tremendous
amount of wealth to Europe.
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- The Spanish had colonized South America
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and Spain almost overnight,
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and historical terms had gone
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from being a second or
third rate power in Europe
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to being the superpower
of Europe of the day.
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- The Spanish did have expeditions
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into the Carolinas during this period
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to search for their own sources of wealth,
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but also to be on the
lookout for any Englishman.
44
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- The French, the English,
the Dutch, other countries,
45
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all wanted to try and establish colonies
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in North America to share this wealth.
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(compelling flute music)
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- [Narrator] Poles were to be
aware of the judgment of God,
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as well as their own conscience,
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plundering around the world
had to be unthinkable.
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(compelling flute music)
52
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In England, a rowdy
traveler, Sir Walter Raleigh,
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organized expeditions in
search of the golden fleece.
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- They hoped to find wealth;
gold, silver, perhaps.
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Perhaps a route to Asia.
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The geography of North America
was very poorly understood
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in Europe at that time.
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So there was some hope
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that they could find a
quick route to China,
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to India still.
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- They thought that the
orient was not that far away.
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Well, they didn't realize
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that the whole North
American continent was there,
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so this was a mistake.
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- [Narrator] In 1584 a
flotilla or seven ships
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with 108 men reached the Roanoke Island.
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Unfortunately, the settlement
established by them collapsed.
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Two years later,
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there was another attempt,
also unsuccessful.
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(compelling flute music)
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- Those people disappeared
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and we never found out later
on whatever happened to them.
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(compelling flute music)
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- The Roanoke colony had failed,
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and this had perhaps
would have discouraged
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a settlement further South,
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perhaps the Spanish threat
had been part of that.
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- [Narrator] The company
organized the third expedition
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whose purpose was to gain a
foothold in North America.
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(compelling flute music)
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On the 14th of May, 1607,
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104 Englishman reached the
River James in Virginia.
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Here on the Island they established
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what is today a historical
settlement, Jamestown.
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- [John] Jamestown was
really the first significant
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British outpost in the new world.
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It was the first one that lasted.
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- The impetus for establishing colonies
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was clearly very economic
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from the standpoint of
the English government
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and the people who invested
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in the Virginia Company of London.
93
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- They were always trying to cater
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to the well wishes of the King.
95
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Of course, Jamestown is named
after King James of England.
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The James River is named
after the King of England,
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King of England and
Scotland, James the First.
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- And even the founding of Jamestown
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coming as a dead amid global of conflicts
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between the English and
the Spanish on one hand,
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later the English and the French,
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and then the English
allied against the French
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and Spanish together.
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- The British were competing with Spain
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and they were seeking a wealth, obviously.
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There was a measure of competition
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and the colony was ultimately established
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by a group of investors.
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- The colony of Jamestown
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and eventually the English
colonies in North America
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was an important aspect of this global war
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fought between largely
England against the French.
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And Spanish allied against England
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for control of a worldwide empire
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and the economic riches
that that would result in.
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- [Narrator] Since then, the
Poles learned to be content
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wi%th what they had.
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Not coveting anything others possessed.
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Always, they sat far away
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from the world's bowl of treasures.
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(compelling flute music)
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- The position of Jamestown
is quite interesting
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because the Spanish by this time
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were shipping large amounts
of gold and silver across,
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and it was very lucrative
to raid those ships.
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So it was quite possible that the English
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also wanted to get in
on the Spanish wealth.
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- [Donald Pienkos] The Jamestown colony
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was really may beginning experiment,
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and it was an experiment in a land
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that was relatively hostile.
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(compelling flute music fades)
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- Jamestown colony, of course,
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was situated right in the near the lands
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that were held by very
large Indian nation,
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and their chief was Powhatan.
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And something like eight or 9,000 Indians
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lived in that area.
139
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- The climate was hot and humid.
140
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The waterways and the swamps in the area
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around Jamestown where they settled
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had a lot of mosquitoes and diseases.
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There was not a ready
support source of food there.
144
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- It was very difficult
for the original settlers,
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however, to establish the county.
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There were a number of them
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who did not really have any skills.
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- First year at Jamestown
was extremely difficult.
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The Jamestown settlement
itself was positioned
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partly to defend itself against
the potential Spanish raid.
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It was not necessarily
placed in a good location
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for either agriculture or fishing.
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There was additional problem
in that there was a conflict
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with the local native community,
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the Powhatan Confederacy.
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(compelling flute music)
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- And the interesting story,
I think, about the Indians
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is that they really, under their chief,
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did not try to destroy the colony.
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- The belief is that this chief thought
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that these colonists would die off
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from the poisoned water
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and the lack of food
and the bad temperature.
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- This was a very risky venture,
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something that people were
really quite literally
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risking their lives to do.
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And anyone who came to this infant colony
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was literally taking
their life in their hands
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and venturing into something
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which was largely unknown at that time.
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- One of the main threats
to the Jamestown colony
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was the Spanish showing up
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and burning the place to the ground.
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- [Narrator] Englishmen
perceived Spaniards
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as the primary threat.
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There was not a single moment
in the history of Jamestown
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when they weren't afraid of an
attack by the Spanish Armada.
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(compelling flute music)
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- So they went and
employed all the weapons
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in their arsenal to see what was going on.
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Both intelligence,
they certainly would
have tried to find out
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as much as possible about the colony,
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and what the colonists were doing there,
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but also perhaps militarily.
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The leader, John Smith,
was very a capable leader,
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who many of the individuals
who originally came
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were not necessarily people who were adept
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at surviving off the land.
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They had assumed they would find
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perhaps some advanced Indian civilization
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much as the Spanish had found.
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- [Narrator] Englishman,
as well as Spaniards,
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expected easy trophies,
mainly gold and silver.
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Unfortunately, native
Americans from North America
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didn't have any gold.
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- [John] When they arrived,
they found none of this
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and it was a great difficulty.
198
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- The English were really
not very well prepared.
199
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Some of them were like noblemen,
gentlemen, as they say,
200
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who were spending most of their
time drinking and playing.
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- Most of them were soldiers or adventures
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and not necessarily farmers or fishermen.
203
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- They didn't really work very hard.
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They didn't know how to dig a well.
205
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They weren't prepared to do any work.
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So, this was a pretty big of a disaster.
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- The first year of the Jamestown colony,
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quite a few of the settlers died,
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and in the second year as well,
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from famine and from disease.
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We're told that within
the first 18 months or so,
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over half of the entire initial
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contingent of colonists had died.
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Smith had participated in travels
215
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throughout Eastern Europe,
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He had met Poles,
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and was familiar with
certainly Polish artisans
218
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and the economies of the area.
219
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- As a very young
fellow, maybe a teenager,
220
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he went off to fight.
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He was a soldier.
222
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He's hired on to be a mercenary
in the army of Austria.
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He fought very well against the Turks,
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against the Ottoman Turks.
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He was actually captured and slaved.
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He escaped and he got back
to England through Poland.
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- [Narrator] Poles knew very well
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what Turkish captivity meant.
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Therefore, they helped
him return to England.
230
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- And so likely at that time
231
00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,860
that he encountered some Polish officers,
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they were also serving with the Austrians.
233
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- And that's where he met
many different Polish people.
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And he realized that he had many skills.
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- [Narrator] Surprisingly,
England and Poland at that time
236
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were closely connected
with as many as 30,000
237
00:11:18,060 --> 00:11:21,760
English, Scottish, and Irish
living and working in Poland
238
00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:23,970
and about 1000 poles living in London.
239
00:11:23,970 --> 00:11:27,890
- There was also a large
contingent of Polish merchants
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00:11:27,890 --> 00:11:29,550
who did business with England,
241
00:11:29,550 --> 00:11:31,700
and they actually lived in London,
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many of them along a place
called Poland Street.
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So the English were well aware
244
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of what was available in Poland.
245
00:11:39,900 --> 00:11:43,010
- Poland in 1608 was
quite a different country.
246
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It was a vast country.
247
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It included not only present-day Poland,
248
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but it also included much of the Ukraine,
249
00:11:50,490 --> 00:11:53,480
much of Belarus of the Baltic States.
250
00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,830
It was a vast country of
about 400,000 square miles.
251
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And in fact, the King
of Poland at that time
252
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was looking to become even Tsar of Russia.
253
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That's how powerful and
how significant Poland was
254
00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:07,773
at that time.
255
00:12:10,810 --> 00:12:13,370
- In 1570s, Queen Elizabeth the First
256
00:12:13,370 --> 00:12:16,090
had granted a monopoly to
the British Eastland Company
257
00:12:16,090 --> 00:12:18,033
to establish a trading post in ELblag.
258
00:12:19,750 --> 00:12:22,920
And this was initially the
main British outpost in Poland,
259
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,103
where they traded for grain
and also forests products.
260
00:12:28,290 --> 00:12:30,920
Later on, the dimes became
a very significant factor.
261
00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,870
So, these trade ties had
been a very long standing
262
00:12:33,870 --> 00:12:35,220
between Poland and Britain.
263
00:12:36,630 --> 00:12:38,040
- [Narrator] When it seemed that Jamestown
264
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,520
would share the face of
the previous colonies,
265
00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,310
a wise decision of Captain John Smith,
266
00:12:43,310 --> 00:12:45,410
his appeal to the King,
267
00:12:45,410 --> 00:12:48,163
consent was issued to bring
foreigners to the colony.
268
00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,150
Suddenly, we heard surprising news
269
00:12:54,150 --> 00:12:56,520
that some of us would be
asked to go to foreign
270
00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,703
and distant lands uninhabited but rich.
271
00:13:01,753 --> 00:13:05,253
(compelling flute music)
272
00:13:06,750 --> 00:13:09,120
On October 1st, 1608,
273
00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:11,440
five Polish settlers arrived in Jamestown,
274
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,260
aboard the Mary and Margaret.
275
00:13:13,260 --> 00:13:15,040
There were two Polish nobleman,
276
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,123
Michal Lowicki and Jan Bogdan,
277
00:13:19,590 --> 00:13:21,150
as well as artisans,
278
00:13:21,150 --> 00:13:22,423
Zbigniew Stefanski,
279
00:13:24,250 --> 00:13:25,503
Stanislaw Sadowski,
280
00:13:27,723 --> 00:13:28,556
and Jan Mata.
281
00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,990
(compelling flute music)
282
00:13:31,990 --> 00:13:35,407
Zbigniew Stefanski wrote
about this historic moment.
283
00:13:35,407 --> 00:13:38,940
"After a long journey and
extreme suffering, we saw birds,
284
00:13:38,940 --> 00:13:40,793
and soon after we saw the land.
285
00:13:42,404 --> 00:13:45,321
(compelling music)
286
00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:57,200
I fell on my knees
287
00:13:59,190 --> 00:14:01,127
offering prayers to almighty God."
288
00:14:08,453 --> 00:14:11,800
"Michal Lowicki of noble
birth was named the leader
289
00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,103
of our group's expedition to Virginia.
290
00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,757
Jur Mata, who was also called Jan,
291
00:14:17,757 --> 00:14:20,720
was to take charge of making of soap.
292
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,907
Stanislaw Sadowski having
experience as a house builder
293
00:14:24,907 --> 00:14:28,050
was to be in charge of lumber production.
294
00:14:28,050 --> 00:14:31,280
Jan Bogdan, he accomplished
everything with ease,
295
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,510
finding solutions to
every kind of problem.
296
00:14:34,510 --> 00:14:36,800
Both of us were Christ's age,
297
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:38,820
an age when a person is most apt
298
00:14:38,820 --> 00:14:41,120
to undertake the greatest risks,
299
00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,257
and furthermore is the most
suited for world travel."
300
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,580
- By the time the second ship came,
301
00:14:47,580 --> 00:14:50,610
this was in October of 1608,
302
00:14:50,610 --> 00:14:53,550
with first Poles that came to America,
303
00:14:53,550 --> 00:14:57,570
Jamestown colony was
practically on its last legs.
304
00:14:57,570 --> 00:14:59,520
- [Narrator] The hungry
and desperate settlers
305
00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,150
looted all they could;
306
00:15:01,150 --> 00:15:03,350
pigs, dogs, and horses,
307
00:15:03,350 --> 00:15:05,360
even rats and water snakes.
308
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,160
Also, leather shoes became food.
309
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,190
- The Poles were brought
over to create products
310
00:15:11,190 --> 00:15:12,023
that the British needed,
311
00:15:12,023 --> 00:15:13,820
but also to create potentially products
312
00:15:13,820 --> 00:15:16,610
that the Indians would want,
313
00:15:16,610 --> 00:15:18,170
that then could be traded for food.
314
00:15:18,170 --> 00:15:20,630
And of course, there was the possibility
315
00:15:20,630 --> 00:15:22,660
of creating some local industry.
316
00:15:22,660 --> 00:15:25,170
- [Narrator] Despite its
good strategic location,
317
00:15:25,170 --> 00:15:27,850
Jamestown was not an
ideal spot for a colony
318
00:15:27,850 --> 00:15:30,520
with its swamping
mosquito infested terrain.
319
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,210
Clear water was scarce.
320
00:15:32,210 --> 00:15:35,680
The settlers suffered from
infections, fever, and dysentery
321
00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:37,680
caused by drinking water from the river.
322
00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:40,570
Polish settler, Zbigniew Stefanski,
323
00:15:40,570 --> 00:15:42,963
recorded this impression of Jamestown.
324
00:15:44,787 --> 00:15:47,610
"Seldom had one seen such
lack of resourcefulness
325
00:15:47,610 --> 00:15:49,023
as we found in Virginia.
326
00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,030
Not even a spoonful of drinking water
327
00:15:52,030 --> 00:15:54,270
was to be found in the Fort.
328
00:15:54,270 --> 00:15:56,540
The people here marveled
when we dug a well
329
00:15:56,540 --> 00:15:57,907
and presented it to them."
330
00:15:58,810 --> 00:16:00,583
- The Poles helped to build,
331
00:16:02,270 --> 00:16:04,760
dig a well that finally got the colony
332
00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,168
some good water; drinking water.
333
00:16:07,168 --> 00:16:12,168
(compelling flute music and water running)
334
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,350
- Pitch was very important.
335
00:16:23,350 --> 00:16:25,970
It was essentially the
universal glue of the time.
336
00:16:25,970 --> 00:16:28,640
All the ships, all the boats, the houses,
337
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,910
everything that was made
would have required this.
338
00:16:30,910 --> 00:16:31,923
This was essential.
339
00:16:34,770 --> 00:16:35,920
- [Narrator] After their arrival,
340
00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:37,940
the Poles built a glass furnace,
341
00:16:37,940 --> 00:16:40,320
which became the first American factory.
342
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,000
- The main problem that the British had
343
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,350
is that they had nothing
to the Indians wanted.
344
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,038
- [Narrator] Zbigniew Stefanski wrote,
345
00:16:48,038 --> 00:16:49,240
"Under my personal supervision,
346
00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,580
several furnaces were built
for the production of glass,
347
00:16:52,580 --> 00:16:55,480
for which practically naked
Virginian female scavengers
348
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,790
brought us grain and
fish in their baskets,
349
00:16:57,790 --> 00:16:59,790
picking up every chip
of glass from the ground
350
00:16:59,790 --> 00:17:02,410
to decorate their strange attire."
351
00:17:02,410 --> 00:17:03,243
- To the Indians,
352
00:17:03,243 --> 00:17:06,300
a lot of this was that the
purposes of political alliance,
353
00:17:06,300 --> 00:17:08,410
and the English would have
realized this early on
354
00:17:08,410 --> 00:17:10,760
by giving the Indians
things that they wanted;
355
00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:12,950
glass, for example, or metal products.
356
00:17:12,950 --> 00:17:14,980
The English are in a sense securing
357
00:17:14,980 --> 00:17:16,640
a form of alliance with the Indians.
358
00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,410
So beyond the economic
value of any of these goods,
359
00:17:20,410 --> 00:17:23,350
there was a very
important security aspect.
360
00:17:23,350 --> 00:17:24,183
- [Narrator] Glass products
361
00:17:24,183 --> 00:17:26,923
became the first American
products exported to Europe.
362
00:17:28,210 --> 00:17:29,920
- We have to realize that
there's a great distance
363
00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,780
between England and Jamestown,
364
00:17:32,780 --> 00:17:36,470
and to ship supplies over was very costly.
365
00:17:36,470 --> 00:17:39,720
It was much cheaper to get
supplies in the local Indians,
366
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:40,670
which meant, of course,
367
00:17:40,670 --> 00:17:43,570
that either they had to
militarily defeat the Indians,
368
00:17:43,570 --> 00:17:45,430
which they couldn't do in the early years,
369
00:17:45,430 --> 00:17:47,760
or they had to have things
that they could trade.
370
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,610
This was one of the major
reasons for importing
371
00:17:50,610 --> 00:17:52,543
foreign crafts and Poles, of course.
372
00:17:58,850 --> 00:18:02,060
- [Narrator] In 1608, Captain
John Smith became president
373
00:18:02,060 --> 00:18:05,020
and his leadership kept
the colony from dissolving.
374
00:18:05,020 --> 00:18:07,277
He enforced strict discipline.
375
00:18:07,277 --> 00:18:10,373
"Those who would not work
should not eat," he declared.
376
00:18:12,817 --> 00:18:15,090
"We plowed the fields eagerly
377
00:18:15,090 --> 00:18:18,320
and sowed the grain that
was not eaten by the rats.
378
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,350
Yet everyone in the colony
had to look after his food
379
00:18:21,350 --> 00:18:24,227
as best he could in order to stay alive."
380
00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:27,130
Captain John Smith,
381
00:18:27,130 --> 00:18:29,300
the president of the Jamestown colony,
382
00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:30,923
deeply respected the Poles,
383
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,730
not only for their
excellent craftsmanship,
384
00:18:34,730 --> 00:18:36,200
but also for their bravery
385
00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,040
and he regarded them as indispensable
386
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:39,840
to the survival of their new colony.
387
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:42,250
- England at the time
388
00:18:42,250 --> 00:18:44,460
had the largest Merchant
Marine in the world,
389
00:18:44,460 --> 00:18:45,810
the largest Navy.
390
00:18:45,810 --> 00:18:50,710
They needed a potash and
soap ash and hemp and rosin
391
00:18:50,710 --> 00:18:54,520
in the process of making ships
and making them waterproof.
392
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,740
They needed the tall pines or ship masts.
393
00:18:58,740 --> 00:19:02,780
So all of these commodities
that John Smith talked about,
394
00:19:02,780 --> 00:19:06,860
importing the Poles and Dutchmen to make,
395
00:19:06,860 --> 00:19:09,180
were things that were designed eventually
396
00:19:09,180 --> 00:19:11,670
once they took hold to make a profit
397
00:19:11,670 --> 00:19:13,940
for the shareholders back in England.
398
00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:18,440
So, one of the options they
had was to make bricks of glass
399
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,360
that they could then send back to England
400
00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:22,550
to be molded into different shapes.
401
00:19:22,550 --> 00:19:25,330
- The colony continued to ship things back
402
00:19:25,330 --> 00:19:26,980
to England to show
403
00:19:26,980 --> 00:19:30,140
that in fact there was
something worth while
404
00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:32,070
that was being done in Jamestown.
405
00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:34,890
The second group of
colonists under John Smith
406
00:19:34,890 --> 00:19:37,393
were very important because
they saved the colony.
407
00:19:38,497 --> 00:19:41,330
(metals clanking)
408
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:43,650
- If the British were gonna get anywhere,
409
00:19:43,650 --> 00:19:45,110
there were certain products they needed,
410
00:19:45,110 --> 00:19:46,950
and wood products would be one of them.
411
00:19:46,950 --> 00:19:48,830
Any of the ships that would
come across the Atlantic
412
00:19:48,830 --> 00:19:50,620
would need to be repaired at Jamestown.
413
00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:51,920
Otherwise, they wouldn't get home
414
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,170
with any fishing boats
that they might've had.
415
00:19:54,170 --> 00:19:57,110
Certainly, things like pitch
or any of the products.
416
00:19:57,110 --> 00:19:58,270
I mentioned potash,
417
00:19:58,270 --> 00:19:59,950
any of their houses would have used pitch.
418
00:19:59,950 --> 00:20:02,598
All these things were essential.
419
00:20:02,598 --> 00:20:07,378
(laborers talking indistinctly)
420
00:20:07,378 --> 00:20:10,128
(pulley rolling)
421
00:20:14,052 --> 00:20:17,400
(water sprinkling)
422
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,410
- These people really did have skills.
423
00:20:20,410 --> 00:20:22,960
They had skills in glass making.
424
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,930
They had the skills in building things.
425
00:20:25,930 --> 00:20:28,618
They knew how to put together a building.
426
00:20:28,618 --> 00:20:29,451
They were carpenters.
427
00:20:29,451 --> 00:20:32,190
- Smith was very favorable
toward the Poles.
428
00:20:32,190 --> 00:20:34,627
He saw them as a very valuable
asset to the community
429
00:20:34,627 --> 00:20:36,293
and he treated them in this way.
430
00:20:37,127 --> 00:20:40,430
- [Narrator] "Soon, the
Dutch who we brought with us
431
00:20:40,430 --> 00:20:43,170
became a menace to the
Virginia settlement.
432
00:20:43,170 --> 00:20:45,180
Their perversity reached such a degree
433
00:20:45,180 --> 00:20:48,263
that they were persuading
the savages to attack Smith.
434
00:20:50,154 --> 00:20:52,850
(hinges screeching)
435
00:20:52,850 --> 00:20:55,360
- [John] He thought of Poles
as one of his major assets,
436
00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:56,570
unlike some of the Germans
437
00:20:56,570 --> 00:20:59,220
who later on left the Jamestown colony
438
00:20:59,220 --> 00:21:01,250
and joined up with the local Indians.
439
00:21:01,250 --> 00:21:04,550
- Three of the Dutchmen or Germans,
440
00:21:04,550 --> 00:21:06,430
as some people call them,
441
00:21:06,430 --> 00:21:09,910
were sent by Smith to the Indian camp
442
00:21:09,910 --> 00:21:13,940
to help help them erect
houses and so forth.
443
00:21:13,940 --> 00:21:16,180
And that some of them apparently conspired
444
00:21:16,180 --> 00:21:18,183
with the Indians against the English.
445
00:21:19,290 --> 00:21:21,500
- Smith had a much lower
opinion of the Germans
446
00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:22,770
vis-a-vis the Poles.
447
00:21:22,770 --> 00:21:25,170
He considered the Poles very trustworthy
448
00:21:25,170 --> 00:21:27,520
and certainly was desirous of having
449
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,070
as many there was he could get.
450
00:21:29,930 --> 00:21:33,550
- To stop disorder caused by
unruly thieves and the Indians,
451
00:21:33,550 --> 00:21:35,360
the Poles built a stronger blockhouse
452
00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:36,633
on the neck of the aisle.
453
00:21:37,857 --> 00:21:40,420
"Before long, new ships arrived,
454
00:21:40,420 --> 00:21:42,370
bringing more of our countrymen.
455
00:21:42,370 --> 00:21:45,020
Our work now moved at a faster pace.
456
00:21:45,020 --> 00:21:48,400
Their arrival made possible
for us to rest a little more.
457
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,390
Sadowski, Mata, Stoica, and Zrenica
458
00:21:52,390 --> 00:21:54,960
initiated a ball game played with a bat."
459
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,680
- Smith was near a stream
460
00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,070
and was attacked by a local Indian warrior
461
00:22:01,070 --> 00:22:02,730
from the Powhatan tribe.
462
00:22:02,730 --> 00:22:04,180
Smith was in great danger.
463
00:22:04,180 --> 00:22:05,650
He was apparently losing the fight
464
00:22:05,650 --> 00:22:07,390
and there was a number of Poles
465
00:22:07,390 --> 00:22:10,387
happened upon the scene
or happened to be nearby.
466
00:22:10,387 --> 00:22:12,480
- [Narrator] "We heard
Smith's desperate cry,
467
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,140
'Polonians, Polonians.'
468
00:22:14,140 --> 00:22:16,730
Realizing that our captain
was in great danger,
469
00:22:16,730 --> 00:22:18,630
Bogdan and I picked up our daggers,
470
00:22:18,630 --> 00:22:21,150
and we ran as fast as we
could toward the river.
471
00:22:21,150 --> 00:22:22,720
But from some distance we could see
472
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,630
that there was only one
attacker, a huge man,
473
00:22:25,630 --> 00:22:27,203
the tribal chief himself.
474
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,630
Smith ordered us to kill
him, but we refused.
475
00:22:32,630 --> 00:22:35,750
We don't agree with killing
a disarmed prisoner of war,
476
00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:38,040
especially when he has tears in his eyes
477
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:39,717
and he's begging for mercy."
478
00:22:42,090 --> 00:22:45,260
It was highly probable that
Smith's adventure in Virginia
479
00:22:45,260 --> 00:22:48,440
could have ended there
upon the River James.
480
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,410
- And this is interesting
because, you know,
481
00:22:50,410 --> 00:22:53,060
a lot of the stories about Jamestown
482
00:22:53,060 --> 00:22:56,010
deal with how Pocahontas,
this little Indian girl,
483
00:22:56,010 --> 00:22:57,730
saved John Smith's life.
484
00:22:57,730 --> 00:22:59,700
But according to the records
485
00:22:59,700 --> 00:23:03,590
that these various
historians have presented,
486
00:23:03,590 --> 00:23:05,340
one of the Indian at least was stopped
487
00:23:05,340 --> 00:23:08,690
from killing John Smith
by these two Poles.
488
00:23:08,690 --> 00:23:12,280
- Smith was writing his
memoirs many years later
489
00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:13,830
as a much older man,
490
00:23:13,830 --> 00:23:16,133
and he included this
story about Pocahontas,
491
00:23:17,390 --> 00:23:20,570
allegedly saving him, falling
in love with him in a sense.
492
00:23:20,570 --> 00:23:22,220
This is a theme in Smith's life.
493
00:23:22,220 --> 00:23:23,880
Earlier in his memoirs,
494
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:25,620
he relates a very similar story.
495
00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:27,130
And when he's caught in Turkey,
496
00:23:27,130 --> 00:23:29,080
allegedly about to be done in,
497
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,710
but this beautiful Turkish maiden
498
00:23:30,710 --> 00:23:32,850
throws herself on Smith and saves him.
499
00:23:32,850 --> 00:23:36,180
Again, this reflects the
Pocahontas story very closely.
500
00:23:36,180 --> 00:23:37,580
We know that he embellished this.
501
00:23:37,580 --> 00:23:39,550
We know that Pocahontas
was much too young.
502
00:23:39,550 --> 00:23:41,980
She was perhaps 12 years old at the time.
503
00:23:41,980 --> 00:23:44,830
She never had any romantic
interest with Smith,
504
00:23:44,830 --> 00:23:47,380
but she married, of course,
another individual, John Rolfe.
505
00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:49,730
Very important consequences
came from that marriage,
506
00:23:49,730 --> 00:23:53,513
but it was something that Smith
embellished in his memoirs.
507
00:23:55,054 --> 00:23:57,130
He was writing for a popular audience.
508
00:23:57,130 --> 00:23:59,807
- Edward Arber noted in 1884,
509
00:23:59,807 --> 00:24:02,450
"If Smith had died earlier than he did,
510
00:24:02,450 --> 00:24:05,140
the James river settlement
must have succumbed."
511
00:24:05,140 --> 00:24:07,550
- Initially, the Indians were
obviously somewhat curious
512
00:24:07,550 --> 00:24:09,930
about who these Europeans were there.
513
00:24:09,930 --> 00:24:12,941
Early on, the conflicts began to emerge.
514
00:24:12,941 --> 00:24:16,358
(compelling flute music)
515
00:24:17,700 --> 00:24:20,620
Chief Powhatan at first expected settlers
516
00:24:20,620 --> 00:24:22,510
to die from starvation.
517
00:24:22,510 --> 00:24:24,470
However, if this didn't happen,
518
00:24:24,470 --> 00:24:26,020
he was ready to slaughter them.
519
00:24:26,886 --> 00:24:30,303
(compelling flute music)
520
00:24:43,490 --> 00:24:47,410
- Once the relationship
with the local natives,
521
00:24:47,410 --> 00:24:49,190
the Indians, deteriorated,
522
00:24:49,190 --> 00:24:51,720
it was difficult for them to go very far
523
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,270
beyond the boundaries of the settlement.
524
00:24:54,270 --> 00:24:55,930
And we know that Matthew was killed
525
00:24:55,930 --> 00:24:58,441
in a subsequent Indian attack.
526
00:24:58,441 --> 00:25:03,441
(bell ringing, gunshots
firing and people screaming)
527
00:25:12,236 --> 00:25:15,653
(compelling flute music)
528
00:25:40,096 --> 00:25:41,770
- The Poles are there at the birth
529
00:25:41,770 --> 00:25:43,830
of this new world economy
that's being created.
530
00:25:43,830 --> 00:25:48,830
This new political and
social-cultural exchange
531
00:25:48,940 --> 00:25:50,320
that's going on in the Atlantic.
532
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,610
The Poles are really there
present at the birth.
533
00:25:53,610 --> 00:25:55,370
The midwives, if you wanna say,
534
00:25:55,370 --> 00:25:57,453
of this new age that's becoming.
535
00:25:59,977 --> 00:26:00,990
- [Narrator] "Whatever happened,
536
00:26:00,990 --> 00:26:04,520
it led to the exchange of angry
words amongst our captains
537
00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:06,860
resulting in serious quarrels.
538
00:26:06,860 --> 00:26:08,860
No one foresaw anything as vile,
539
00:26:08,860 --> 00:26:11,920
I suppose, perpetrated
next by Smith's enemies.
540
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,087
Someone set fire to the
gunpowder in Smith's boat."
541
00:26:16,470 --> 00:26:17,800
Captain Smith's tough,
542
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,410
but effective rule
suddenly came to an end.
543
00:26:20,410 --> 00:26:21,950
In October, 1609,
544
00:26:21,950 --> 00:26:24,370
Smith was injured by gun powder explosion
545
00:26:24,370 --> 00:26:26,450
and sailed back to England.
546
00:26:26,450 --> 00:26:28,557
Zbigniew Stefanski wrote,
547
00:26:28,557 --> 00:26:30,840
"We, Poles, immediately called a meeting
548
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,350
and agreed that it is also
time for us to return.
549
00:26:34,350 --> 00:26:36,027
We left Virginia with Smith."
550
00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:43,270
Last summer we found only misery.
551
00:26:43,270 --> 00:26:46,400
Now, we are leaving with nearly 500 souls.
552
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,890
Among them, about a hundred soldiers.
553
00:26:48,890 --> 00:26:51,930
There were rifles, swords, halberds,
554
00:26:51,930 --> 00:26:55,293
enough of everything for
self-defense, 60 buildings.
555
00:26:56,476 --> 00:26:59,893
(compelling flute music)
556
00:27:02,950 --> 00:27:04,700
- There's certainly example evidence
557
00:27:04,700 --> 00:27:07,690
that Poles remained in the Virginia colony
558
00:27:07,690 --> 00:27:09,880
after Smith's departure.
559
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:14,460
We see them referred to now
and again in the court records
560
00:27:14,460 --> 00:27:17,607
and in the records of the
Virginia Company of London.
561
00:27:17,607 --> 00:27:19,540
(compelling flute music)
562
00:27:19,540 --> 00:27:20,980
- [Narrator] After his departure,
563
00:27:20,980 --> 00:27:23,240
only 60 Of the original settlers survived
564
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,473
the 1609 starving time winter.
565
00:27:28,250 --> 00:27:30,590
- One of the problems
the English colonists,
566
00:27:30,590 --> 00:27:33,463
well, all of the colonists
ran into it was food.
567
00:27:34,620 --> 00:27:37,480
They went through a
particularly difficult winter
568
00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,003
during which over half of
the colonists perished.
569
00:27:44,870 --> 00:27:45,917
After the starving time
570
00:27:45,917 --> 00:27:49,130
and the deaths of so
many of the colonists,
571
00:27:49,130 --> 00:27:51,710
the English were questioning whether
572
00:27:51,710 --> 00:27:55,863
they should even continue the
Jamestown experiment or not.
573
00:27:57,307 --> 00:28:00,307
- [Narrator] "Bogdan and I
decided to go to the Netherlands,
574
00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:03,210
where at the time we served as helpers
575
00:28:03,210 --> 00:28:04,793
in the shipbuilding yards.
576
00:28:11,930 --> 00:28:15,210
I must note that Bogdan
and I were very fortunate.
577
00:28:15,210 --> 00:28:16,700
Soon we were married.
578
00:28:16,700 --> 00:28:18,830
Our wives, Berta and Anna,
579
00:28:18,830 --> 00:28:21,380
were decent, industrious, efficient.
580
00:28:21,380 --> 00:28:25,450
Made us feel that they were
selected for us by God himself.
581
00:28:25,450 --> 00:28:27,820
- When John Smith went back to England,
582
00:28:27,820 --> 00:28:32,100
both he and the directors
of the Virginia Company
583
00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:34,460
were interested in recruiting more Poles
584
00:28:34,460 --> 00:28:37,980
to come to Jamestown
because the initial ones
585
00:28:37,980 --> 00:28:40,703
had proved apparently very effective.
586
00:28:44,047 --> 00:28:45,640
- [Narrator] "Because of the high praises
587
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,920
Smith was spreading around about us,
588
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,380
we were being persuaded to
return to Virginia immediately.
589
00:28:51,380 --> 00:28:53,940
In fact, we were coerced into it."
590
00:28:53,940 --> 00:28:55,960
- But the British sent more supplies over.
591
00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,980
They sent more ships over.
592
00:28:57,980 --> 00:29:00,907
And, obviously, the sending of the Poles
593
00:29:00,907 --> 00:29:02,320
and the other foreigners
594
00:29:03,641 --> 00:29:05,573
to remedy some of the lack of skills.
595
00:29:09,317 --> 00:29:10,870
- [Narrator] "When our
wives heard the accounts
596
00:29:10,870 --> 00:29:12,890
of our overseas adventures,
597
00:29:12,890 --> 00:29:15,893
both of them expressed the
desire to travel to Virginia.
598
00:29:19,620 --> 00:29:22,690
Lord Delaware greeted us sincerely,
599
00:29:22,690 --> 00:29:24,480
an expressed joy that our wives
600
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,859
would join us in this adventure."
601
00:29:26,859 --> 00:29:30,640
(compelling flute music)
602
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,780
- Lord Delaware, who was
one of the stockholders,
603
00:29:33,780 --> 00:29:37,420
arrived with additional
colonists and supplies,
604
00:29:37,420 --> 00:29:42,135
and pumped new life both
figuratively and literally.
605
00:29:42,135 --> 00:29:45,552
(compelling flute music)
606
00:29:49,610 --> 00:29:53,777
(residents speaking indistinctly)
607
00:29:59,550 --> 00:30:00,860
- [Narrator] The chief medical officer
608
00:30:00,860 --> 00:30:02,890
in the colony was Laurence Bohun,
609
00:30:02,890 --> 00:30:05,133
whose ancestors came from Bauer stock.
610
00:30:07,260 --> 00:30:08,590
- As more colonists began to settle,
611
00:30:08,590 --> 00:30:11,260
they expanded beyond the original land.
612
00:30:11,260 --> 00:30:12,780
They had fights with the Indians.
613
00:30:12,780 --> 00:30:14,450
We were able to take over property
614
00:30:14,450 --> 00:30:16,050
that they used for farming.
615
00:30:16,050 --> 00:30:19,170
And one of the big crops that
they developed was tobacco.
616
00:30:19,170 --> 00:30:20,660
- [John] Tobacco had been known
617
00:30:20,660 --> 00:30:22,883
to the native Americans
for quite some time.
618
00:30:25,550 --> 00:30:28,763
It wasn't smoke as a
recreation, it was ceremonial.
619
00:30:30,980 --> 00:30:33,550
- So you have farms being established
620
00:30:33,550 --> 00:30:36,630
and the Indians eventually
being forced off.
621
00:30:36,630 --> 00:30:39,950
- [John] Ultimately, John
Rolf's introduction of tobacco
622
00:30:39,950 --> 00:30:41,203
that made the difference.
623
00:30:42,980 --> 00:30:44,593
English discover this.
624
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,120
- Which was then introduced into Europe,
625
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:49,740
and it became an important crop.
626
00:30:49,740 --> 00:30:51,240
- [John] The sugar being the most
627
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,080
lucrative Indigo for dyeing clothes,
628
00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,860
a lot of these sin products have sugar,
629
00:30:56,860 --> 00:30:59,230
which is also made into rum
630
00:30:59,230 --> 00:31:03,170
and other alcoholic beverages, chocolate.
631
00:31:03,170 --> 00:31:04,620
All of these products in the new world
632
00:31:04,620 --> 00:31:05,950
became immensely popular,
633
00:31:05,950 --> 00:31:08,930
and there's many Europeans back in London
634
00:31:08,930 --> 00:31:10,770
and Krakow and Paris
635
00:31:10,770 --> 00:31:12,620
who have the money to afford these,
636
00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:14,790
and they become very popular.
637
00:31:14,790 --> 00:31:17,190
- Poles kept arriving
in the following years.
638
00:31:17,190 --> 00:31:19,470
Among them were members
of the Polish gentry,
639
00:31:19,470 --> 00:31:21,840
who besides being of
the intellectual class,
640
00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:23,780
were well acquainted with
the methods of production
641
00:31:23,780 --> 00:31:25,473
needed at the time in Jamestown.
642
00:31:33,740 --> 00:31:35,460
- Initially, the status was,
643
00:31:35,460 --> 00:31:37,760
they were simply a
apparently hired craftsmen
644
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,130
and it's not clear that they were accorded
645
00:31:40,130 --> 00:31:41,880
the same rights as the Englishmen.
646
00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:44,180
They were not given the
same political rights.
647
00:31:45,180 --> 00:31:47,120
We have to remember
that many of these Poles
648
00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:48,500
came from the Commonwealth
649
00:31:48,500 --> 00:31:52,950
in which a significant political
rights were being granted.
650
00:31:52,950 --> 00:31:54,390
That Poland was a country where Catholics
651
00:31:54,390 --> 00:31:57,040
and Protestants coexisted peacefully,
652
00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:58,900
as well as many other religious groups,
653
00:31:58,900 --> 00:32:00,420
which was not the case in England,
654
00:32:00,420 --> 00:32:02,230
not the case in Spain or France.
655
00:32:02,230 --> 00:32:04,550
The arrival of these craftsmen
656
00:32:04,550 --> 00:32:07,380
and their ability to
cross borders very easily
657
00:32:07,380 --> 00:32:08,700
says something very important
658
00:32:08,700 --> 00:32:10,840
about the tolerance and freedom
659
00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:12,660
that occurred in Poland at the time.
660
00:32:12,660 --> 00:32:16,940
- In 1619, colonists organized elections
661
00:32:16,940 --> 00:32:21,000
to a body of the legislators
called the House of Burgesses.
662
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:22,930
Now, this election was interesting
663
00:32:22,930 --> 00:32:25,280
because the local leaders there,
664
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,760
the English decided not to allow the Poles
665
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,763
to be able to vote for
their representatives.
666
00:32:34,247 --> 00:32:35,230
- [Narrator] "The Englishmen,
667
00:32:35,230 --> 00:32:37,600
well known for their untruthfulness,
668
00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:39,420
gave us false assurances
669
00:32:39,420 --> 00:32:42,050
and enacted deceitful ordinances,
670
00:32:42,050 --> 00:32:44,653
which deliberately humiliated the Poles.
671
00:32:46,767 --> 00:32:48,950
- The Poles had stopped work in protest
672
00:32:48,950 --> 00:32:51,230
against a violation of their rights,
673
00:32:51,230 --> 00:32:53,430
that they were not being given the rights
674
00:32:53,430 --> 00:32:54,650
that they felt that they deserve.
675
00:32:54,650 --> 00:32:56,680
And we have to remember
that whole out of this time
676
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,710
enjoyed a level of personal freedom.
677
00:32:59,710 --> 00:33:01,910
The Poles would have certainly
felt this very keenly.
678
00:33:01,910 --> 00:33:05,400
- Apparently, what happened
was the Poles protested
679
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,740
an English law which allowed only citizens
680
00:33:09,740 --> 00:33:12,460
of Great Britain to vote and hold office.
681
00:33:12,460 --> 00:33:14,460
- Our contributions were
not being recognized.
682
00:33:14,460 --> 00:33:18,180
They were not being given the
same rights as the Englishmen.
683
00:33:18,180 --> 00:33:19,100
- [Narrator] The Polish workers
684
00:33:19,100 --> 00:33:21,290
staged the first strike in America,
685
00:33:21,290 --> 00:33:24,090
not for high wages or
better working conditions,
686
00:33:24,090 --> 00:33:27,960
but for civil rights and inclusion
in the political process.
687
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:29,837
Zbigniew Stefanski wrote,
688
00:33:29,837 --> 00:33:32,070
"In order to give the Englishmen more time
689
00:33:32,070 --> 00:33:34,060
to consider what they were doing,
690
00:33:34,060 --> 00:33:36,280
We, Poles, stopped all our work
691
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,180
until our complaints would
be reviewed in London.
692
00:33:39,180 --> 00:33:42,380
- The Poles were so angry
693
00:33:42,380 --> 00:33:45,720
that they were being cheated
of the chance to participate.
694
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:48,080
That they organized a work stoppage.
695
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,110
You might call it a strike.
696
00:33:50,110 --> 00:33:51,680
Not for money,
697
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:54,260
not for better working conditions,
698
00:33:54,260 --> 00:33:58,130
but for respect as true
citizens of this colony.
699
00:33:58,130 --> 00:34:00,890
- [John] Poles arrive in
the new world with a sense
700
00:34:00,890 --> 00:34:02,510
that they have some innate dignity.
701
00:34:02,510 --> 00:34:04,760
This is perhaps a bit of
a surprise to the English
702
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:08,330
that these craftsmen who are
just engaging in some trades
703
00:34:08,330 --> 00:34:10,730
would actually want political rights.
704
00:34:10,730 --> 00:34:12,600
- The court book of the Virginia Company
705
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,917
on July 3, 1619 noted,
706
00:34:14,917 --> 00:34:18,290
"In the dispute with the
Polonians residing in Virginia,
707
00:34:18,290 --> 00:34:20,860
we declare that they will
have the same voting rights
708
00:34:20,860 --> 00:34:23,150
as other settlers in the colony."
709
00:34:23,150 --> 00:34:24,580
- And in one day,
710
00:34:24,580 --> 00:34:27,720
the leaders of the English colony gave in
711
00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:29,080
and said, "You're right."
712
00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:31,550
And they allowed them to become citizens
713
00:34:31,550 --> 00:34:32,780
of the colony to vote.
714
00:34:32,780 --> 00:34:35,850
- These early Poles were not laborers,
715
00:34:35,850 --> 00:34:37,173
they were artisans.
716
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:43,630
Producing soap ash, potash,
glass, other commodities,
717
00:34:43,630 --> 00:34:45,657
was the work of skilled crafts people.
718
00:34:45,657 --> 00:34:49,750
And they were skills that were
passed on in a craft system,
719
00:34:49,750 --> 00:34:52,690
much as a master would pass his knowledge
720
00:34:52,690 --> 00:34:54,010
onto an apprentice.
721
00:34:54,010 --> 00:34:55,820
The Poles are granted their rights,
722
00:34:55,820 --> 00:34:58,830
but they recognize that the
polls have very valuable skills
723
00:34:58,830 --> 00:35:00,530
and that these skills need to be passed on
724
00:35:00,530 --> 00:35:02,080
to the young men of the colony.
725
00:35:03,188 --> 00:35:06,605
(compelling flute music)
726
00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:11,490
- Their idea of relationships
with the natives
727
00:35:11,490 --> 00:35:16,490
is to try to sign treaties
with them to purchase land.
728
00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:20,200
As the population begins to expand,
729
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,260
they want more and more land.
730
00:35:22,260 --> 00:35:24,840
Eventually, the Indians get the impression
731
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:26,570
that they're not going to be satisfied
732
00:35:26,570 --> 00:35:30,228
until they have all the
land, hostilities, breakout.
733
00:35:30,228 --> 00:35:34,561
(bell rings and protesters screams)
734
00:35:36,770 --> 00:35:38,000
- [Narrator] It happened on the morning
735
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,350
of the 22nd of March, 1622.
736
00:35:41,350 --> 00:35:44,340
The attack came right before dawn.
737
00:35:44,340 --> 00:35:48,310
About 500 native Americans
assaulted Jamestown.
738
00:35:48,310 --> 00:35:50,520
It didn't touch the glass works,
739
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,040
but as soon as the battle screen sounded,
740
00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:54,903
we immediately ran to the Fort.
741
00:35:56,286 --> 00:35:58,890
(protesters chanting)
742
00:35:58,890 --> 00:36:00,943
And Jamestown was on fire.
743
00:36:02,060 --> 00:36:05,490
Natives were killing
everyone without exceptions
744
00:36:05,490 --> 00:36:08,130
as if they were taking
revenge for all those years
745
00:36:08,130 --> 00:36:09,970
when they had suffered poverty
746
00:36:09,970 --> 00:36:12,216
and the ignorance from Whites.
747
00:36:12,216 --> 00:36:15,000
(drum rolls playing)
748
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,890
- And over 300 of the colonists
were killed by the Indians.
749
00:36:17,890 --> 00:36:19,300
So, by that time,
750
00:36:19,300 --> 00:36:21,980
the Indians had become very much against
751
00:36:21,980 --> 00:36:26,709
and fearful of this constant
immigration of these newcomers.
752
00:36:26,709 --> 00:36:30,792
(drum rolls and gunshots firing)
753
00:36:34,570 --> 00:36:37,650
- English settlers eventually
beat the attack off
754
00:36:37,650 --> 00:36:40,433
and were successful in
sustaining the colony.
755
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:45,090
- It's a very important moment and it...
756
00:36:45,090 --> 00:36:48,060
While it's very distant from our world,
757
00:36:48,060 --> 00:36:50,756
if we'd gone back in time and live there,
758
00:36:50,756 --> 00:36:53,160
it would have been very
difficult, very alien to us.
759
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:55,280
And yet it, it helps to lay the basis
760
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:56,830
for the world we live in today.
761
00:36:59,087 --> 00:37:01,970
- [Narrator] "In the
year of our Lord, 1622,
762
00:37:01,970 --> 00:37:04,650
my wife Berta became homesick for Haarlem.
763
00:37:04,650 --> 00:37:06,810
Her desire to go back to the Netherlands
764
00:37:06,810 --> 00:37:08,730
became so overwhelming
765
00:37:08,730 --> 00:37:11,150
that we boarded the first outgoing ship
766
00:37:11,150 --> 00:37:13,077
and left Virginia forever."
767
00:37:13,950 --> 00:37:18,137
Zbigniew Stefanski who after
13 years left Virginia wrote,
768
00:37:18,137 --> 00:37:20,750
"Bogdan and Anna remained in Virginia.
769
00:37:20,750 --> 00:37:23,040
Also, other Poles did not find any reason
770
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:24,663
to seek livelihood elsewhere.
771
00:37:25,890 --> 00:37:28,470
Bogdan already owned a tobacco plantation,
772
00:37:28,470 --> 00:37:31,080
others established profitable enterprises.
773
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,600
A desire to become rich
got into their blood.
774
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,113
And for that reason,
they decided to remain.
775
00:37:37,780 --> 00:37:40,610
- Poles were not just simply
coming there for a ride.
776
00:37:40,610 --> 00:37:42,927
They were not just coming
there to have a good time
777
00:37:42,927 --> 00:37:44,340
or try to make a lot of money.
778
00:37:44,340 --> 00:37:47,150
They were there to really
contribute their skills
779
00:37:47,150 --> 00:37:48,220
and their talents,
780
00:37:48,220 --> 00:37:50,070
and they really did make a contribution
781
00:37:50,070 --> 00:37:51,930
to the survival of this colony.
782
00:37:51,930 --> 00:37:56,190
- Even in that little
nascent hundred people
783
00:37:56,190 --> 00:37:58,080
in the English colonies,
784
00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:02,700
and within the first
year from 1607 to 1608,
785
00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:04,150
you see the arrival of not only
786
00:38:04,150 --> 00:38:05,610
of just the English colonists,
787
00:38:05,610 --> 00:38:09,540
but Poles, Dutchman, later Germans.
788
00:38:09,540 --> 00:38:13,220
Some have argued they were
Italians by the 1620s.
789
00:38:13,220 --> 00:38:17,520
You see people coming from
other nations to Jamestown,
790
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,160
most of them brought
specifically by the English
791
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:22,720
for these skills they could contribute
792
00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:25,700
to making Jamestown a success.
793
00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:27,030
And, you know, what do we have today?
794
00:38:27,030 --> 00:38:29,350
We have 300 and some odd million people
795
00:38:29,350 --> 00:38:32,120
from all over the world
doing exactly the same thing.
796
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,010
- Had the colony failed as
the first colony failed,
797
00:38:35,010 --> 00:38:37,450
that's quite possible that the settlement
798
00:38:39,278 --> 00:38:42,033
of the Western hemisphere
might've been quite different.
799
00:38:44,550 --> 00:38:47,150
- [Narrator] Pilgrims from
Plymouth managed to create a myth
800
00:38:47,150 --> 00:38:50,113
about being the pioneers
and builders of America.
801
00:38:51,220 --> 00:38:52,623
They get all the credits,
802
00:38:54,860 --> 00:38:57,060
even though they landed on Plymouth Rock
803
00:38:57,060 --> 00:38:59,700
some 15 years after Captain Smith
804
00:38:59,700 --> 00:39:02,213
and his companions had
landed in Jamestown.
805
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,130
- If Jamestown had failed,
806
00:39:09,130 --> 00:39:11,540
would they have even
come to North America?
807
00:39:11,540 --> 00:39:12,980
Yeah. Perhaps not.
808
00:39:12,980 --> 00:39:16,000
If the English had both
the Roanoke failure
809
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,120
and the Jamestown failure,
810
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,510
would the pilgrims have
ever been given a charter?
811
00:39:20,510 --> 00:39:24,270
The pilgrims were given a
charter to settle in Virginia.
812
00:39:24,270 --> 00:39:27,510
That was their destination,
it wasn't Massachusetts.
813
00:39:27,510 --> 00:39:31,570
And they were apparently blown
off course or miscalculated
814
00:39:31,570 --> 00:39:33,353
and ended up in Massachusetts.
815
00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,400
- Plymouth settlers and the
Massachusetts based settlers
816
00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:41,510
were much better equipped
to survive in the new world
817
00:39:41,510 --> 00:39:42,690
because they were farmers.
818
00:39:42,690 --> 00:39:43,980
- If Virginia had failed,
819
00:39:43,980 --> 00:39:46,600
perhaps the pilgrims never
would have gotten permission
820
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:48,570
to sail to North America
821
00:39:48,570 --> 00:39:50,120
because there wouldn't
have been a Virginia
822
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:51,213
for them to go to.
823
00:39:57,898 --> 00:39:58,900
- Had Jamestown failed,
824
00:39:58,900 --> 00:40:01,690
it's possible that the
French and the Spanish
825
00:40:01,690 --> 00:40:04,910
would have split up North
America between the two of them
826
00:40:04,910 --> 00:40:07,400
and the English might
never have had colonies
827
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:08,470
in North America.
828
00:40:08,470 --> 00:40:10,200
- Of course, it also brought many other,
829
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:11,420
not such good things.
830
00:40:11,420 --> 00:40:14,330
Of course, we have the
expansion of slavery
831
00:40:14,330 --> 00:40:17,640
and very brutal conditions
that the Indians,
832
00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:20,293
the native peoples of the
Americas had to endure.
833
00:40:21,147 --> 00:40:24,564
(compelling flute music)
834
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,180
- To see the Jamestown and
the way the early colonists
835
00:40:39,180 --> 00:40:43,150
interacted with the Indians
and develop their economy,
836
00:40:43,150 --> 00:40:45,980
I had lasting effects up into the 20th
837
00:40:45,980 --> 00:40:47,760
and now the 21st century.
838
00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,370
- This was the start of, in
a sense, a global economy.
839
00:40:50,370 --> 00:40:54,660
This is the beginning of
the English world economy,
840
00:40:54,660 --> 00:40:57,850
beginning of English dominance
of the Atlantic trade.
841
00:40:57,850 --> 00:40:59,760
The arrival of these Poles
842
00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:02,920
indicates how well integrated Poland was
843
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,520
into the European world
economic system at the time.
844
00:41:06,377 --> 00:41:09,877
(compelling flute music)
845
00:41:13,410 --> 00:41:16,160
Jamestown, ironically, that
the Poles help out with,
846
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,090
symbolizes the British moving away
847
00:41:18,090 --> 00:41:19,760
from that trade with Eastern Europe.
848
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:22,260
And in beginning of more
Atlantic center trade,
849
00:41:22,260 --> 00:41:24,800
it symbolizes a change for Poland as well.
850
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:28,250
But it is the beginning
of really a new era
851
00:41:28,250 --> 00:41:29,100
in world history.
852
00:41:30,388 --> 00:41:33,888
(compelling flute music)
853
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:38,170
- The story of Jamestown has
been told by various writers
854
00:41:38,170 --> 00:41:42,060
and nowhere do we see any
mention by American scholars
855
00:41:42,060 --> 00:41:43,550
of the Poles at Jamestown?
856
00:41:43,550 --> 00:41:45,600
- This was a natural choice for Smith.
857
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:46,647
It was not something that,
858
00:41:46,647 --> 00:41:49,490
"Oh, it's very strange that
I'm bringing in Poles."
859
00:41:49,490 --> 00:41:50,860
It was a natural choice.
860
00:41:50,860 --> 00:41:52,520
No one seems to question this.
861
00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:54,410
So it shows how important Poland was.
862
00:41:54,410 --> 00:41:57,760
- We see the gradual movement
of the Indian frontier
863
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,030
backed first to the Appalachian mountains
864
00:42:00,030 --> 00:42:02,220
and then to the Mississippi river,
865
00:42:02,220 --> 00:42:05,620
and then out to the Great
Plains with a whole series
866
00:42:05,620 --> 00:42:08,800
of treaties between the
United States and the Indians.
867
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,557
- Virginia's main product becomes tobacco.
868
00:42:11,557 --> 00:42:14,300
And this requires, of course,
a great deal of labor.
869
00:42:14,300 --> 00:42:16,620
And initially, bringing over large numbers
870
00:42:16,620 --> 00:42:19,790
of relatively poor
Englishmen or Scots or Irish
871
00:42:19,790 --> 00:42:21,070
as the case may be.
872
00:42:21,070 --> 00:42:22,750
And then later on, it was beginning of,
873
00:42:22,750 --> 00:42:27,000
of course, the very sad case
of importing African slaves
874
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,920
into Virginia to work in
the tobacco plantations.
875
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:31,440
- So we have the beginning of slavery.
876
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,600
They're not such a happy
thing to think about,
877
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:37,630
but part of the history
of also of this expansion
878
00:42:37,630 --> 00:42:41,213
of this increasingly global
international economy.
879
00:42:42,766 --> 00:42:45,099
(sad music)
880
00:42:51,515 --> 00:42:55,265
(bomb blasting and gunshots)
881
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:01,990
They settled, not only in
America, but in Canada.
882
00:43:01,990 --> 00:43:03,760
They settled all throughout Western Europe
883
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:06,260
and many times made
tremendous contributions.
884
00:43:06,260 --> 00:43:08,000
No mention is made any longer
885
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,310
about Kazimierz Pulaski, Casimir Polaski,
886
00:43:11,310 --> 00:43:15,210
a Polish patriot in Poland
who lost everything in Poland,
887
00:43:15,210 --> 00:43:18,223
fighting for Poland's freedom,
and then who came to America.
888
00:43:20,247 --> 00:43:21,590
- [Narrator] "I expected the Poles
889
00:43:21,590 --> 00:43:25,500
who have the reputation
worldwide of being brave warriors
890
00:43:25,500 --> 00:43:28,063
will be a great help to my poor homeland.
891
00:43:29,950 --> 00:43:34,350
In our country, any form of
tyranny is met with our disgust.
892
00:43:34,350 --> 00:43:35,890
So if anywhere on the globe
893
00:43:35,890 --> 00:43:38,040
someone is struggling for freedom,
894
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:40,573
it is as if it were our own struggle.
895
00:43:43,530 --> 00:43:46,670
- Offered his services to the
American independence cause,
896
00:43:46,670 --> 00:43:48,890
organized the American cavalry,
897
00:43:48,890 --> 00:43:51,210
and gave his life to the United States
898
00:43:51,210 --> 00:43:52,803
at the battle of Savannah.
899
00:43:54,654 --> 00:43:59,487
(gun shots firing and soldiers screaming)
900
00:44:07,070 --> 00:44:10,250
- Glorious death awaited
him who loved honor
901
00:44:10,250 --> 00:44:12,283
even more than life itself.
902
00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:17,330
The Polish nation extended
its helping hand overseas
903
00:44:17,330 --> 00:44:18,893
to light the flame of freedom.
904
00:44:20,380 --> 00:44:22,400
- The same is true of Kosciuszko.
905
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,300
Tadeusz Kosciuszko, another great hero,
906
00:44:25,300 --> 00:44:26,780
an engineer by training,
907
00:44:26,780 --> 00:44:28,830
who helped to build the fortifications
908
00:44:28,830 --> 00:44:31,593
and really was responsible
for the fortifications
909
00:44:31,593 --> 00:44:34,450
that the West point on the Hudson river
910
00:44:34,450 --> 00:44:36,240
and contributed to his talents on a number
911
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:38,170
of American military victories.
912
00:44:38,170 --> 00:44:40,880
- And American troop caught
the English camp unawares
913
00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:43,890
with a nighttime attack near Utah Springs.
914
00:44:43,890 --> 00:44:47,070
The surprised Englishmen were
not able to defend themselves.
915
00:44:47,070 --> 00:44:50,130
They begged for mercy
to spare their lives.
916
00:44:50,130 --> 00:44:52,900
Kosciuszko forbade the
killing of those Englishmen
917
00:44:52,900 --> 00:44:55,430
who surrendered on the pain of death.
918
00:44:55,430 --> 00:44:57,060
In this way, he saved the lives
919
00:44:57,060 --> 00:44:59,240
of several dozen English soldiers.
920
00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:02,070
This act was rewarded
by George Washington,
921
00:45:02,070 --> 00:45:05,520
who, as a token of his
appreciation and respect,
922
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:07,450
gave him his wing.
923
00:45:07,450 --> 00:45:09,440
- A person who was respected enough
924
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:12,090
that he was made a Brigadier
General at the end of the war
925
00:45:12,090 --> 00:45:14,900
by George Washington,
and who when he died,
926
00:45:14,900 --> 00:45:19,900
left his American estate to
the care of Thomas Jefferson,
927
00:45:20,740 --> 00:45:24,330
for the purpose of buying
the freedom of slaves
928
00:45:24,330 --> 00:45:25,770
and educating them.
929
00:45:25,770 --> 00:45:28,030
- The slaves that the English brought in
930
00:45:28,030 --> 00:45:30,670
to work the fields in Virginia,
931
00:45:30,670 --> 00:45:33,520
later become the source of differences
932
00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:35,970
between the Northern and Southern colonies
933
00:45:35,970 --> 00:45:40,163
under British rule at which
leads to all kinds of conflicts.
934
00:45:41,530 --> 00:45:44,380
- Slavery became the
reason for the divergencies
935
00:45:44,380 --> 00:45:47,220
between the Northern and Southern states
936
00:45:47,220 --> 00:45:49,270
leading to conflicts.
937
00:45:49,270 --> 00:45:54,043
The result was the civil war
with over 600,000 killed,
938
00:45:55,140 --> 00:45:58,530
the repercussions of
which we still feel today.
939
00:45:58,530 --> 00:46:01,363
(gunshots firing)
940
00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:06,290
Jozef Karge was appointed
Brigadier General
941
00:46:06,290 --> 00:46:10,130
in recognition of his
bravery and valuable service.
942
00:46:10,130 --> 00:46:12,650
General Karge was convinced that the cause
943
00:46:12,650 --> 00:46:14,800
for which he fought was just,
944
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:18,240
and he thanked God that
the hydra of vial slavery
945
00:46:18,240 --> 00:46:20,621
had been finally crushed.
946
00:46:20,621 --> 00:46:25,140
Wlodzimierz Krzyzanowski was
a vocal opponents of slavery,
947
00:46:25,140 --> 00:46:27,113
and he created the Polish legion.
948
00:46:30,700 --> 00:46:34,553
The American Congress awarded
him the rank of General.
949
00:46:34,553 --> 00:46:39,553
(gunshots firing and soldiers screaming)
950
00:46:39,921 --> 00:46:41,790
On the occasion of the repeated burial
951
00:46:41,790 --> 00:46:44,610
of the remains of
Wlodzimierz Krzyzanowski,
952
00:46:44,610 --> 00:46:48,260
the general of the civil war
in the Arlington graveyard,
953
00:46:48,260 --> 00:46:51,517
president Franklin Delano
Roosevelt declared,
954
00:46:51,517 --> 00:46:54,280
"It is high privilege to
bear witness to the debt
955
00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:57,347
which this country owes
to men of Polish blood."
956
00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:02,030
- In 1876,
957
00:47:02,030 --> 00:47:05,460
President Ford appeared
at the national meeting
958
00:47:05,460 --> 00:47:07,760
of the Polish American Congress.
959
00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:10,943
And there he praised
the Poles of Jamestown.
960
00:47:12,930 --> 00:47:13,763
- [Narrator] Then ingeniousness
961
00:47:13,763 --> 00:47:16,250
that the Polish immigrants presented,
962
00:47:16,250 --> 00:47:20,350
fill all Americans of
Polish descent with pride.
963
00:47:20,350 --> 00:47:22,110
These are the very qualities
964
00:47:22,110 --> 00:47:24,263
that made America a great country.
965
00:47:26,120 --> 00:47:28,370
- The Polish national
Alliance was celebrating
966
00:47:28,370 --> 00:47:31,633
its one anniversary as an organization.
967
00:47:32,930 --> 00:47:36,517
President Jimmy Carter
was the main speaker.
968
00:47:36,517 --> 00:47:38,870
"The spirit of the Jamestown Polonians
969
00:47:38,870 --> 00:47:43,870
is very much alive here in
this room and across the ocean.
970
00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:46,130
The events of recent weeks in Poland
971
00:47:46,130 --> 00:47:48,470
have inspired the world."
972
00:47:48,470 --> 00:47:50,180
At that time, we have the birth
973
00:47:50,180 --> 00:47:52,760
of the solidarity labor trade union,
974
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,343
which had just been created in Gdansk.
975
00:47:57,217 --> 00:47:59,010
- [Narrator] "The world
of bounds with knowledge
976
00:47:59,010 --> 00:48:00,820
accessible to everybody.
977
00:48:00,820 --> 00:48:03,270
Acquiring such knowledge
as could be useful
978
00:48:03,270 --> 00:48:05,990
in one service for the
good of God and country,
979
00:48:05,990 --> 00:48:08,730
we could share this knowledge
with his countrymen,
980
00:48:08,730 --> 00:48:11,240
gaining for Poland greater recognition
981
00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:15,440
and still higher respect of the
great nations of the world."
982
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:16,720
- They contributed.
983
00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:19,290
Even American presidents
said they contributed;
984
00:48:19,290 --> 00:48:22,630
Ford, Eisenhower, and Carter,
985
00:48:22,630 --> 00:48:24,910
and no mention by scholars.
986
00:48:24,910 --> 00:48:28,500
This kind of erasing of
the Polish contribution
987
00:48:28,500 --> 00:48:30,960
should not be accepted.
988
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:33,200
- [Narrator] Poles
struck for equal rights,
989
00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:36,470
giving birth to the
multi-ethnic American ideology,
990
00:48:36,470 --> 00:48:39,420
later so well expressed
by the United States,
991
00:48:39,420 --> 00:48:44,160
created by the United
peoples of America in 1776,
992
00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:45,283
a new nation.
993
00:48:46,690 --> 00:48:49,110
- We should work together to foster
994
00:48:49,110 --> 00:48:53,160
and trade greater knowledge
and appreciation of the truth.
995
00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:57,180
Of the truth, not
exaggerating, simply the truth.
996
00:48:57,180 --> 00:49:00,070
- [Narrator] An example had to
be said for the entire globe
997
00:49:00,070 --> 00:49:03,850
to demonstrate the people
of all races, nationalities,
998
00:49:03,850 --> 00:49:07,533
and faiths can live in one
country together in peace.
999
00:49:08,581 --> 00:49:11,740
(soft suspenseful music)
1000
00:49:11,740 --> 00:49:14,960
- To think of what would have
happened had Jamestown failed,
1001
00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:18,410
opens up a lot of
interesting possibilities,
1002
00:49:18,410 --> 00:49:20,510
including us sitting here talking
1003
00:49:20,510 --> 00:49:23,010
in either French or Spanish today.
1004
00:49:23,010 --> 00:49:25,370
- And the bigger story is the need
1005
00:49:25,370 --> 00:49:29,470
to begin to give more
attention to the contributions
1006
00:49:29,470 --> 00:49:32,710
that Poles have made to the United States
1007
00:49:32,710 --> 00:49:35,091
and really even to the world.
1008
00:49:35,091 --> 00:49:39,341
(soft suspenseful music continues)
75685
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