The Starving Time (1609) - Captain John Smith

      In this primary source, Captain John Smith is writing fifteen years later about events that he did not witness. In 1609, a period of starvation during the winter took place in Jamestown, VIrginia. During this time, there was a lack of access to water, dry rain season, and acts of cannibalism leaving 60 of 214 colonists dead.  In the primary source, he states, "This was the time which still to this day (1624) we called the starving time...One amongst the rest did kill his wife, powdered her, and eaten part of her before it was known, for which he was executed."
   
     The audience is people of England, the new land, explorers, and modern people today While reading this, I questioned what kind of paper John Smith wrote this on, where he wrote it, why he wrote it, and who told  him about this event. If he was not personally there to witness it, I am curious if the statements he made are true and reliable. The focus was to portray the event of "The Starving Time," to readers and give an insight as to what happened to the people who were not there to witness this period.
 
     The content includes four paragraphs all written in third person. The authorship is Captain John Smith and the purpose was to inform others about "The Starving Time." I enjoyed reading this primary source and found it interesting. I did not like how it was written by John Smith who was not personally present during the period. The acts of cannibalism described in this source was very intriguing to read. It shocks me that someone could be that hungry to have the guts to eat their wife.