The Story of the Times

MorethanacenturyafterEuropeanexplorersfirstlandedinNorthAmeri－ca，therewerestillnopermanentsettlementsintheWesternHemispherenorthofSt.Augustine，Florida.By1607，however，asmallgroupofEnglishsettlerswasstrugglingtosurviveonamarshyislandintheJamesRiverinthepresentstateofVirginia.In1611，ThomasDale，governorofthecolony，wroteareporttothekingexpressingthecolonists’determinationtosucceed.Despitediseaseandstarva－tion，Jamestowndidsurvive.Thefirstsettlerswereentrancedbythenativeinhabitantstheymet.TheydidnotatfirstrealizethattheseearlierAmericans，likeEuropeans，hadculturalvaluesandliterarytraditionsoftheirown.Theirliteraturewasentirelyoral，forthetribesofNorthAmericahadnotyetdevelopedwritingsystems.Thisextensiveorallitera－ture，alongwiththefirstwrittenworksofthecolonists，formsthebeginningoftheAmericanliteraryheritage.HistoricalBackground  [返]