Jamestown, John Smith, and the Voyages of Discovery

FAIN: TP-50036-06

National Geographic Society (Washington, DC 20036-4707)
Sarah Ann Laskin (Project Director: November 2005 to May 2007)

Planning for a two-hour documentary special recounting the story of the first settlement at Jamestown, including an analysis of the individuals, circumstances, and events of the colony and an exploration of the area, including the natural wonders of the Chesapeake Bay.

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown and the voyages of Captain John Smith in the Chesapeake Bay, the National Geographic Society proposes to draft a treatment for a two-hour, prime-time television special. A hybrid of historical drama and natural history, the narrative will feature the first permanent English settlement on North American soil and provide an up-to-date analysis of the burgeoning colony. Working with a prestigious group of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and other scholars, National Geographic will explore the natural wonders of the bay, the intricate relationships among the colonists and the Native Americans as perceived by both sides, and the settlers’ impressions of the new world.