New England in 1616 by John Smith
Channel: Age of Enlightenment
Date: 2015-12-14

John Smith was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory (1572-1613), Prince of Transylvania. He was Colonial Governor of Virginia 1608–1609. In 1614, Smith returned to the Americas in a voyage to the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts Bay. He named the region "New England". He made two attempts in 1614 and 1615 to return to the same coast. First a storm dismasted his ship. In the second attempt, he was captured by French pirates off the Azores. Smith escaped after weeks of captivity and made his way back to England, where he published an account of his two voyages as A Description of New England. He never left England again. He died in the year 1631 in London at the age of 51.