When the English came to Jamestown, they did not come defenseless. They came armed with swords, guns and all sorts of different t weapons just in case. In the photo above you see a rack of muskets. Muskets had great firepower but took 20-30 seconds to load, compared to the Natives' bows and arrows which loaded and fired quickly but lacked firepower, as the English had metal armor, helmets and boots.
The settlers aririved in 3 ships; the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. The Susan Constant and Godspeed were rented ships, they were not owned by the Virginia Company. Only the Discovery, the smallest ship, was owned by the company because they needed a small ship to explore Virginia. These ships were cargo ships, not battleships, so there was not as much firepower as on other ships.
Today I, Catherine Blaikley took a visit to the Armory Blacksmith's shop. My fireplace tools had been damaged by several foolish children the day before so I took them to the shop to have them fixed. I've always liked the blacksmith's shop. The sights are fantastic. Looking at the glowing hot metal and the smith pounding a hammer is like stepping into a whole different world.
The smells in the shop are.....interesting to say the least. If the fires are raging it may smell like burning hot coals, and at other times a bit like wood and dust. The tools in the shop have an interesting feel to them. The smith can design it to be smooth or rough, round or flat. The sounds of a smith's shop, however, is not as pleasant. The loud bangings of the hammer and the whoosh of the bellows make quite a ruckus. Well, that's all that was interesting today.
At the smith, many tools are available for me to buy but most of them are not practical for my use. There were fireplace tools and cooking tools and all sorts of metal gadgets but few of them I actually used.
The blacksmith accepts different kinds of payment, like pieces of eight and tobacco notes. He also accepts Dutch coins like guilders.
Today I decided after finishing my chores I would have dinner with my good friends the Wythes. It would be a Gould chance to socialize and catch up on the latest news and fashions. It would also help relieve the sorrow of my husband's death. It would keep my mind off other more sorrowful things.
I was always impressed by the Wythes' dining room. It had fancy pictures and portraits decorating the walls and fancy chairs beside the table. It had lime-green walls like most other gentry level dining rooms, as it was common belief that having the color in the room made you feel soothed and calm. The food, as usual, was impressive. Roast chicken and rockfish, apple pie and cherry pudding, and more lined the tables free for the taking.
After another delicious and entertaining 2-hour meal, the ladies headed to the parlor to discuss the trending fashions and news. We discussed dresses, wigs, the latest news on the conflict between the colonies and England, whether or not there would be a war, etc. After about an hour, the men came and joined us for a lively dance and several games of cards. I had never been more impressed by the Wythes' work and property.
Credits:
Created with images by State Library Victoria Collections - "Mother and baby"