16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Adventure, November 24, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America (Hardcover)
Milton has followed up Nathaniel's Nutmeg with another tale of English exploration with all its hardships and heroics, vanity and violence, successes and stupidity. Big Chief Elizabeth charts England's efforts to plant a colony. It starts with the poorly planned ventures of English gentlemen (who on one voyage waited until they were several days out to sea before deciding that they might want to plan their course), but the bulk of the book is devoted to Sir Walter Ralegh's numerous expeditions. Despite it's title, the book really isn't about Elizabeth, who shows up to graciously lend her name to things or to bestow Ralegh with a new title and money to finance his adventures.
Strange deatails abound, such as the fact that tobacco was recommended as a cure for numerous diseases--especially for pregnant women and children!
Milton describes numerous colorful characters, such as Ralegh, who spent a small fortune on his clothes, James Harriot, who deciphered the Indians' language by creating an entirely new alphabet, and Ralph Lane, a colonial governor who loved nothing more than harsh conditions and privation.
A fine read.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
History, Adventure and Opinions, December 13, 2000
This review is from: Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America (Hardcover)
Giles Milton has created a book that is even better than his previous history-as-adventure book, Nathaniel's Nutmeg. Much of his style with his wonderful use of the grand adventure mixed with shocking tidbit remain but Big Chief Elizabeth is a far more focused piece of work. It does not roam the world and the centuries but cleanly focuses on the clash between two worlds: Elizabethan England and the New World. It sets up the mystery of the Roanoke lost colonists and the adventures of John Smith and Pocohontas, to name only two familiar situations within the book, within an historical framework that touches upon all the familiar characters of England and the early American colonization. But best of all, the story is told with great skill, some humour, much derring do, and sympathy for all sides. Milton is able to bring out the human elements of these almost mythical characters. This book is highly recommended for anyone who likes a good, exciting story. A fine achievement from a wonderful weaver of history.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Readable, entertaining summary -- nothing more, May 24, 2004
This review is from: Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America (Hardcover)
Think of this book as the equivalent of sitting down with a good friend, one who fancies himself an amateur historian, and having him tell you what he knows of the early British attempts at colonization of North America. Your friend is obviously well-read, organizes his thoughts effectively, and most importantly knows how to tell a good story. There is of course no time for footnotes and you're too polite to interrupt with questions like "how do you know that?" Oddly, he's come prepared with more than a few fascinating prints apparently of engravings illustrating various events in his story, but he never finds time to tell you where they're from.
A pleasant evening ensues and you get an entertaining, panoramic view of the progression of English forays across the Atlantic from the years 1536 through Sir Walter Raleigh's death on the chopping-block in 1618. Although he begins with "let me tell you the story of Big Chief Elizabeth", the queen herself gets only passing mentions from your friend, and his story lasts well into the reign of James I. When he finishes, you have many questions, but he quickly packs up his engravings, gives you the names of a few books to check out from the library, and departs. You think, maybe I will get those other books.
British author Giles Milton begins with the rather comical story of Richard Hore, who financed and led a two-ship adventure to the Labrador coast in 1536. Hore and his compatriots gave no thought beforehand to their route or to how much provisioning they might need for their voyage. Of course, the attempt ends badly. In a foretaste of minor frustrations ahead for the reader, author Milton relates the fate of only one of the ships.
A few other faltering attempts to exploit the New World are described, but it's only when Sir Walter Ralegh enters the picture that Milton's story gains its true focus. (Milton chooses the spelling "Ralegh" from among the many alternatives that the courtier himself utilized --- which did not, according to the author, include "Raleigh".) From hereon, the book could be read as a Ralegh biography.
The Ralegh-sponsored Roanoke colony, with its fate still cloaked in mystery, is the most compelling part of this story. Milton's approach is to first recount the known facts in as uncomplicated a way as possible. This proves beneficial, as the many books written specifically to solve the mystery of disappearance have too often made it seem only more impenetrable. (See especially the captivating yet maddening "Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony" by Lee Miller.) Later, in a somewhat dogmatic Epilogue, Milton lays out what he believes happened to those colonists. Although he makes only an abbreviated attempt to cite authorities and to prove his case, I found his explanation consistent with the best-established facts and therefore convincing.
But before that Epilogue, Milton continues the story with his version of the Jamestown saga, with attendant profiles of John Smith, Powhatan, Pocahontas, and others. This section is workmanlike, adding neither new insights nor detail to this oft-recounted part of colonial history.
There are two maps, acceptable in themselves, but leaving unanswered many questions of geographical detail important to the accounts. This shortcoming, the lack of footnotes, and the rudimentary bibliography relegate the book to one of only passing interest. As a readable introduction to and summary of the history of early English colonization - a place where the best stories of the period are gathered together in an entertaining recounting - the book serves its purpose well. But go elsewhere for a more rigorous study.
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