ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Fourth stop:
​Jamestown Settlement, Va.

By Miguel Pérez

​On the north banks of the James River and less than two miles apart, there are two Jamestowns in Virginia. "Historic Jamestowne" is the actual site of the 1607 British colony, which I visited a few years ago and which is mostly the site of archaeological excavations. And the "Jamestown Settlement," which I have just visited, is a living-history museum and a magnificent recreation of both the 1610 James Fort and a Powhatan Indian village.

And yet both Jamestowns project the false impression that this country began in Virginia, when the British arrived.
Historic Jamestown calls itself "America's Birthplace," and the Jamestown Settlement proclaims that "In the beginning, all America was Virginia."

Of course, this is according to historians who begin counting American history when the British arrived. In fact, when the British arrived, European-American history was almost a century old, and it was mostly Spanish!

Thanks to this stop, and hopefully an upcoming stop in St. Augustine, Fl., I will surely be expanding my chapter on 2. A Tale of Two Cities

But we are still moving south. Can you tell where we could be going next? Hint: At the next stop, I don't expect to be updating an existing chapter, but writing an entirely new one. Stay tuned.

En español: 
Cuarta parada: ​Jamestown Settlement, Va.