John Smith Quotes
God will so assist us, that if you dare stand but to discharge your pieces, the very smoake will bee sufficient to affright them… They are naked and cowardly ... people, who dare not stand the presenting of a staffe ... or peece, nor an uncharged peece in the hands of a woman.
His hubris soon backfired as the Indians learned how to tactically cope with firearms. For example they soon learned that they would see the flash of the musket before the ball would discharge, so would lie down and the bullets would pass overhead. The muskets were effective as defensive weapons from behind barricades though not very accurate. Swords and pikes turned out to be more effective in most cases.
John Smith, 1580-1631, Governor, Jamestown Colony, Virginia, Statement to his colonists
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
As an educational and military leader, he saw the importance of each in a nation’s welfare.
Not understanding this point has been the cause of much difficulty for military leaders from the war of 1812 through the Iraq war, the success or failure of the effort depended on a successful peace.
Ironically, Lieberman was using this quotation to campaign against Bush’s son, George W. Bush.
See a similar sentiment by Tallyrand
Nearly two years after Tripoli had declared war against the United States, the U.S., after much deliberation, decided to stop negotiating a tribute settlement with Tripoli. The U.S. launched their attack on June 11, 1803 in what would be the first amphibious operation on the Barbary Coast. After witnessing the operation, the Pasha was unmoved. Piracy and war was a way of life for the Barbary states.
The quotation is actually combined from two different speeches, July 28 and August 21, 1725. The dependency on guns and gunpowder was one of the key elements that was creating the dependency. See {613048}.
Christian Neophytes were Indians who claimed that they had converted to Christianity. The French initially banned giving or selling firearms to the Indians of North America. However in 1640, they made an exception to provide arms to the Huron Indians who they thought had converted to Christianity. Four years later the Jesuits were using guns as the major motivation for conversion of Indians. The hypocrisy of using weapons of war to attract converts to a religion of peace gave way to the incredible success that the trading of guns for souls had achieved. The French military also thought that the armed Indians could be used as allies in the coming battle with England for control of North America. The English then armed their Indian allies, and the French and Indian Wars saw armed Indians on both sides.
This reflected a commonly held belief that the gun was an ignoble invention.
John Smith was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America in the early 17th century. He was a leader of the Virginia Colony between September 1608 and August 1609, and he led an exploration along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, during which he became the first English explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay area. Later, he explored and mapped the coast of New England. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, and his friend Mózes Székely.
