An Earthly Paradise

An Earthly Paradise. . Could you survive in a strange new land? Imagine yourself as one of the new English settlers of 1607. After being tossed around on the ocean for months, the sight of land brings shouts of joy! Then you look a little closer and all you see are endless sandy beaches. There are no welcoming docks, cities or towns. There are no roads through the thick forests... or families waiting at home. How can this possibly be an "earthly paradise?", The Key to Success. , Captain John Smith made two voyages around the Chesapeake Bay in 1608 to explore the region's resources. After traveling the abundant waters, Smith wrote "Heaven and Earth have never agreed better to have a place for man's habitation." Although there were no roads, the Bay served as a "highway" for traveling. There were no well-established farms, but the region provided almost unlimited food. Even with the comforts of English life an ocean away, Smith realized that the Chesapeake Bay would provide for success as the settlers pursued a new life in a very different place., Common Ground. , Even as the first European settlers landed on the shores of the Chesapeake, Native American societies were thriving throughout the region. Thousands of Native Americans were living in the Bay area when the English arrived in 1607. With sophisticated political structures, complex trade routes and well-established traditions, the tribes flourished by hunting, growing crops and using weirs and boats to harvest food from the Bay.