A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia by Thomas Hariot
This month's featured text is Thomas Hariot's A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia. The Briefe and true report was first published in 1588, most likely at the urging of Sir Walter Raleigh who sought to regain public interst in "New World" exploration. In it, Hariot mentioned his intention to publish a full Chronicle of his travels in Virginia, which was never published, and the original has since been lost. Hariot was a tutor in the household of Sir Walter Raleigh and taught astronomy and navigation to some of Raleigh's sea captains. In 1585, he accompanied Sir Richard Grenville on his first voyage to Roanoke Island as historian and surveyor. While there, Hariot wrote The Chronicle or Discourse of Virginia according to the course of the times, a survey of the people and economic potential of the area. Hariot returned to England with Sir Francis Drake in 1586, and, with his colleague John White, a cartograher who accompanied him to Roanoke, became one of the leading experts on America. Hariot later helped Raleigh write the Historie of the wold, and corresponded with Johannes Keppler about astronomical observations. He died in 1621.

A briefe and true report is the first original book published in English about America. By 1590 it had been translated into three other languages and was circulated throughout Europe. Hariot's book exemplifies England's first attempt at colonization, and its desire to compete with France and Spain by exploiting the resources of the New World. Yet, A briefe and true report also shows England's (and to an extent all of Europe's) belief that the New World would be a land of peace and plenty. One of the more famous prints in the book is the "Adam and Eve" print shown on the front page of the EEBO-TCP database site. The other wonderful maps, prints and drawings by John White show this hope and this belief that a New World of peace and plenty would not only help England defeat France and Spain economically but also that Europeans settling in this New World might be able to get a new start and live for a new dream of peace and plenty.

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