Could sassafras have saved Jamestown? Raleigh's Patent vs. Bartholomew

Sassafras is part of our deepest American heritage. And disputes surrounding who gets to profit from beneficial substances arose even in the 1600's.

Bartholomew Gosnold, see answers.com/topic/bartholomew-gosnold, was an early explorer and commanded prospecting expeditions in 1602 ff -- Cape Cod, areas south through Virginia. See mykennebunks.com/gosnold. His discoveries of sassafras and descriptions of its market and uses are at historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6617. Also see this site - a splendid, full account -- at ancientgreece-earlyamerica.com/html/gosnold. He was looking for the "Refugio" that Verrazano, see win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/verrazzano, found - Narragansett Bay -- in 1524, and colonize it or start trade. He wrote to his father - see letter at etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1006. Martha's Vineyard is named for his deceased infant daughter.

Sassafras, autumn's red mitten

Gosnold needed a profit because the operation was expensive, and looked for treasure to bring back to England - gold best, but furs and sassafras would do. Sassafras at the time was a "wonder drug" in Europe. See mykennebunks.com/gosnold; and its link to the botanical qualities of sassafras at botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/sassaf20. The Concord was a 30 ton bark, see likeness of Captain Cook's bark, the Endeavor, at yachtsdownunder.com/hms_endeavour.

On board as it left Falmouth on March 22, 1602, were these people: Gosnold; the captain, Gilbert; the lawyer, Archer; the chaplain, Brereton; the ship-master (possibly also part or all owner); and three others named Tucker, crewman Hill and Meriton. Tucker's name is on the shoals called Tucker's Terror at Monomoy; Archer puts Hill's name on a little island called Hill's Hap (means Hill's luck) It is the modern Penikes. Beyond it is another island with a hill that Archer names Hap's Hill - ("for that I hope much hap may be expected of it"). "So in fast succession the punning: Hills Hap, Haps Hill, and the hope of much hap. Archer’s hope on the far away hill can only be sassafras, cedar, or gold."
Brereton and Archer both wrote their own accounts: Brereton at __________, Archer at etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1005.

At Archer's account, do a "find" for sassafras in Archer's account for all the uses of sassafras. Brereton says it was Meriton who found the first sassafras.

Sir Walter Raleigh, of Pocahontas and Jamestown fame, see luminarium.org/renlit/ralegh, held the patent (not clear what that meant) on American products. It seems to be a monopoly on sassafras (he calls it sarsephraze) marketing. He was bothered that his patent was to be poached by Gosnold, and the price depressed by the new cargo, so he blocked free market pricing and ultimately the issue was resolved by his getting part of the cargo. At any of these sites, do a find for sassafras - This product is part of our heritage.

.........................................
Here are fair-use excerpts to show some flavor of the expedition, and not enough to spoil going to the full site. Usually these things are so dry that excerpts are appropriate to put actual names and the humanity back in. Toward the end is the reference to perhaps Jamestown could have survived until spring if the sassafras market could have made a difference.

How they did it:
"The English crew buckles down to hard work. They start to collect the return cargo of sassafras. . They re-keel the shallop and build a flat bottomed shuttle boat, a punt, to ferry men and supplies across the pond to their island redoubt. They clear the area where they will build their ‘little house and fort’. One of the crew gorges himself on ‘the bellies of dogfish, a very delicious meat’, to the point of a severe bellyache. He is cured in twelve hours with the New World wonder drug: the powder of sassafras."

*****
Assistance from the indigenous people:
"The Indians leave four of their men to help the English. Brereton relates how they help collect sassafras even though he thinks one of them is a spy. He also tells how the Indians strike a fire. He plays with words while doing so:
“…with a flat emerie stone (wherewith Glaziers cut glass and Cutlers glaze blades)…”
Glaziers cut while Cutlers glaze. This homey style of writing wasn’t lost on the English readers of the day."

"Thus they continued with us three days, every night retiring themselves to the furthermost part of our Island two or three miles from our fort: but the fourth day they returned to the main, pointing five or six times to the Sun, and once to the main, which we understood, that within five or six days they would come from the main to us again: but being in their canoes a little from the shore, they made huge cries & shouts of joy unto us; and we with our trumpet and cornet, and casting up our caps into the air, made them the best farewell we could: yet six or seven of them remain with us behind, bearing us company every day into the woods, and helped us to cut and carry our Sassafras, and some of them lay aboard our ship."


*****

"Ralegh complains that the sassafras market (or sarsephraze as Ralegh writes it) is about to plummet from 10 to 20 shillings per pound ($70 to $140 today) to 8 to 10 shillings ($56 to $70) per pound. Other sources claim that sassafras was only 3 to 8 shillings ($20 to $56) per pound on the market, not anywhere near Ralegh’s inflated prices. This raises the question of whether or not the sassafras market was indeed in trouble or just Ralegh’s self promotion to Cecil. Ralegh continues in the letter that his enterprise in America will be overthrown if unauthorized people poach on his patent."
*****
[Historian questions on why Jamestown failed, did the obstructions to the sassafras market - Mr. Raleigh? -contribute, and could the sassafras market have made the difference:
"A study of the mysterious sassafras market in England has yet to be undertaken. What alternate plans could the settlers have used to survive until Spring?"
*****
"Hazelnut trees, Cherry trees, the leaf, bark and bigness not differing from ours in England, but the stalk bears the blossoms or fruit at the end thereof, like a cluster of Grapes, forty or fifty in a bunch; Sassafras trees great plenty all the Island ove, a tree of high price and profit; also diverse other fruit trees, some of them with strange barks, of an Orange colour, in feeling soft and smooth like Velvet:"
*****
*****
"But after our bark [Concord] had taken in so much Sassafras, Cedar, Furs, Skins, and other commodities, as were thought convenient; some of our company that had promised captain Gosnold to stay, having nothing but a saving voyage in their minds (NOTE 28), made our company of inhabitants (which was small enough before) much smaller; so as captain Gosnold seeing his whole strength to consist but of twelve men, and they but meanly provided (NOTE 29) , determined to return for England, leaving this Island (which he called Elizabeths Island (NOTE 30) with as many true sorrowful eyes, as were before desirous to see it. So the 18 of June (NOTE 31) , being Friday, we weighed, and with indifferent fair wind and weather came to anchor the 23 of July , being also Friday (in all, bare five weeks) before Exmouth."