Many Headed Hydra Summary Essay

Chapter 1 Summary for The Many Headed Hydra The chapter tells the story of the wreckage of the Sea-Venture off Bermuda in 1609. The people of the shipped was welcomed by a land that contains both water and abundant of food. Being that they were suppose to be new reinforcements for the plantation for the Virginia Company, they decided that they will disregard the command from the company and create a settlement of their own because of the riches that Bermuda contains. The chapter then goes on to compare the colonial conditions between the Bermuda and Virginia. Unlike Bermuda, the conditions in Virginia was filled with â€Å"labor and wretchedness† indicating that the people who lived in Virginia faced many hardships. The settlement in Virginia went through a series of unfortunate events for a number of reasons. The main reasons that Virginia went into a time of turmoil was because people either died from sickness, don’t want to work, or commit crimes that include murder or stealing. With these problems at hand, Virginia Company of London were having difficulty establishing authority when it comes to dealing with the people who are living in the Virginia. Due to their inability to do what they were assigned, the officers decided to use military discipline as their way to maintain order. The chapters contains historical references regarding the English historical background when it comes to their colonization and the events that led to the problems that was to come in their way. Such problems includes the Tudor regional rebellions that took place like the Cornish Rising(1497), the Prayer Book Rebellion (1536) or the Felt-Makers’ Riot(1584). Besides the historical references, some pieces of literature have also been noted because of how the events of the Sea-Venture were described in Shakespeare’s book The Tempest. The chapter suggested themes that were shown in the story depict an earliest form of capitalism and colonization as well as the struggle of adjusting to new ways of life.