In 1607, the first English settlers arrived in North America and established a small fort and settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. This town, aside from a brief period of abandonment in 1610, was the first permanent English settlement on the mainland of North America, and served as the capital of the colony of Virginia until 1699.

This book, written by Captain John Smith, who is perhaps one of the most famous of the early colonists, recounts the establishment of English colonies in North America. It was first printed in 1624, and contains detailed accounts of the surveying of the coast of Virginia and New England by Smith, the founding of Jamestown, of Bermuda in 1612 and of the arrival of the Mayflower Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1620. It provides one of the earliest accounts of English settlement in North America.

The book is a remarkable record of the events surrounding the early colonisation of North America, and Smith includes several maps and engraved illustrations to accompany the text. Some of the most illuminating passages relate to Smith's relationship with the Indigenous Powhatan, particularly his capture by Opechancanough, acting on the orders of his brother, Wahunsunacawh (called 'Chief Powhatan' by the English) and his subsequent rescue by Wahunsunacawh's daughter Matoaka, popularly known as Pocahontas; as well as the account of her marriage to John Rolfe, her visit to England in 1616-7 and her death shortly after leaving London.
In writing this book, Smith fell further out of favour with the Virginia Company, which had financed the voyages to North America and owned a monopoly on the produce of the new colonies. Smith's account rarely mentions the involvement of the Company, instead glorifying his own endeavours and those of his associates. The Company had previously criticised Smith when he was de facto governor of Virginia in 1608-9, for bullying and intimidation towards the Powhatan.

Much of the information for his text was gained by Smith through a series of contacts in North America. He returned to London in 1615, remaining in England for the rest of his life.
At the front of the book is an engraved title page containing portraits of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles, Prince of Wales (later Charles I); the coats of arms of the Virginia Company, the Plymouth Company and the Somers Isles Company and a map of the eastern coast of North America. Facing this page is an engraved portrait of Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond, Smith's patron, to whom he dedicated the work.