Book Review: Jonathan Dickinson's Journal by Jonathan Dickinson

Jonathan Dickinson's Journal: A True Story of Shipwreck and Torture on the Florida Coast in 1696 by Jonathan Dickinson

In late August 1696, the ship Reformation sailed from Jamaica intending to arrive at Philadelphia. The ship was caught in a storm and wrecked on the Florida coast with a crew of nine and sixteen passengers, including author Jonathan Dickinson. All survived the wreck but they were unable to salvage much from the boat. Dickinson had been traveling with his wife and infant son, a friend, a preacher, and several slaves. He was going to expand the family business in Pennsylvania. That plan changed as they faced hostile natives, friendly natives, and the Spanish during their trek northward. The journal was a popular account and provides some of the only first-hand information about the southern Florida Atlantic coast and the people living there before the Europeans came. Their adventure is exciting and miserable at the same time. They lost almost all their possessions as they progressed. They had to find or make shelters as the season grew progressively worse. Kindness and contempt came in uneven measures.

The subtitle's reference to torture is a bit sensationalistic but not nearly as much as the original title's reference to "the more cruelly devouring jawes [sic] of the inhumane CANIBALS [sic] of FLORIDA." The threat of cannibalism does come up but the only cases are second-hand information about a previously shipwrecked crew that were eaten by those other Indians. It reads more like a threat or scare tactic. The text is more straightforward and honest without embellishments or stereotypes. These English are marooned and pretend to be Spanish since the locals seem very hostile to the English and very respectful of the Spanish. The preacher, Robert Barrow, refuses to go along with the lie but he isn't the spokesman for the travelers and they get away with it for the most part. 

I found the book interesting as a tale I hadn't heard before told in an old-fashioned yet relatable style. It's about 100 pages long, making it a quick read.

Recommended for history buffs.