A Description of New England (in full: A description of New England, or, Observations and discoveries in the north of America in the year of Our Lord 1614, with the success of six ships that went the next year, 1615) is a work written by John Smith. Published in 1616, it portrayed a fertile land of abundant resources and general plenitude to be found in the New World based on Smith's experiences in the Colony of Virginia.
Unlike the reasons that the Pilgrims and the Puritans had for migrating to the New World, The Virginia Company, and other sponsored companies that traveled over, mainly came to the New World in order to make a life for themselves and start over in an economically fresh region. Smith's work described the situations and circumstances that were to be found in the New World, but it mainly promoted Smith in his abilities of being a travel guide and helpful resource in navigating the New World if the English wanted to migrate there. In the work, he printed many maps of the surrounding areas, and because he did so, the immigrants used those maps and found no need for Smith's help; Smith did not receive as much money from being a travel guide as he had originally planned on and hoped for. His work, however, did enable the new settlers to come over with some background knowledge about the general area and people inhabiting it.
