It could be said, then, that the real purpose behind the writing of the General History was to advance Smith's own career and image back in England, rather than to provide other people of his day an accurate description of life in the New World. It could also have been motivated as a defense of colonial efforts, as there are several mentions of bettering certain "savages" by exposing them to English culture and Christianity, as well as other feature of European society that Smith sees as superior (Smith, 328). Because of these ulterior motives, this text cannot be entirely trusted. Its basic depiction of life in the...

However, if the document is read with knowledge of Smith's background and intentions, it can be very useful. It is not only informative in its description of the time and place the text itself concerns, but also the time, place, and culture that produced its author and his work. When read in this light, Smith's General History is invaluable