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O.K. actually I knew that, in fact between the public elementary schools, and the catholic high school I attended there wasn't anything new to me in this article, outside of Amerigo's fantasy life. So, you can mark me as another reader who either paid attention in school, or believes that the schools did a better job 20 to 30 years ago.
As to why our "founding" myth prefers the Pilgrims over the settlers of Jamestown, that's easy. One confirms our national identity, the other our national reality.
What American isn't going to embrace the settlers who where looking to escape their persecution at home, volunteered to move to The Virginia Colony, got lost, ran out of beer on the way (just one of the many hardships the Pilgrims endured), and had to use a book press to keep their ship together?
Meanwhile, Jamestown was all about the money. A corporate venture filled with indentured servants working to pay off debts to their creditors. This is an uncomforting image that reminds most of us of our relationship with present day Corporate America. It's no wonder we embrace the Pilgrims, Jamestown just reminds us that nothing has really changed.
