The founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony, in Virginia in 1607 – 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts – sparked a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. The government, language, customs, beliefs and aspirations of these early Virginians are all part of the United States’ heritage today. Show The colony was sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, a group of investors who hoped to profit from the venture. Chartered in 1606 by King James I, the company also supported English national goals of counterbalancing the expansion of other European nations abroad, seeking a northwest passage to the Orient, and converting the Virginia Indians to the Anglican religion.  Serious problems soon emerged in the small English outpost, which was located in the midst of a chiefdom of about 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Indians ruled by the powerful leader Powhatan. Relations with the Powhatan Indians were tenuous, although trading opportunities were established. An unfamiliar climate, as well as brackish water supply and lack of food, conditions possibly aggravated by a prolonged drought, led to disease and death. Many of the original colonists were upper-class Englishmen, and the colony lacked sufficient laborers and skilled farmers. The first two English women arrived at Jamestown in 1608, and more came in subsequent years. Men outnumbered women, however, for most of the 17th century. Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader in September 1608 – the fourth in a succession of council presidents – and established a “no work, no food” policy. Smith had been instrumental in trading with the Powhatan Indians for food. However, in the fall of 1609 he was injured by burning gunpowder and left for England. Smith never returned to Virginia, but promoted colonization of North America until his death in 1631 and published numerous accounts of the Virginia colony, providing invaluable material for historians. Smith’s departure was followed by the “starving time,” a period of warfare between the colonists and Indians and the deaths of many English men and women from starvation and disease. Just when the colonists decided to abandon Jamestown in Spring 1610, settlers with supplies arrived from England, eager to find wealth in Virginia. This group of new settlers arrived under the second charter issued by King James I. This charter provided for stronger leadership under a governor who served with a group of advisors, and the introduction of a period of military law that carried harsh punishments for those who did not obey. In order to make a profit for the Virginia Company, settlers tried a number of small industries, including glassmaking, wood production, and pitch and tar and potash manufacture. However, until the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop about 1613 by colonist John Rolfe, who later married Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas, none of the colonists’ efforts to establish profitable enterprises were successful. Tobacco cultivation required large amounts of land and labor and stimulated the rapid growth of the Virginia colony. Settlers moved onto the lands occupied by the Powhatan Indians, and increased numbers of indentured servants came to Virginia. The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived in 1619. They were from the kingdom of Ndongo in Angola, west central Africa, and had been captured during war with the Portuguese. While these first Africans may have been treated as indentured servants, the customary practice of owning Africans as slaves for life appeared by mid-century. The number of African slaves increased significantly in the second half of the 17th century, replacing indentured servants as the primary source of labor. The first representative government in British America began at Jamestown in 1619 with the convening of a general assembly, at the request of settlers who wanted input in the laws governing them. After a series of events, including a 1622 war with the Powhatan Indians and misconduct among some of the Virginia Company leaders in England, the Virginia Company was dissolved by the king in 1624, and Virginia became a royal colony. Jamestown continued as the center of Virginia’s political and social life until 1699 when the seat of government moved to Williamsburg. Although Jamestown ceased to exist as a town by the mid 1700s, its legacies are embodied in today’s United States. Watch a video about the economics of Jamestown:
The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. If your use will be beyond a single classroom, please review the copyright and fair use guidelines. Teacher’s GuideTo help your students analyze these primary sources, get a graphic organizer and guides: Analysis Tool and Guides After five grueling months at sea, a small group of soldiers, laborers, and aristocrats from England completed a 3000-mile journey across the Atlantic and stepped off their ship to greet an unfamiliar new land. The year was 1607 and the land they chose to live on became the first permanent settlement of the British in North America. Historical BackgroundFrom England to AsiaAt the dawn of the seventeenth century in Europe, explorers and their patrons focused on the centuries old goal of finding a Northwest Passage from Europe to East Asia. Though it was already well known that there was a significant landmass—the Americas—in the Atlantic Ocean, sailors and explorers were often charged with finding water routes around it. Such was the case as the year 1606 drew to a close. The English monarch King James I granted a charter to a private company known as the Virginia Company to build a settlement in the Chesapeake Bay area of North America. As in other attempts at settlement, two of the primary goals were to find gold and to find a water route to Asia. The original Jamestown was also intended to be strategically located far enough from the James River that it would not be in the firing range of ships belonging to hostile powers such as Spain. A City on the SwampOn December 20, 1606, around 100 members of the Virginia Company sailed across the Atlantic. They reached the Chesapeake Bay in April 1607, and they established a settlement on an island up the James River on May 14, naming it “James Towne” after the current monarch, James I, as was the habit of English settlement. Initial hostility between the colonists and a confederation of native groups led by Chief Powhatan led the settlers to establish forts. Nonetheless, the two groups often engaged in trade, which provided a source of food for Jamestown when settlers were only beginning to clear land for agriculture. A lack of basic hygiene combined with food shortages and cold weather to cause a number of deaths. By the autumn of 1607, it was apparent that colonists had not worked enough to ensure a stable food supply. Many of those who came with the Virginia Company were aristocrats who refused to demean themselves with agricultural labor. Moreover, Jamestown was in a swampy location, which gave rise to epidemics and disease. Chief Powhatan supplied the English with food, which likely prevented the settlement from collapsing altogether, but only about 40% of the settlers had survived the harsh winter when additional colonists arrived at the beginning of 1608. John Smith was among the colonists who secured food, and thus the colony, through trade and exploration. During 1607, he devoted his energies to repelling attacks and also explored and mapped the area. In December, he was captured and taken to Chief Powhatan. The chief released him on friendly terms after four weeks. Smith later claimed that this was by the efforts of Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, but there is no evidence to support the claim. Smith, elected president of the local council in September 1608, imposed a more rigid structure. One of the main rules under his regime was “He who does not work, will not eat.” Laziness, particularly among well-heeled colonists, put the settlement in such a precarious position that Smith believed they must be compelled to work to increase the food supply. Though the settlement endured the winter and well into 1609, some of Smith’s contemporaries chafed at his strict leadership. Smith left Jamestown in October 1609 to seek medical treatment in London after receiving a gunpowder injury. He never returned to Jamestown, and the settlement experienced a winter known as the “starving time” during which only a few dozen colonists survived. Many of the survivors abandoned Jamestown. Jamestown ReemergesThe arrival of Lord De La Warr with supplies and new colonists revived Jamestown after its near abandonment in June 1610. De La Warr’s ships intercepted many fleeing settlers, a number of whom decided to remain in Jamestown under his governorship. The settlement experienced a much more stable period in the years after De La Warr’s arrival, largely from the efforts of John Rolfe, who arrived with the new settlers in 1610. Rolfe is credited as a pioneer in Virginia’s tobacco industry, successfully introducing and cultivating tobacco, which became a major export to England. He also ushered in a period of peace between settlers and natives when he married Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, in 1614. In 1619, two major events foreshadowed later developments in American history. On July 30 the General Assembly, a representative body which in 1634 became the House of Burgesses, convened in response to an order by the Virginia Company to establish a government for the entire colony, making it the first of its kind in North America. That same year, a Dutch trader introduced what may have been the first African slaves to the continent. Though the settlement to this point had been essentially a business venture administered by the equivalent of a private corporation, the 1620s brought major changes to the colony. The native people became increasingly frustrated with the encroachment of settlers on what they considered to be their lands. In 1622, attacks made on various colonial plantations left 300 dead. Jamestown was spared, but this episode discredited the administration of the Virginia Company. Jamestown was in many ways a losing business venture. In 1624, James I revoked the Company’s charter and designated Virginia as a royal colony. The town thrived for several decades in the seventeenth century, but declined in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the twentieth century, however, archaeologists uncovered several of the settlement’s buildings, and today visitors can view many of the homes and belongings of the people who first brought Jamestown into being. Suggestions for TeachersCompare two or three maps created at different times. What differences can you see? How do they compare to a current map of Virginia or the eastern United States? Put a series of maps in chronological order based on clues on the items; distribute the bibliographic information so students can check accuracy. Create a time line of explorations of North America. Compare various images of Pocahontas. What differences are apparent? What similarities? How do these images compare to other things you know about Pocahontas? What can you learn about Native American villages and dwellings from examining the pictures? How does this information compare to what you know from other sources? What can you learn about Native American clothing and customs from examining the pictures? How does this information compare to what you know from other sources? Compare how the images portray the Native Americans and the settlers. What bias or perspective is evident? How does this information compare to what you know from other sources? Brainstorm what you know about the people connected with Jamestown. (Possibilities include: Powhatan, Pocahontas, John Smith, John Rolfe, King James I.) Research the facts and compare the role each played in the development of the settlement. Select items created at various times in history and compare how each portrays Jamestown. Additional Resources |
What is the primary reason for the English colonization of Jamestown in 1607 near the James River?
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