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Jamestown was a village on an island in the James River in Virginia, about 45 miles southeast of where Richmond, Virginia, is now. Both the river and the 1607 settlement there were named for King James I of England who had recently come to the throne then. The Jamestown Settlement was the first permanent English colony in the New World.1 Settlement
Jamestown was founded in 1607 by the London Virginia Company. Three ships, the Susan Constant , the Godspeed , and the Discovery arrived at Jamestown on May 14, and their crews of 104 men and boys began the first permanent English settlement in North America. The settlers consisted mainly of English farmers and Polish woodcutters, hired in Royal Prussia. Upon landing, secret orders from the Virginia Company were opened which named John Smith as one of the councilors. Smith had been arrested on the voyage over by Admiral Christopher Newport for mutiny and scheduled to hang, but was freed upon the opening of the orders.
Despite the fact that Jamestown Island is a swamp, the men of the Virginia Company chose to settle here because they felt it was far enough inland to avoid contact and conflict with the SpanishThe Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It inc fleet while the river was deep enough to permit them to anchor their ships yet have an easy and quick departure if necessary. They had only been at Jamestown for less than a fortnight when they were attacked on May 26May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). There are 219 days remaining before the end of the year. Events 1328 William of Ockham secretly leaves Avignon under threat from Pope John XXII. 1538 Geneva throws out Jo by Paspahegh Indians, who succeeded in killing one of the settlers and wounding eleven more. By June 15June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. Events 763 BC Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. 923 Battle of Soissons: King Rob, the settlers finished the initial triangle fort at Jamestown and a week later, Newport sailed back for LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri on the Susan Constant with a load of pyriteThe mineral pyrite or iron pyrite is iron disulfide, FeS. It has isometric crystals that usually appear as cubes or pyritohedrons. It has a slightly uneven and conchoidal fracture, a hardness of 6-6. 5, and a specific gravity of 4. Its metallic luster and and dirt.
Edward M. Wingfield was named the first president of the colony and would remain in that position until SeptemberSeptember is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 30 days. The name comes from the Latin septem for " seven" September was originally the seventh month of the year, before January and February were inserted. In Greek civilization, S, when he was found guilty of libel and deposed. John Ratcliffe was elected to take his place. A year later, John Smith was elected to replace Ratcliff. He would remain as President until wounded in 1609Events April 4 King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. July 6 Bohemia is granted freedom of religion. August 25 Galileo, when Ratcliffe became President again, although Ratcliffe was captured by PowhatanThe Powhatan (also spelled Powatan and Powhaten were a very powerful tribe of Native Americans, speaking an Algonquian language, who lived in what is now Virginia at the time of the first European-Native encounters. Powhatan was originally the name of the and tortured to death by Indian women while on a trade mission shortly after being elected. The winter of 1609-1610 became known as the starving time in Jamestown.
The settlers who came over on the initial three ships were not well equipped for the life they found in Jamestown and many suffered from saltwater poisoning which led to infection, fevers, and dysentery. Smith was wounded when his powder bag exploded and he was sent back to England, where he wrote A True Relation about his experiences in Jamestown and a second book, The Proceedings of the English Colony of Virginia. The publication of this book sparked a resurgence in interest in the colony and, with plans being made to abandon Jamestown in 1610, a new governor, Lord de la Warr, arrived and forced the remaining 90 settlers to stay.
While president of the colony, Smith led a food-gathering expedition up the Chickahominy River. His men were set upon by Indians and when his men were killed, Smith strapped his Indian guide in front of him to use as a shield. Captured by Opchanacanough, Powhatan's half-brother, Smith gave him a compass, which made the Indian decide to let Smith live. When Smith was brought before Powhatan, however, the chief decided to execute him, a course of action which was stopped by the pleas of Powhatan's young daughter, Pocahontas, who was originally named Matoaka, but whose nickname meant "Playful one."
Although Pocahontas's life would be tied to the English after this first meeting, she is not tied to Smith, except in his report in his books. During the winter of 1608, after Jamestown was destroyed by flames, Pocahontas brought food and clothing to the colonists. She later negotiated with Smith for the release of Indians who had been captured by the colonists during a raid to gain English weaponry. Pocahontas converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca in 1613 under the tutelage of Reverend Alexander Whitaker, who arrived in Jamestown in 1611 to found the first Presbyterian Church in Virginia. She married a settler, John Rolfe on April 24, 1614. Within two years, they left for London, where Pocahontas died at Gravesend on March 17, 1617.
Rolfe arrived in Jamestown in 1609 following the shipwreck of the Sea Venture , which may have inspired William Shakespeare's " The Tempest". Wedged in a reef off Bermuda, the 150 on board built ships from the wreckage and sailed the two boats, known as the Deliverance and the Patience up to Jamestown, where they found the colony in ruins and practically abandoned until de la Warr arrived.
