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Jamestown, Virginia, And The United States Of America

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Before there were fifty states, there were many different colonies, formed by many different countries and in different regions. Eventually, the settlements were narrowed down to thirteen English colonies. These settlements ultimately became the first thirteen states of the United States of America. This is the story of how they were formed. The first of the thirteen colonies was Jamestown, Virginia. Virginia was was the first successful British settlement in the Americas, colonized in 1607. (Before Jamestown, there was a colony named ‘Roanoke’, in what is now North Carolina. This colony, settled in 1587, was abandoned by 1590, all the colonists having disappeared without a trace) England crossed the Atlantic to establish a permanent colony, as well as to search for riches. Though Jamestown did eventually get their wealth, it was not for the reasons that they originally anticipated. Jamestown was the first colony to start growing tobacco, which they gained a grand profit from. Jamestown, Virginia was also the first colony to start using slaves, beginning in 1619. The settlement of Virginia also had another negative impact besides slavery. When the English first came over from Europe, they brought diseases that the Native Americans’ immune systems were not equipped to deal with. This resulted in a large majority of Native Americans dying off.

Thirteen years after Virginia was colonized, the Pilgrims formed the colony of Plymouth. The Pilgrims, who were English,

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