Rise and Fall of the Jamestown Colony Essay

The day I believed was the beginning of a new opportunity in becoming the man I’ve always wanted to become was really the begging of failure, starvation, and depression. I decided to leave England because of my economic problems I was facing due to the population boost, their was a lot more people and fewer jobs to go around. Even though I was still working to make a profit for the Virginia Company of London I had hope of raising a family here. Our Caption Christopher Newport had us explore the coast of Virginia before landing in Jamestown. On May 13, after two weeks of exploration, the ships arrived at a site on the James River selected for its deep water anchorage and good defensive position. The passengers came ashore the next day, and work

Jamestown, Virginia was the primary permanent English settlement in the New World and was founded by Captain John Smith. Tobacco was the main cash crop, and John Smith had to be strict to make sure people worked hard enough to get their food. It was a joint stock company where colonists had rights like Englishmen did.

The Jamestown and Plymouth settlements were both settled in the early 1600's. Plymouth and Jamestown were located along the shoreline in Massachusetts and Virginia, respectively. Although both had different forms of government, they both had strong leadership. Jamestown was controlled by the London Company, who wanted to profit from the venture, while the Puritans who settled at Plymouth were self-governed with an early form of democracy and settled in the New World to gain religious freedom. John Smith took charge in efforts to organize Jamestown, and at Plymouth William Bradford helped things run smoothly.

Of all the English settlers that arrived in early Jamestown from 1607 to 1611, 80% of them died. The first three ships arrived at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay bringing just over one hundred settlers who would attempt to establish the first English settlement. Fifty miles up the James River, the colonists chose a piece of land that seemed to be full of resources, and called it Jamestown. Those who study early Jamestown often wonder why so many colonists died despite the resources that were originally thought to be available. Environmental problems, lack of settler skills, and poor relationships with Native Americans were the main contributors to the high percentage of colonists’ death.

Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay Colony had many similarities and differences. Many of these differences were due to their physical location and climatic conditions. The success of both colonies can be contributed to strong leadership and the characteristics of the personalities of the settlers that inhabited each settlement. Many of the early problems in both settlements can be contributed to a lack of knowledge on the parts of the settlers along with attacks from neighboring Native American tribes.

In 1607, three ships sent by King James the first sailed into Chesapeake bay, Virginia carrying each over 100 people. They then sailed up the James river and settled on a piece of land today called James island. This piece of land was home to over 15,000 Powhatan natives. They gentleman who provided the voyage came here to become rich and make money by collecting animal pelts, wood, and iron. The cause of numerous colonist fatalities in early Jamestown was in direct correlation to their relations with the natives, the horrendous lack of essential supplies impeding their survival, and atrocious ailments leading to inevitable disease.

The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans,

What is the significance of Jamestown? “Jamestown introduced slavery into English speaking North America; it became the first of England’s colonies to adopt a representative government; and it was the site of the first clashes between whites and Indians over territorial expansion. Jamestown began the tenuous, often violent, mingling of different peoples that came to embody the American experience.” Dr. James Horn A Land As God Made It.

The creation of Jamestown started on May 24, 1607. Captain Christopher Newport led three ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. "They named both the river and their colony after King James I of England" (Jamestown 28). They did not want to leave England completely or they would not have named those two things after him. They probably felt that they needed to name these things after him because he was the main leader and investor of the expedition. The colonies agriculture and Industry started off slow. "They failed to produce silk, grapes, and other items because of the Virginia climate" (Jamestown 29). They had trouble growing these because they thought that they would grow as they did in England but the climate was much different. They brought a lot of stuff over that they thought would work but did not and this trial and error resulted in a long process before they finally found the first product that grew or worked. "The first agricultural products to be successfully raised were hogs and Indian corn" (Jamestown 29). There was more than one leader that contributed to keeping Jamestown up and going. Captain

A new land opportunity was a huge impact when it came into the hearts of Europeans between the fifteen and sixteen hundreds. It led most citizens leave their country and settle within the great Americas to achieve either religious freedom or a better protection system.Two of the most famous settlements of the English includes Jamestown,Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts. The two colonies had a government and an economic growth, which the Europeans accomplished to make, resulting a balance in society. Though, at the same time the settlers faced many hardships which they later had to overcome in the colonies.

Settlement of Virginia started with James I becoming king and making peace with Spain who at that time had control over North America; as well as the Native Americas. Charter London Company was mainly started to fund the vogue to Jamestown. The idea behind the company was to give investors land, gold, and goods, for investing in help of settlement in Virginia. The settlement of Jamestown was to find more trade and resources. In 1607 Jamestown was colonized but early on there was crises. Lack of food, and new diseases caused many settlers to die. As well as Spanish and Native American attacked the new settlers seeing them as threats and intruders. With low farmers food was scarce and Atlantic crossing was a 3 months sail in order to send messages to England. In order to survive Jamestown

Before the settlers landed in Jamestown, The Indians occupied the land and lived there for centuries. They were the first people to arrive in Jamestown. Some say there were 25,000 Indians; others say around 50,000 of the American natives, who lived on the land. There were about thirty different tribes whom the powhatan chiefdom took charge. However, each tribe had their own chief. In time there would be a change; King James 1 of England granted for another colony to be established under the Virginia Company of London which consisted of many wealthy Englishmen who wanted to invest their money into the company. They expected to

On May 14, 1607, a group of roughly 100 members of a joint venture called the Virginia Company, founded the first permanent English settlement in North America. The Jamestown colonists purpose is to find gold, silver, and other resources all they want is claiming land and riches. Smith left the Jamestown settlers without a strong leader so he left all his people alone. There’s no houses for them, there’s no supplies for them to survive due to the lack of leadership. So the settlers faced many hardships they had not expected. The settlers lacked some skills necessary to contribute for themselves like farming, hunting, etc. Many settlers died not only because of starvation & disease but also during the winter many settlers starve or froze to death because they don’t have anything for that season. After all what happens to them the settler adjusted to their new lives in America. The few remaining colonists turned to local Powhatan Indians to help them learn the process of planting and harvesting corn and tobacco. The settlers relied on

In 1607 a group of 120 Englishmen who sought gold and other treasure established Jamestown, Virginia. This town was named in honor of King James I who granted this land to the Virginia Company of London. The group of men did not in fact find treasure. More than half of the men succumbed to starvation or diseases and died less than a year later. Of the original group of men only 38 remained. In response to this the Virginia Company of London sent even more colonists to Jamestown, but many of the new settlers also perished.

Jamestown, the birthplace of America was the first permanent english settlement in North America. In April 1606, King James I established Jamestown and on May 13, 1607, colonists began to arrive at Jamestown. When establishing Jamestown as a colony, the Virginia Company was in search of economic opportunities. The citizens wanted to escape poverty and prosecution. They wanted to be able to believe in what they wanted. The first month in Jamestown was a struggle for all passengers. The moment the passengers came ashore, they immediately began on settlement. Serious problems soon emerged when about 15,000-25,000 Indians were already living in the Chesapeake Bay when the colony was founded. The Indians were part of the Powhatan Confederacy which was ruled by Powhatan, a powerful leader. At this time, the English settlers were looking for gold that no one was farming. In this situation, Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader and established a “no work, no food” policy. Smith had been instrumental in trading with the Powhatan Indians for food but their relationship was tense in all aspects. After he was injured by a burning gunpowder in 1608 and left for England, the “starving time” began. This was a period of warfare between the colonists and Indians and the depth of many English men