#Jamestown: Facts & History Jamestown founded in 1607 was the first successful permanent English settlement in what would become the United states. It was located on Jamestown Island In virginia about 30 miles (47 kilometers) up the James river from the Atlantic coast. The original fort site was surrounded by a triangular palisade with three bulwarks. Â Jamestown was not the first successful permanent European settlement in what would become the United states; that distinction belongs to St augustine in Florida which was founded by the Spanish in 1565. In its early years the settlers at Jamestown experienced an extremely high mortality rate the lack of food actually leading some of the settlers to resort to cannibalism during the winter of 1609-1610 this period becoming known as the oestarving time. While the founding of Jamestown had the blessing of England s King James I and the settlement and James river were named in his honor it was financed actually and run by the Virginia Company. This company in turn was financed by private investors who expected the colonists to discover a valuable commodity or a route to East asia which would make the enterprise profitable and offer a return on their investment. It wasn t until 1612 when a colonist named John Rolfe began experimenting with tobacco that such a commodity was found. Colonization of The americas England at the beginning of the 17th century was something of a laggard when it came to colonization in The americas. At the time that the venture launched Spain controlled a vast empire in the New world that included much of South and Central america Mexico part of the Caribbean and a settlement in Florida. The Spanish were also moving into what we consider the American Southwest. Also by this time The french were exploring Canada s northeast and in time would establish a highly profitable fur trade in the region. In the 16th century The english did attempt to found Roanoke colony a venture that ended in disaster the colonists disappearing and never being heard from again. They were lost in the Chesapeake bay area and may have left their colony to live with local aboriginal groups. Karen Ordahl Kupperman a professor of history at New york University writes in her book The Jamestown Project (The Belknap Press of Harvard university Press 2007) that in addition to the Roanoke colonists other European adventurers had sailed along the east coast of North america some of whom ended up living with the aboriginal people they encountered. Â oeit does not seem too fanciful to assume that some colonists in Jamestown founded twenty years after the last Roanoke colony might have encountered descendants of earlier transatlantic migrants without knowing it. Indeed it was hoped by the investors in London that some of the Roanoke colonists (or their descendents) were still alive and with knowledge they gained about the area could guide the Jamestown colonists to minerals and a passage to the Orient. Disastrous early years When the colonists landed in May 1607 they were divided up into three groups. One group was to build fortifications and a storehouse and then some simple houses. The second group was to plant crops and the third party was to explore for minerals and a passage to the Orient. It did not take long for the colonists to run into trouble. Within a few weeks the fort had been attacked by a force of several hundred warriors from one of the aboriginal groups in the area. The colonists did not even have the opportunity to unpack their muskets and only the use of naval gunfire from the ships that were still there drove the attackers off. It didn t take long for the colonists to start dying. Of the 104 men and boys who landed only 38 were still alive by January 1608. Recent research has revealed that the water they drank was salty and even contained arsenic. Additionally food supplies ran out famine set in and a particularly harsh winter along with drought compounded the misery of the colonists. oeour men were destroyed with cruel diseases as swellings fluxes burning fevers and by wars and some departed suddenly but for the most part they died of meer famine wrote George Percy one of the survivors in a report on the colony. oethere were never Englishman left in a foreign country in such misery as we were discovered in this new Virginia. Pocahontas & John Smith Captain John Smith who took over the presidency of the colony s council after most of the councillors were incapacitated dead or writes that the colony depended on trade with friendly aboriginal groups in order to survive. He would later write that at one point he was captured and brought to Powhatan. Â Smith wrote in a 1616 letter to Queen Anne that Powhatan s daughter Pocahontas oehazarded the beating out of her own brains to save mine; and not only that but so prevailed with her father that I was conducted safely to Jamestown. This story of Pocahontas risking her life to save Smith s was told only after she converted to Christianity and Smith didn t mention it in an earlier account of his adventures In virginia. Additionally it has been argued by historians that if this episode did happen it may have been part of a ceremony to demonstrate Smith s helplessness before Powhatan. The colony was resupplied along with 100 new settlers in January 1608. The colony would struggle on hitting another low in the winter of 1609-1610 a period that became known as the starving time. By this time John Smith had been forced to leave due to gunpowder injuries and the colony s new governor Thomas Gates had been shipwrecked on Bermuda along with essential supplies. By this point relations with the aboriginal people in the area had deteriorated to the point where trade was impossible and their fort was under siege. When the colonists ran out of food they oefed upon horses and other beasts as long as they lasted we were glad to make shift with vermin as dogs cats rats and mice writes George Percy in an account of what happened. Boots shoes and leather were consumed also and as recent archaeological evidence confirms some colonists resorted to cannibalism to survive. In May 1610 Thomas Gates the governor who had been shipwrecked on Bermuda before he could arrive at Jamestown made his way to the colony using makeshift ships made partly with wood they found on Bermuda. Finding only 60 survivors remaining at Jamestown he gave the order to abandon the settlement but not to burn it. As they set out to sea however they encountered a fleet led by Lord De La Warr with fresh supplies and new colonists and they returned to Jamestown and repaired the fort. Improving fortunes In the decade to come Jamestown s situation would improve. Martial law was imposed solving however harshly some of the discipline problems experienced in the first three years of the colony. The problem of the colonists finding a marketable commodity was solved in 1612 when John Rolfe experimenting with tobacco seeds that may have been developed from Trinidad a marketable crop that could be exported to England. The english king James I would give the Virginia Company a monopoly on tobacco making the trade even more profitable. He even allowed the company to set up a lottery to provide further funds for the Jamestown venture. In April 1613 Pocahontas was captured and brought to Jamestown. Although she was supposed to be used to barter for English prisoners she turned into a catalyst for peace. She married John Rolfe in 1614 converting to Christianity and taking the name Rebecca Rolfe. Her father Powhatan reached a peace with The english that allowed the colony to expand its cultivated territory setting up new settlements including Henrico and Bermuda Hundred. Now oeafter five years intestine war with the revengeful implacable Indians a firm peace (not again easily to be broken) hath been concluded lately...wrote Governor Thomas Dale in 1614. Pocahontas Rolfe and their infant son Thomas would go to London where she became something of a celebrity. Tragically she died while the three of them prepared to return to Virginia leaving Rolfe to return to Virginia alone leaving their son in the care of an English family. With the development of tobacco and the need for labor to grow the crop and food supplies several thousand more colonists were sent in the late 1610s and early 1620s. Many of them died after arriving being prepared ill and lacking proper clothing and food supplies. One notable change in settlement policy started in 1619 when the company allowed single woman to travel to Jamestown which in its early years had been a largely male-only settlement. The company hoped that this would encourage the male colonists to settle down rather than return to England after making some money. oeboth at the time and since many have maligned these recruits and charged that the company swept up women off the streets to found families across the ocean. Kupperman writes. She notes that recently discovered documents have shown that in fact they had to have a certificate from their church minister and the company noted the particular skills each possessed. Also in 1619 a Dutch ship arrived at Jamestown and for traded food supplies from the ship's cargo of 20 and odd negroes originally from Angola. Kupperman writes that slavery as it was defined later did not yet exist in the Chesapeake and some of these Africans lived to achieve their freedom. They worked as indentured servants (as many English newcomers did) but were forced to work for longer terms. Â In that same year an elected assembly met for the first time in Jamestown to discuss issues facing the growing colony. oethis assembly was the first expression English representative government in North america writes William Kelso who directs excavations at Jamestown in his book Jamestown: The Buried Truth (University of Virginia Press 2006) An attack too late Things changed for The english after the death of Powhatan in 1618 the leader whom The english had made a peace with. With the colony growing the settlers using more land and making more aggressive attempts to convert the aboriginal people to Christianity the stage was set for a showdown. Opechancanough Powhatan's successor felt threatened by the growing English presence. In 1622 he launched a surprise attack in an attempt to wipe out the colony now with a population of more than 1000 people in several plantations. Kupperman notes that officially the company claimed the attack killed 347 people although the actual death toll was likely higher. The english were forced to abandon some plantations and cluster closer together. While the attack succeeded in killing many English it failed in its aim of dislodging their presence. More settlers spurred on by poor economic conditions in England arrived to work on the plantations in time hoping to get land of their own. The attack gave The english the excuse they needed to wage war against Opechancanough s people sparing only the children so that they could be converted to Christianity and forced to work on The english plantations. This war was a take-no-quarters affair Kupperman writes. oein 1623 they invited Indian leaders to a peace parley where they served poisoned wine and then fired on the disabled Indians. The company offered a reward for anyone who could capture Opechancanough. In time with new settlers flowing in The english would gain control of the Chesapeake bay area and launch new colonies (including Plymouth in 1620) along the eastern seaboard of the future United states. In May 1624 the Virginia Company was dissolved formally and Jamestown became a crown colony. With the growth of new settlements In virginia and the improving military situation of The english the original fort site became redundant. As oejamestown grew into a New Town to the east written reference to the original fort disappear. Jamestown remained the capital of virginia until its major statehouse located on the western end of Preservation Virginia property burned in 1698 write researchers with the Jamestown Rediscovery Project in an article on their website. Rediscovery of the original fort Kelso notes that starting in 1994 the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) conducted archaeological work to see if there was anything remaining of the original Jamestown fort. It was believed widely at the time that the fort had been washed away into the James river. Excavations revealed that the archaeological remains were still present. They found holes where the triangular palisade had stood once along with remains of three bulwarks used to strengthen its defences. They also found five churches (one replacing the other) row houses including a structure that appears to be the governor s house a blacksmith shop and barracks among other features. Â In his book Kelso recalled some British tourists who came to talk to him while he was excavating the remains of a wall that consisted of a black stain in the clay (the wall was made of perishable material that had decayed away leaving a stain). The british tourists were startled that the first English settlement which paved the way to modern America was made so simply. oeyou mean that s it? That s all there is? America the last of the world s superpowers began as...just dirt? One of The british tourists asked. oeno there was just dirt Kelso answered. oebut you know what else? I guess plenty of well just hope. oeoh brilliant! the tourists exclaimed in unison oebrilliant indeed! Owen Jarus is based a writer in Toronto Canada. His main areas of expertiseâ are history archaeology and urban & regional planning. He has written also articles on health politicsâ community events educationâ and amateur sports. His work has appeared in a wide varietyâ of publications. His website is http://www. owenjarus. com. p

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