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Crossing the sea
The ships Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, took 105 people from Engalnd with the goal 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. (date unknown) -
Problems for the colonists
The small English outpost was located in the land of about 14,000 Algonquain-speaking Indians ruled by the powerful leader Powhatan. Even though the English traded with the Indians, their relationship was not very good. Disease came becaseue of lack of food and the water was not good for drinking. They were also in a different climate from England's, so they became sick. (exact date not known) -
Starting the Settlement
After 2 weeks of exploring the James River, the ships arrived at a spot selected for its deep water anchorage and good defensive position. On May 14th the passengers came ashore and started construction of the town. -
Captain Smith
Captain Smith became the colony's leader in September 1608. He established a "no work, no food" policy. This meant that if you didn't work, you didn't eat. Smith had been important in trading with the Powhatan Indians for food. Howerer, in the fall of 1609 he was injured by burning gunpowder and left for England. Smith never returned to the colony. (exact date unknown) -
Hope for the colonists
After Smith left the colony, the “starving time” began. That was when fighting broke out between the colonists and Indians and there were deaths of many colonists from starvation and disease. Just when the colonists were going to leave in the spring of 1610, new settlers with supplies came from England, with a second charter issued by King James I. The charter said that they would be run by a governor who served with a group of advisers -
Jamestown Profits
In order to make money for the Virginia Company, which paid for the trip to the New World, the settlers tried different kinds of work,including glassmaking, wood production, and pitch and tar and potash manufacturing. None of these worked until John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a cash crop in 1613. Because of this, the Virginia colony began to grow rapidly -
Slaves in 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. These first Africans were treated like indentured servants, but by the middle of the century Africans were starting to be treated as slaves. The amount of African slaves increased greatly in the second half of the 17th century, replacing indentured servants as the main source of work. -
Aftermath
The first representative government in British America began at Jamestown in 1619 with a general assembly because settlers wanted to vote in the laws governing them. The Virginia Company was dissolved by the king in 1624 and Virginia became a royal colony. Jamestown continued as the main settlement of Virginia's political and social life until 1699 when the seat of government moved to Williamsburg. By the mid-1700s, Jamestown was no longer a town. (day and month unknown)
