The Colonial History of Jamestown Virginia

Overview:
The first permanent American Colony came hoping for a better future. They had a difficult life and constantly faced death while establishing Jamestown. Everyone in the end worked together and persevered through their adversity. This perseverance is what helped to shape America today.

History of:
People from England with few opportunities there decided to take the Virginia Company up on their offer to start a colony in Virginia. The poor English people traded up to seven years of labor for the ability to start a new life in a new land and were called indentured servants. There were also men who came from wealthy important English families. These men called "gentlemen" dressed well, had military experience and were the only people who new how to use guns. They were second or third generation males who wouldn't have inherited their families wealth since that went to the first born. These young men came for adventure and the possibility of gaining their own wealth. They spent 5 months traveling the Atlantic Ocean before going ashore. They chose a piece of land that was surrounded by water with only a small piece of land connecting it to the mainland because it provided the protection they wanted. Later they realized the land they had chosen was inhabited by indians and was marshy. Their choice in land caused many of the colonist to die an early death either at the hands of the indians, hunger or disease.

Risk Factors:
The settlers hoped that coming to America would give them opportunities that England could not. The 104 colonists that first came to Jamestown didn't realize the risk they were taking. Many of those new settlers died horrible deaths either by the indians or disease, but new colonists came anyway. When the "starving time" came approximately, half died. By the end of this period in 1610 they had all they could take and got on a ship to go back to England. They saw another ship going to Jamestown as they were leaving. It was carrying their new governor and some supplies. They all decided to go back and try again.

Time Frame:
In 1607 one hundred and four settlers founded Jamestown, Virginia. By the end of the same year two-thirds had died either by indians, disease or hunger. Those people left had to go through a drought in 1609-1610 which caused more to die of starvation leaving the settlers left to feel hopeless. The next year a man named John Rolfe brought a new type of tobacco from Trinidad that became popular. The tobacco crops were sold back in England allowing some of the new settlers to become wealthy. They were still having problems with the indians during this time. They decided to kidnap the indian chief's daughter in 1613 so they could trade her for some of their men captured by the indians. The chief still wouldn't give the English men back so they kept his daughter. Rolfe married the chief's daughter named Pocahontas in 1614. This marriage brought about a time of peace between the settlers and the indians. This lasted until around 1622 after Pocahontas and her father die, and a new chief took over. There were several indian attacks until 1676 when the settlers fought back. The indians lost many, which lead to them signing a treaty. The indians promised peace while the settlers gave them some land for a yearly price.

Geography:
The settlers chose the land for security reasons. They didn't realize that indians that were away hunting lived all around the area nor did they consider the land itself. Jamestown was so close to the ocean that the river water either had a salty taste or was muddy. The land was low causing it to be marshy. As time progressed, the colonists built a fort to protect them from indian attacks. These forced living conditions in such a small area caused many to die of diseases. To try to prevent people from getting sick the waste had to be taken outside the fort far enough away so not to contaminate the water. The people that had this unfortunate job had to risk getting killed by arrows to accomplish this task though.

Significance:
Some of the decisions that were made for the founding of Jamestown had historical significance. The first American colonists that came there were of different social classes. The indentured servants and the "gentlemen" both had to learn to work side by side for the good of the colony as a whole. This was not something that typically occurred in England and help to establish modern day working America. The new American Colony was also shaped by John Rolfe who brought a new kind of tobacco in hopes of producing a prophet for the Virginia Company. This crop was so successful that the Virginia Company started giving people some of the land in the colony.

The company hoped to encourage more people to go to Virginia and for the existing colonists to work more so that more tobacco would be produced. This decision by the Virginia company helped to make some of the colonists wealthy and started plantations. The decision to give the Indians some land in exchange for peace and yearly payment still goes on today.