The History of Jamestown
The New World had been founded and during the 17th century England still had no claims to any part of it. King James I established two companies, made up of merchants and adventurers, the London Company and the Plymouth Company, combined they were known as the Virginia Company. The London Company was the first company to send three ships in search of three particular things, gold, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and a route to the South Seas. These three ships were called, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. Stormy weather and high winds delayed their voyage for 6 weeks. On May 14, 1607 the three ships arrived at an island in the James River, named for their King. They landed 60 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It had been a long and difficult journey but 105 out of 150 colonists survived. They sanctioned the island on which they landed, Jamestown. Many traditional scholars feel that the pioneers above the ship were very ill suited for the task since Captain John Smith identified half of the men as "gentlemen". If they were gentlemen then what would they know about building colony? Almost immediately after landing, the colonists were attacked by the Algonquian nat
Although, some colonists were against it, there were many more who were happy about it. But no matter what view the colonists had about slavery, they did not see slaves in a legal sense, they were just more indentured servants. They thought that it was wrong and should not be done. Then the capital was moved to Williamsburg and Jamestown slowly began to disappear above ground. The House of Burgesses declared war on the Indians, but tried to make deals with those Indians that cooperated. Pocahontas was the favorite daughter of Powhatan, Algonquian chief. That June after the "starving time", those survivors decided to bury their cannon and armor and abandon the town. The London businessmen who were investing their money into Jamestown soon realized that men in a town could not build a stable community. They were even listed as servants in the census counts of 1623 and 1624. The first few winters in Jamestown were the hardest for the colonists. The population fluctuated extremely over time because of food shortage, epidemics, and Indian attacks. By 1619, ten tons of tobacco was being exported to Europe. Of the 105 who landed on May 14th, only 38 survived the 1st winter. Hardships were not over but peace followed Pocahontas' and John Rolfe's wedding. Slavery was not finally recognized in Jamestown until 1661.
Common topics in this essay:
John Smith,
Africans Slavery,
Officers Virginia,
Rolfe Powhatan's,
House Burgesses,
Powhatan English,
Rebellion Bacon's,
Chesapeake Bay,
Powhatan Algonquian,
Algonquian Indians,
house burgesses,
indentured servants,
legislative assembly,
virginia company,
colonists happy,
deals indians,
bacon's rebellion,
algonquian indians,
returned jamestown,
john rolfe,
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Acceptance Essays
