Early English Settlement In Virginia

Words: 850
Pages: 4
Open Document
Virginia, home to the first permanent English settlement in North America. This settlement occurred on May, 1607, which was 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. But, it was roughly a year before (June, 1606) when King James the first told a group of London entrepreneurs (known as the Virginia Company) to establish an English settlement in the Chesapeake region of North America. On December, 1606, approximately 104 settlers sailed from London. They were specifically instructed to settle in Virginia. It was exactly on May 14, 1607, when the Virginia Company landed on Jamestown Island. The Natives who already inhabited the land, weren’t too thrilled about these new settlers, due to the diseases and other …show more content…
This failure continued until the arrival of a new group of settlers and supplies in 1610. The government, language, customs, beliefs and objectives of these early Virginians are all part of the United States’ heritage today. The people in the Virginia Company did not just wake up one day and choose to settle in another land. They were instructed by King James to complete various tasks for him. The condition in England during the 16th and 17th centuries were dealing with monumental changes in both rural and urban areas. These economic changes increased the demand for woolen cloth. To control the demand for wool, farmers received more land to supply there sheep’s. Afterwards, merchants sold the wool throughout Europe. While landowners, wool manufacturers and merchants began to get very wealthy, many of the migrants had to beg or steal to survive. The people of England thought that moving to a new area would be a great idea, and so did …show more content…
Serious problems soon emerged. About 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Indians ruled the area. Their leader was Powhatan. The colonies’ relationship with the Powhatan Indians were as thin as a string. Even though there relations weren’t good, trading opportunities were established. The native attackers was not the only problem for the colonies. The other major problems were an unfamiliar climate, as well as brackish water supply and lack of food, conditions possibly aggravated by a long going drought. These issues led to disease and death. Many of the original colonists were upper-class Englishmen. Since these higher classed people always had their jobs done for them, the colony lacked sufficient laborers and skilled farmers. The colonists were so weakened from sickness that it was reported they could hardly stand. Most died from famine, but the major killer was more likely polluted river water. The water was full of “slime and filth,” which led to salt poisoning, dysentery and typhoid. In the beginning, the settlement had 104 men. Unfortunately, more than half of that population died before the end of September. Only about 50 survived as winter approached. The colony was on the edge of extinction. With their first Captain gone and Captain Gosnold dying shortly afterwards, the leadership atomized, and the men began quarreling among themselves. It almost became full on anarchy. It was around this time that the Powhatans, rather than
Show More

Related Documents: Early English Settlement In Virginia

Jamestown Colony Research Paper

“discovered” by Columbus and his men. From there on, many countries wanted their claim in the New World, and England was one of them. The English sailed into North America in May of 1607, over a century from when it was discovered, and settled on a peninsula in Virginia. The settlement is commonly known as the Jamestown colony. The Jamestown colony was the English’s second settlement in the New World, after the disappearance of the first, Roanoke. The settlers experienced many deaths due to disease and starvation…

Words 947 - Pages 4

13 Colonies Dbq

of the most important reasons for the unique developments of the two societies was the founding of the colonies. In the early 1600s, a joint-stock company, the London Company of Virginia, was formed to settle an English colony in Virginia. The London Company wanted mainly to settle this colony for economic growth and prosperity. In the early years of settlement in the Virginia area, the Englishman spent most of their time searching for the famous gold that the earth had to offer. It was not uncommon…

Words 188 - Pages 1

Rediscovering Jamestown

Rediscovering Jamestown: Review and Summary of Significant Findings Jamestown, Virginia is the location of the first English settlement in America. King James I initiated the settlement process by chartering the Virginia Company to build a fortified settlement. Moreover, the company’s tertiary interests included locating both gold deposits and a waterway route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1607, the first settlers landed and began working on the construction aspect of the charter. The years following…

Words 1481 - Pages 6

Colonial Virginia Essay

The colony of Virginia was a very important part of American history. Virginia is now known as “the mother of states”, but there is a reason for this nickname. Not only was it one of the original 13 colonies, it was the first colony established, thanks to an English man named John Smith. There were many key events in our history that happened in the colony of Virginia. The government, language, customs, and beliefs of these early Virginians are all part of the United States’ heritage today.…

Words 862 - Pages 4

Why Did The English Coming To America And What Kinds Of Societies Did They Form?

Pageant Chapter 2 Study Questions The Big Question: Why did the English come to America and what kinds of societies did they form? The primary motives for English expansion to America included unemployment and a thirst for adventure, for markets, and for religious freedom. Poor people in England without a job needed a way to improve their life, and the only chance of that rode on the "New World" colonies. Coming over by charters or by the orders of the crown, England's poor ventured to…

Words 1357 - Pages 6

Colonization and Conflict in the South, 1600-1750 Essay

becoming havens for the English poor and unemployed, or models of interracial harmony, the southern colonies of seventeenth-century North America were weakened by disease, wracked by recurring conflicts with Native Americans, and disrupted by profit-hungry planters’ exploitation of poor whites and blacks alike. Many of the tragedies of Spanish colonization and England’s conquest of Ireland were repeated in the American South and the British Caribbean. Just as the English established their first outpost…

Words 1442 - Pages 6

How Did The Virginia Settlement Affect The Settlement In Jamestown

not easy in its early days to get started. During the 1500’s many countries were fighting over land and trying to get to the Americas because of the profit that could be made. England on the other hand was late about 100 years because of problems they were going through with their leaders and changing from protestant to catholic back and forth. The Virginia Company started the voyage to Virginia, which was lead by rich investors that believed they could make huge profits. The Virginia Company wanted…

Words 679 - Pages 3

Colonial Virginia Dbq Questions And Answers

religion in new land. The other colony of Virginia was settled before Massachusetts in 1609, by the Virginia Company. The company was controlled by two men, Walter Rolly and John Cabot, who seeked new opportunities for profit. Although Massachusetts and Virginia were both colonies, they evolved in separate manners, because of their reasons for settlement, the geography and climate, and their economies. Massachusetts and Virginia evolved in separate…

Words 1087 - Pages 5

Compare And Contrast The Spanish French And English Colonies

and English all had established some sort of major colonial settlement. Each of these three colonies had managed to find a way to find some sort of trade such as New Spain had mining and plantations, French had the fur trade, and tobacco and the family farm in the British North America. The Spanish, French and English had quite a few similarities but also some significances that profoundly affected the New World’s fate. The Spanish was the first European country to have the largest settlements and…

Words 245 - Pages 1

Compare And Contrast Jamestown And Plymouth

Jamestown and Plymouth. Jamestown was not settled until 1607. Both men and woman of Virginia and Massachusetts bay where they had their homes in English and the Netherlands had no burden of the old world guilt for those early in the atrocities. As Virginia and Plymouth had something in the common, they both experience self-governing taking in the early settlement. The House of Burgesses was built in the town Virginia in 1619, even as the Mayflower Compact was once agreed to through Plymouth's settlers…

Words 215 - Pages 1