Jamestown Colony In 1607 King James of England

Jamestown Colony

In 1607 King James of England allowed a group of wealthy people to start a colony in what will become Virginia.

The purpose of this settlement was to gain wealth from the natural resources of the area. Virginia Company

Captain Christopher Newport led the expedition. As soon as the ships docked on the James River, the 105 passengers immediately started to create their settlement. In honor of King James, they named the settlement, "Jamestown"

After a short time of living in Jamestown, the colonists realized they were living in the middle of a Native American Chiefdom. Although they had learned to trade with the Natives, the colonists and the Native Americans had a strained relationship.

The colonists were not used to the climate of the new land. And they were not able to successfully farm and tend enough food to feed everyone. Most colonist men of Jamestown were wealthy, and upper class. They were not used to having to provide for themselves.

The colony was in desperate need of a strong leader. This leader was Captain John Smith. Captain Smith saw some major problems in the colonists. The men did not want to work! Smith created a "No work, No eat" policy. This made all of the colonists pull their own weight.

Trading between the Natives and the colonists was inconsistent. At some points, Native Americans captured the colonists and vice Versa. Pocahontas saves John Smith

Eventually John Smith created a balance between the Natives and his colony. The Chief's daughter, Pocahontas, even taught the colonists how to hunt, fish and plant crops.

Just as things were starting to look positively for the colonists, John Smith was injured by exploding gun powder, the following year. His injuries were so bad, he had to leave and go back to England.

Once John Smith left, the Native American tribes were no longer willing to help them. These Natives (Powhatan) were not sure if the next leader would be as kind to them as Smith was. Because of this, the Colonists faced a "Starving time" where they did anything they needed to do to survive. . .

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The colonists were about to give up on starting a colony here when another group of settlers that the King sent to help, landed on the shores with supplies and new people to help start the colony.

Because the colonists were spending most of their time learning to survive, they never had any time to look for gold. Yet the King sent them there to find riches. The colonists knew they needed to find something of use in this new land if they wanted to stay there, or to please their King.

The colonists had new hope that they would find wealth in the new land. And they were right! A colonist by the name of John Rolfe found a new way to grow a sweet tobacco. Quickly they sent ships of it back to England. Hopefully this would please the King!

King James was so proud of his colonists. He deemed this tobacco "Virginia's gold". This tobacco would make him even more wealthy!

By 1619 Jamestown was flourishing. Every colonist was given 50 acres to farm with. Some Native Americans even started helping them again. England also sent a group of women over to Jamestown so men could marry and start their own families.

Everything was running very smoothly for the colonists. They even started to make their own government. They called this the House of Burgesses. (Only wealthy men could be in government)

Although the Native Americans have a neutral respect for the colonists, they started to worry about all of the colonists starting to settle in their Chiefdom. Their precious land was being over run with colonists.

John Rolfe married the chief's daughter, Pocahontas. During this time, the Native Americans and the colonists were at peace. Pocahontas even traveled to England to visit King James. The King was very thankful for all of her help with his colonists. But before Pocahontas could return home, she became ill and died.

Soon after Pocahontas died, Powhatan, the chief of the tribe, also died. This left his brother in charge of the entire Chiefdom. Although Powhatan was tolerant of the settlers on his land, this new leader (Opechancanough) was not. Right after he took over, the tribe was ordered to attack the colonists. This resulted in many deaths.

Although there were many deaths, the colony continued to grow, as the colonists had learned to farm, and tend the land. A majority of the families who created the colony, remained there throughout the American Revolution.