Early English Settlement In Virginia

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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
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