The Founding of Jamestown

Illustration: The first English settlers arrive at Jamestown in 1607.

 In April, 1607, three ships reached the wild coast of Virginia. On board were 100 English adventures. Dreams of gold and glory had carried them on a stormy four month voyage across the Atlantic. Now the ships- Discovery, Godspeed, and Susan Constant- sailed 60 miles up a river that emptied into Chesapeake Bay. There the men landed and built a fort. They named the settlement "Jamestown" for James I of England.

Jamestown became the first permanent English colony in america. But it nearly didn't survive. The colonists were more interested in digging for gold than in planting crops. Their fort was built on swampy ground, and the drinking water was bad. Disease, starvation, and Indian attacks killed halfthe settlers. Then Captain John Smith took over. He forced the colonists to work. And he persuaded Powhatan, a local chief, to give them food. Even so, Jamestown was almost abondoned during a terrible winter in 1609-1610, "the starving time."

New settlers and supplies arrived in time to save the colony. Tobacco turned out to be a very profitable crop. And when a number of women arrived in 1619, some of the settlers married and built permanent homes. That same year, colonists formed the House of Burgesses, the first representative legislature in America.

DID YOU KNOW....John Rolfe, who first grew tobacco inJamestown, married Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan.

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