The Jamestown Colony Disaster

The Jamestown Colony Disaster — page 1 — A NEW START 1 A NEW START On December 20 1606 three ships sailed from England Aboard them were a total of 105 men The men were traveling to Virginia in the New World Once they arrived they would establish a settlement there These explorers were funded by investors of London’s Virginia Company They hoped to find precious gold silver and other raw materials to send back to England The group arrived in Virginia in April 1607 One man had died on the journey The first task for the remaining 104 men was to choose a site for their new home By May 1607 they had found a Men from England arrived in Virginia in April 1607 4

The Jamestown Colony Disaster — page 2 — Jamestown was named for King James I location It was 60 miles 97 kilometers from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay The land was surrounded by water on three sides The water was deep enough to moor their ships The Spanish had already set up settlements in the New World This location would be easy to defend against Spanish invasions It also did not have any existing American Indian settlements The explorers named the new settlement Jamestown after their king James I It would become the first permanent English settlement in North America The site of Jamestown and the entire region of 5

The Jamestown Colony Disaster — page 3 — Virginia was not just an empty land American Indians including the Powhatan lived in the area The Powhatan Confederacy was a group of six tribes This strong alliance also had influence over about twenty-four other tribes in the region The area was also home to the Monacan They were enemies of the Powhatan The Powhatan called the land Tsenacomoco This translates as densely inhabited land and it was By the time the English settlers arrived one supreme chief also called Powhatan ruled the area Through alliances he had increased the size of Tsenacomoco It was about 8,000 square miles 20,700 square kilometers Fourteen thousand people lived there Most of the Powhatan lived in small villages of several hundred people The settlers wanted to avoid upsetting Powhatan and his people So they picked a site for Jamestown away from the other villages But the Powhatan had a good reason not to use this y a B e k a e p a s e h C Virginia Jamestown James River Atlantic Ocean 6

The Jamestown Colony Disaster — page 4 — Members of the Powhatan tribes may have watched the settlers as they built the Jamestown fort land for a village The site was marshy There was no fresh water Mosquitoes infested the area It was however the Powhatan’s traditional hunting land The American Indians first viewed the English settlers with suspicion Earlier Spanish explorers had been hostile The Powhatan attacked the first landing party of Jamestown settlers But later they offered the English cornbread and other gifts Chief Powhatan wanted the settlers to join the other communities Some of the settlers saw the Powhatan as potential trading partners They hoped to trade for food Others wanted to use American Indians as slaves and workers After choosing the site the settlers got to work building their settlement They unloaded tools and supplies They began clearing 7

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