JamestownMr. Serra US History

The Myth

The myth

The Truth

Beginnings

After Columbus in 1492, the race to colonize the Americas was won by the Spanish

Efforts by the English to colonize the Americas were met with failure

A prime example of this was the “lost colony” of Roanoke founded in 1587

Beginnings

In 1606, King James 1 granted a charter to a new venture company, the Virginia Company, to form a colony in North America.

Named after Elizabeth 1, the “virgin queen”, The Virginia Company hoped to find gold and silver in the New World and a river route through North America, leading to the Orient.

Joint-Stock Venture

A prelude to modern-day corporations

Stock in the company was sold to rich investors who then provided the money for the company

Investing in a colony was risky because startup costs were extremely high and it often took years to make a profit

Original Virginia Company Charter

Joint-Stock Company

Investors in these colonies were often second sons from noble families

English law only allowed first-born males to inherit property

This led people like Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert to invest in joint-stock companies

Early Colonists

Roughly 100 colonists left England in December 1606 and landed in the Chesapeake Bay by April.

After searching for a suitable site, they chose the land that would become Jamestown on May 14th,1607.

Jamestown, 1607.

Struggles

The original settlers of Jamestown quickly proved unfit for the task of establishing a lasting community

These were nobles and skilled workers who came to North America expecting a land of gold and silver

They were unaware of the tremendous struggles that awaited them

Stuggles

These people had come to the New World in search of riches but for most, they only found death

The area around their settlement was particularly prone to disease

Their primary water source was “brackish”, a mixture of salt and fresh water. This water is poisonous if readily consumed.

Many of these early settlers drank themselves to death.

Starvation

These early settlers were driven by their quest for gold

They spent little time farming

Food supplies quickly ran out, malaria and a rigid winter awaited the colonists

Only 38 of the original 144 colonists survived

“The Starving Time”

The colony saw a brief period of prosperity under John Smith and his “work or die” plan

Smith returns to England in 1609, the starving time begins.

Disease and hunger ravage the colony. Some colonists eat their shoes, some turn to cannabilism

Salvation

The colony was never a monetary success, it was bankrupt by 1624

Jamestown’s saving grace was the constant influx of new settlers

It is estimated that for every six colonists who came to The New World, only one survived.