Jamestown
Brian Stark, Zach Van Kampen, Ben Weurful, and Shelby Thomas
Jamestowns Founding
Joint stock company's would invest in different colonies in the Americas in hopes of producing profit. The Virginia company wished for a colony along the eastern seaboard. When they reached Virginia and created a colony they named it Jamestown after King James I of England.
Virginia Company Insignia
Jamestown Colony
King James I of England
Attractions
- One of the Main Exports in Jamestown is Tobacco, money earned on said tobacco has earned the crown up to £400,000. a year.
- Jamestown is located on a peninsula with a narrow connection to the mainland, it is a good 50 miles from the mouth of Chesapeake bay, and due to its geographical location it is well suited to ward off Native attacks.
- The area is very convenient for settlement, due to an abundance of fresh water from inland streams, an abundance of animal and plant life, and fertile lands on which to grow crops.
Facts
- During the First two years after its creation Jamestown struggled to survive. Famine, Disease and conflict with the Natives threatened to wipe the settlers out.
- Tobacco was Virginia's first profitable export.
- During the 1620s Jamestown expanded from an area around the original James fort into a new town built to the east.
- The Colony of Virginia was named after Queen Elizabeth I. The name Virginia was derived from her nickname "The Virgin Queen".
Negatives of the Colony
- The colony is constantly being attacked by Algoquian tribesmen, though there has been a time of relative peace between the colony and the natives due to the marriage of the Algoquian princess Pocahontas to one John Rolfe.
- There has been a time of poor leadership and government due to the colony being so far away from the mother country.
- Widespread Diseases like Typhoid Fever and Small pox.
Trade in Jamestown
Trade in Jamestown includes almost anything and everything, crops, animal skins, jewelry, and other assorted items. Almost anyone can make a suitable life in Jamestown as long as they are willing to put effort into this growing community.
Indian Relations
Early relations with the Natives have mostly been hostile. This hostility is largely base on the native treatment from the Spanish. The Indians soon began to offer food and friendly relations under chief Powhatan, But the English never returned the hospitality and this angered the Chief. Skirmishes began to break out and during the next decade colonists began to construct search and destroy raids on Native settlements. Powhatan was then forced into a slight truce when the colonists captured his daughter Pocahontas, which resulted in her falling in love with an marrying a colonists named John Rolfe.