Colonial Jamestown

A detailed Summary of Colonial Jamestown


In 1606 King James I set two companies, the London and the Plymouth, out with three instructions: find gold, find a route to the South Seas, and find the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Five months later, and forty-five men less, the London Company landed on a semi-island along the banks of a river the Indians knew as "Powhatan's River". On May 13, 1607, the first permanent British colony had been established in the form of a triangular fort. The men named their fort Jamestown, in honor of their King, and named their land Virginia, in honor or Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen".

"The company defined Virginia as the entire North American coast between 30º and 45ºN, and extending inland for 50 miles (80 kilometers). Virginia at one time stretched from southern Maine to California and encompassed all or part of 42 of the present 50 states, as well as Bermuda and part of the Canadian province of Ontario." (Gale group) At first, the men believed they had found paradise. The climate appeared mild, and the natives had reacted friendly. John Smith wrote, "Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man's habitations." (Colonial History) Then, the beautiful new world turned to blistering heat, s


The area soon became controlled by a handful of large plantation landholders with indentured laborers. Since few British colonists could finance their cost of passage, colonizing agencies fronted transportation costs. In exchange, emigrants agreed to work for the agencies as contract laborers for usually between four and seven years. Often, these contracts were sold to colonists with large estates. Though many indentured servants earned their freedom over time, more wealthy colonists were able to absorb New World land rapidly during early colonization. As experienced in other colonies, indentured servitude created an imbalance of economy and political power as Jamestown and the Chesapeake Bay colonies developed (Gordy 134). After indentured emigrants won their freedom, the situation also created a need for work force, which came in the form of a burgeoning slave trade.



Some common words found in the essay are:
West Indies', Chesapeake Bay, Puritans Quakers, Colonial History, Indians Smith's, Wampanoag Indians, John Smith, Powhatan's River, Bay Colony, Norman Davies, john smith, church england, colonial history, massachusetts bay,

Approximate Word count = 1057
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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