by Greg Childers

Created on: December 19, 2008

The first English settlement in the new world was made at Jamestown in 1607. It was named in honor of England's James I who gave the Virginia Company of London a charter for settlement in Virginia. While there were numerous motives for English colonization in the New World the strongest one was to find gold; a desire that was no doubt fueled by watching Spain bring home load after load of gold from their settlements. However, there also existed in England a new religious zealousness with the country's recent conversion to Protestantism. This resulted into a strong desire to convert the Indians of America to Christianity. In addition, the goal exploration by finding a passage to the Indies through America was also important. With a surplus population, due to exceptional recent growth, and a new national spirit in England the seeds for exploration and adventure were ripe.

At first the new settlement was rife with hardships. By 1610 most of the would-be settlers had perished due to starvation at Jamestown or on the voyages between Virginia and England. The leadership of Captain John Smith who took control in 1608 probably saved Jamestown. He demanded work from all of the settlers, who had been wasting precious time searching for gold. Also, relations with the nearby Powhatan Indians were shaky initially until the daughter of the Powhatan chieftain, named Pocahantas, helped by improving them and providing foodstuffs for the colonists. However, with the arrival of a new governor in 1610, named Lord De La Warr, relations with the Indians soured dramatically. He carried instructions from the Virginia Company, which ordered aggressive measures against the Indians and resulted in numerous raids on their villages. After 1614 a fragile peace was followed by more conflicts, which culminated in a final struggle in 1644, when the natives were defeated and the subsequent treaty formally separated them from the colonists. Thereafter, the land hungry settlers continued their push westward and by 1685 the Powhatan people were considered extinct.

The real saving grace of Jamestown was tobacco. By 1616 John Rolfe had improved the quality of the finished tobacco product, which became the main economic force. Because tobacco damaged the soil where it was grown the broad-acred plantation system was used to rotate the crops. This in turn assured the steady influx of more colonists to fill the labor demands, therefore promoting growth in the colony. However, total reliance on tobacco did leave Virginia tied to the economic fortunes of a single crop. From the start the Virginia Company guaranteed to the new settlers the same rights as an Englishman in England. Later in 1619 the company also allowed the settlers to an assembly, called the House of Burgesses. This, at first, gave the colonists the ability to govern their own affairs and set a precedent for future English colonies in America. This privilege of self-government was later revoked in 1624 by James I and the colony was put under direct control of the monarchy. With the settlement in Virginia the momentous English experiment in the New World had begun.

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