Catherine McGrew Jaime - Jamestown: The Birth of a Nation

Written by Catherine McGrew Jaime & DeeFuller Smashwords Edition Copyright 2007 by Catherine McGrew Jaime Smashwords Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoymentonly. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people.If you would like to share this ebook with another person, pleasepurchase an additional copy for each recipient. If youre readingthis book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for youruse only, please return to www.Smashwords.com andpurchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work ofthis author. Introduction Most Americans think of 1776 as the birth of ournation. But our countrys beginnings can be traced back 169 yearsbefore we declared our independence from England.

Jamestown, thefirst permanent roots in British America was settled in 1607.There had been Europeans in America before 1607 the Spanish hadsettled in St. Augustine (Florida) in 1565 and the English hadattempted settlements in Roanoke (North Carolina) in 1585 and 1587.But Jamestown was different than the others: it was English, and itwas successful. By 1619, one year before the Pilgrims had even landedin Plymouth; Jamestown had established the first representativegovernment in America. From those English roots would grow 13English colonies which would officially become the United Statesof America in 1776. Jamestown v. Plymouth The settlement at Jamestown was different in manyways than the Plymouth settlement that would come almost twodecades later.

The Pilgrims would come as families in the firstship; 102 passengers came aboard the Mayflower, making the 65 daytrip across the Atlantic Ocean. Most of them came for religiousreasons Conversely, Jamestown was a work group an outpostto begin Englands pursuit of wealth in the New World. Jamestownwas also an all-male colony initially: 105 men and boys leftEngland in December 1606 and 104 made it safely to the shores ofVirginia in May of 1607. Women and families would come later. ~~ 16th Century 1526 The Spanish, under the leadership of Lucas Vazquez deAyllon, make their first attempt at settling in what would laterbecome the United States. The colony of San Miguel de Guadalupe(possibly in present day South Carolina) is established with 500 600 men, women, and children.

Less than two months later, whendisease, slave revolts, and Indian attacks unsettle the new colony,less than 150 of the colonists make it safely back to Hispaniola (aCaribbean island). ~ 1558 Elizabeth becomes Queen of England when her sister,Queen Mary, dies. Queen Elizabeth is anxious to have England get ashare of the wealth in the New World that the Spanish have beentaking back to Europe by the shiploads. ~ 1562 - 1564 The French attempt their first settlement inFlorida (an area already claimed by the Spanish). Many of thesetters are Huguenots, escaping religious persecution at home. 1565 Fort Caroline is attacked by the Spanish, and most ofthe French are massacred. 1565 Fort Caroline is attacked by the Spanish, and most ofthe French are massacred.

The Spanish settle St. Augustine about 40miles away (Florida), the first successful, permanent Europeansettlement in North America. ~ 1570s Wahunsonacock (later called Chief Powhatan by theEnglish) inherits a chiefdom of six tribes on the upper James andmiddle York Rivers. He will eventually govern a confederacy of 30tribes with upwards of 14,000 Indians. ~ 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh christens the North American coastVirginia for the Virgin Queen (Queen Elizabeth I). ~ 1587 The second Roanoke Colony includes 150 men, women,and children. ~ 1587 The second Roanoke Colony includes 150 men, women,and children.

One month after getting the colonists settled,Governor John White returns to England for supplies. ~ 1590 After a 3-year delay due primarily to war betweenEngland and Spain, John White finally returns to the New World todiscover that the Roanoke Colony has been abandoned. No trace canbe found of the colonists he had left behind, including hisson-in-law, Ananias Dare, his daughter Eleanor, and hisgranddaughter, Virginia. ~~ 17th Century 1603 When Queen Elizabeth I dies, her cousin, King JamesVI of Scotland becomes James I of England. War has just endedbetween Spain and England, and King James is interested in furtherattempts at colonizing the New World. ~ 1606 Unbeknownst to the English, a seven year droughtbegins in Virginia.

With a charter from King James, three ships, SusanConstant, Godspeed, and Discovery, leave England with 105 Englishsettlers (men and boys) heading for Jamestown. It is an economicventure intended to make money for the Virginia Company of London(also referred to as London Company or Virginia Company). Theirgoals are to find gold, find the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and tofind a new route to the Pacific (the South Sea). It is the first of five voyages to Jamestown thatCaptain Newport (captain of the Susan Constant) will make. The three ships travel from England to Africa to theCaribbean to the Virginia Coast with a total of 144 passengers(colonists and crew). ~ 1607 After 4 months of traveling, 104 of the 105Englishmen land on the coast of Virginia (1 died during their stopin the Caribbean). ~ 1607 After 4 months of traveling, 104 of the 105Englishmen land on the coast of Virginia (1 died during their stopin the Caribbean).

Landfall is first made at Cape Henry (named inhonor of Henry, Prince of Wales). There Chaplain Robert Hunt offersa prayer and they erect a cross. A sealed box contains details of who will lead thecolony. When the secret orders are read, Captain John Smith isannounced as one of the seven leaders. Two weeks later, the settlers select the site thatwill become Jamestown, on an area they wrongly believe to be anisland. It turns out to be a less than ideal site.

Many of the gentlemen in the company (who comprisealmost half of the colonists) are not accustomed to working withtheir hands. Smith does not win friends with his attitude of ifyou dont work, you dont eat. But within a couple of months,Smiths determination insures that James Fort is built. By the fall, half of the colonists have died fromillnesses. While exploring, John Smith is captured byOpechancanough, Chief Powhatans brother and taken to the Chief.One common version of the event is that Smith is only releasedafter Powhatans young daughter, Pocahontas, intervenes. ~ 1608 By time Christopher Newport returns with supplies inthe spring, all but 38 of the settlers have died from starvationdisease, and attacks by Indians.

In the fall Newport arrives with more supplies andmore settlers including the first women: Mrs. Forrest and herservant, Anne Burras. Anne is married to a colonist, John Laydon,before the end of the year, the first marriage in the Virginiacolony. A few craftsmen from Poland and Germany arrive also.They try glass blowing as a money making enterprise. It is onlymarginally successful. ~ 1609 Another 300 - 400 colonists, including women andchildren, arrive in the colony, with little in the way ofadditional food or supplies.

After a freak gunpowder accident, John Smith goesback to England for medical treatment. There are ~500 colonists atthe time of his departure. Smith never returns to Virginia. Whileback in England, he writes of his experiences in Virginia. ~ 1609 1610 Eighty (80)% of the settlers at Jamestown die duringthe Starving Time. ~ 1610 The Sea Venture, headed to Virginia with much neededsupplies, shipwrecks in Bermuda.

When it finally arrives inJamestown with Sir Thomas Gates, acting governor, he establishesmartial law. Two weeks later he prepares to take the remainingsurvivors (less than 100) back to England. Governor West, Lord dela Warre, arrives on the ship Deliverance, just in time withsupplies and new settlers, and turns the Sea Venture backaround. ~ 1611 Colonists have built the interior town at Jamestown:complete with houses; a church; and three storehouses. ~ 1612 One of the newer arrivals in the colony, John Rolfe,experiments with a new strain of tobacco he has brought from theCaribbean. His hope is that it will become a cash crop.