Development of Jamestown

Almost four hundred years ago a group of families from England built the first permanent settlement on the shores of the New World. This town Jamestown, Virginia, named after James I, the King of England. Jamestown was not the first English colony in Virginia, but it had been the first one to be successful. Twenty years earlier, a colony had been started about one hundred miles south of Jamestown, on Roanoke Island that proved to be unsuccessful.

On March 25, 1584, Walter Raleigh obtained from Queen Elizabeth a patent to "discover, search, find out, and view" any lands "not actually possessed of any Christian prince, nor inhabited by Christian people." The patent was approved to "go or travel thither to inhabited or remained, there to build and fortified" for a period of six years.

Within a month Walter Raleigh had dispatched a fleet of two ships commanded by Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe. They sailed from London on April 27th through the West Indies and sighted land off our coast on the 4th of July 1584. (Smith, 58-65)

In late July and early August 1585, Grenville returned to Plymouth. Ralph Lane and his men were expecting to receive supplies and possibly reinforcements in early spring. Their expectations of early relief were not met and on June 1, 1586, Sir Francis Drake stopped by Roanoke after an expedition against the Spanish in the West Indies. His intentions were to pay a visit, but, seeing Lane's situation, he agreed to leave supplies and a ship for use in further explorations. Lane was persuaded to accept this offer and continue to wait for more substantial relief from home. A severe storm, however, drove some of Drake's ships to sea and the colony decided not to risk their lives further. They accepted the opportunity to return home with Drake. (Fishwick, 78-84)

Within a month after the colony's departure the expected relief arrived in the form of a fleet of three ships commanded by Grenville. Failing to find the colony, Grenville left fifteen or eighteen men "furnished plentifully with all manner of provisions for two years" and returned home. The fate of Roanoke Island is unknown.

In 1606, James I of England wanted to start a colony in North America. With the help of other men, he created a joint-stock company. This company was the Virginia Company of London. Acting as the president of the company, James I gave the men three orders. He wanted them to find gold, find a route to the South Seas, and find the Lost Colony of Roanoke. To encourage people to travel with the Virginia Company of London, they began to advertise. The Virginia Company of London tried to tell people about the wealth that they could find in North America.

Initially, the Virginia Company intended emigrants to the colony to sign contracts binding them to serve seven years in return for transportation, food, and clothing. This proved unworkable, and the service contracts were soon transferred to private individuals who were willing to ...