Imagine yourself stuck in a cramped, dark room for four months straight. Now imagine leaving your home where you grew up your whole life and not knowing if you would ever return. This is what every settler endured when they embarked on this treacherous journey. The people that sailed on this journey were only the beginning of what was to become one of the most powerful countries on earth. Jamestown, Virginia became the first successful British colony in the new world because of the determination of the settlers, the leadership the colony had, and the help of the Native Americans.
This epic journey started with a charter granted by King James I. A group of about 100 people set sail from England in December of 1606. A fleet of three ships took …show more content…
Rolfe differed from Smith in many ways; Rolfe was not a president, but a business leader. He was born in 1585 in Norfolk, England. Little is known of his early life, but there is knowledge that he was the son of a landowner in Norfolk. In May of 1609, he boarded the Sea Venture with his wife and headed for Virginia. The Sea Venture was the leading ship of the fleet that held 500 new settlers for the new colony of Jamestown. During the journey a hurricane blew them off course and destroyed the ship near the Bermudas. Luckily, all of the people aboard safely reached the island and retained most of the supplies from the wreckage. The ten month stay on the island led to the birth of Rolfe’s first daughter named Bermuda. Due to sickness within the island his wife and daughter died. In 1610 the survivors made two small ships from trees and wreckage from the prior ship and sailed for ten days to reach the Chesapeake Bay. When Rolfe entered the colony he saw the colonist struggle to return money to their sponsors in the Virginia Company. They had tried many different things to make money like “glassmaking, silk making, and lumbering” (historicjamestowne.org) with no success. Rolfe had experimented with tobacco seeds he acquired from the Caribbean and Trinidad. The tobacco market had been controlled by Spain at that time. Rolfe gave some of his new tobacco to his friends to try and they said that the new leaf “smoked pleasant, sweet, …show more content…
There were multiple tribes around the Chesapeake Bay Area, but the main tribe the settlers dealt with was the Powhatan Indians. The Powhatan Indians inhabited America long before the settlers arrived. They built over 200 villages in the surrounding region, this came to be known as Tsenacommacah (biography.com). The Indians had prior exposure to explorers, the Spanish, around 1570. The Powhatan lived a simple farm life and grew many crops including, squash, beans, gourds, and the most important crop, corn. They usually farmed in the summer and spring months and hunted in the winter time. It was primarily the men 's job to hunt. The tribe used traditional bow and arrow hunting methods to kill large animals such as deer, and used traps to catch smaller animals like beavers. The Indians never wasted any part of an animal they had killed so, these creatures provided in many different ways than just a source of food. They often made clothes, beds, and blankets from the hide and tools from the bone. In addition to hunting the men also fished. They used canoes made from hollowed out trees and fished in the rivers around their villages. These farming and hunting practices will prove useful to the early settlers later on. The main source of transportation for the Indians was by canoe. They used the waterways like current day roads. They could travel easily from village to village
This epic journey started with a charter granted by King James I. A group of about 100 people set sail from England in December of 1606. A fleet of three ships took …show more content…
Rolfe differed from Smith in many ways; Rolfe was not a president, but a business leader. He was born in 1585 in Norfolk, England. Little is known of his early life, but there is knowledge that he was the son of a landowner in Norfolk. In May of 1609, he boarded the Sea Venture with his wife and headed for Virginia. The Sea Venture was the leading ship of the fleet that held 500 new settlers for the new colony of Jamestown. During the journey a hurricane blew them off course and destroyed the ship near the Bermudas. Luckily, all of the people aboard safely reached the island and retained most of the supplies from the wreckage. The ten month stay on the island led to the birth of Rolfe’s first daughter named Bermuda. Due to sickness within the island his wife and daughter died. In 1610 the survivors made two small ships from trees and wreckage from the prior ship and sailed for ten days to reach the Chesapeake Bay. When Rolfe entered the colony he saw the colonist struggle to return money to their sponsors in the Virginia Company. They had tried many different things to make money like “glassmaking, silk making, and lumbering” (historicjamestowne.org) with no success. Rolfe had experimented with tobacco seeds he acquired from the Caribbean and Trinidad. The tobacco market had been controlled by Spain at that time. Rolfe gave some of his new tobacco to his friends to try and they said that the new leaf “smoked pleasant, sweet, …show more content…
There were multiple tribes around the Chesapeake Bay Area, but the main tribe the settlers dealt with was the Powhatan Indians. The Powhatan Indians inhabited America long before the settlers arrived. They built over 200 villages in the surrounding region, this came to be known as Tsenacommacah (biography.com). The Indians had prior exposure to explorers, the Spanish, around 1570. The Powhatan lived a simple farm life and grew many crops including, squash, beans, gourds, and the most important crop, corn. They usually farmed in the summer and spring months and hunted in the winter time. It was primarily the men 's job to hunt. The tribe used traditional bow and arrow hunting methods to kill large animals such as deer, and used traps to catch smaller animals like beavers. The Indians never wasted any part of an animal they had killed so, these creatures provided in many different ways than just a source of food. They often made clothes, beds, and blankets from the hide and tools from the bone. In addition to hunting the men also fished. They used canoes made from hollowed out trees and fished in the rivers around their villages. These farming and hunting practices will prove useful to the early settlers later on. The main source of transportation for the Indians was by canoe. They used the waterways like current day roads. They could travel easily from village to village