Jamestown quickly began expanding beyond the boundaries of the three-sided fort first built on the banks of the James River in 1607. A Campsite before 1607 The history of Jamestown does not begin in 1607. For thousands of years before English settlers arrived, American Indians had occupied this land, as evidenced by stone projectile points[…]
The site for Jamestown was picked for several reasons, all of which met criteria the Virginia Company, who funded the settlement. By Susan J. Stebbins On December 6, 1606, the journey to Virginia began on three ships: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North[…]
Accounts of Powhatan authority hint that a complex set of dynamics shaped the Powhatan political realm. Introduction With its remarkably rich ethnohistoric and archaeological records, the Chesapeake region offers much to those interested in understanding the culture histories of Native societies. The written accounts produced by European sources during the early years of the colonial[…]
The most famous event of Pocahontas’ life, her rescue of Captain John Smith, did not happen the way he wrote it. By Sarah J. Stebbins Introduction Not much is known about this memorable woman. What we do know was written by others, as none of her thoughts or feelings were ever recorded. Specifically, her story[…]
He killed his “owner” and fled slavery before finally returning to England in 1604 and embarking to the New World. By NPS Park Ranger Bill Warder Captain John Smith was an adventurer, soldier, explorer and author. Through the telling of his early life, we can trace the developments of a man who became a dominate[…]
When the Virginia Company established a colony at Jamestown in 1607, they hoped that a wide array of materials could be tapped or produced. Brewing in the Seventeenth Century Oh we can make liquor to sweeten our lipsOf pumpkins, of parsnips, of walnut-tree chips. New England rhyme On May 24, 1607, the newly-arrived colonists at[…]
Bacon’s Rebellion can be attributed to a myriad of causes, all of which led to dissent in the Virginia colony. By Susan McCulley Bacon’s Rebellion was probably one of the most confusing yet intriguing chapters in Jamestown’s history. For many years, historians considered the Virginia Rebellion of 1676 to be the first stirring of revolutionary[…]