Why is jamestown important
Why was jamestown founded
Jamestown history.
English Settlement in the New World
Settlers landing on the site of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America.
After Christopher Columbus’ historic voyage in 1492, Spain dominated the race to establish colonies in the Americas, while English efforts, such as the “lost colony” of Roanoke, met with failure.
In 1606, King James I granted a charter to a new venture, the Virginia Company, to form a settlement in North America.
At the time, Virginia was the English name for the entire eastern coast of North America north of Florida; they had named it for Elizabeth I, the “virgin queen.” The Virginia Company planned to search for gold and silver deposits in the New World, as well as a river route to the Pacific Ocean that would allow them to establish trade with the Orient.
Roughly 100 colonists left England in late December 1606 on three ships (the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery) and reached Chesapeake Bay late the next April.
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