Adas

Life at Jamestown
In May of 1607, three small ships – the
Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant –
landed at what we know today as Jamestown.
On board were 104 men and boys, plus crew
members, who had left England on a bitter cold December day. Sailing down the
Thames River with little fanfare, they were
unnoticed by all but a few curious onlookers. The ships were packed with supplies
they thought would be most needed in this
new land. Sponsors of the voyage hoped the
venture would become an economic prize
for England. An earlier undertaking in the
1580s on Roanoke Island, in what is now
A rrival of the English, Theodor de Bry
North Carolina, had failed, but times had
changed. England had signed a peace treaty
with Spain, and was now looking westward to establish colonies along the northeastern seaboard of North America.
Word was that the Spanish had found “mountains of gold” in this new land, so these voyagers were intent on finding
riches as well as a sea route to Asia. Little did the settlers know as they disembarked on this spring day, May 14, 1607,
how many and what kinds of hardships they would face as they set out to fulfill their dreams of riches and adventure
in Virginia.

Pocahontas visited by her brothers, Theodor de Bry

Life at Jamestown is a story of the struggles of the
English colonists as they encountered the Powhatan
Indians, whose ancestors had lived on this land for
centuries, as well as their struggles among themselves as they tried to work and live with people of
different backgrounds and social classes. It is the
story of everyday life in an unfamiliar environment
at Jamestown, including perilous times such as the
“starving time” during 1609-10 and the expansion
of the colony when more colonists, including women,
came to strengthen the settlement and make it more
permanent. Most important, Life at Jamestown is
the story of people – of human bravery, cruelty and a
grim determination to survive which...