April 8, 2006
Jamestown is the site of America’s first permanent English settlement. In 1606, three ships set sail from England with a charter from the London Company to establish a colony in the New World. These ships have been faithfully rebuilt and looked surprisingly small to cross an ocean. Apparently, the settlers purposely used smaller boats to make it easier to explore the coastline for a potential settlement site.
There is also a full-scale replica of the original fort.
The Powhatan Indians who lived in the area had a love hate relationship with their new neighbors. At times the colony only survived due to trade with the Indians. At other times, the two groups fought. During the winter of 1609-10, about 300 settlers crowded into the fort when the Indians set up a siege with only 60 settlers surviving until the next spring.
There were a number years of peace, following the 1614 wedding of Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, to tobacco grower John Rolfe. Some of you may think you know everything there is to know about Pocahontas based on watching the 1995 Disney animated movie named after her. But you would be sadly mistaken because the movie gives a less than an accurate historical portrayal. Her real life was, in fact, much more interesting and tragic. Having been kidnapped by the settlers, she converted to Christianity and took the English name Rebecca. She and Rolfe travelled to England to promote the colony to investors where she was celebrated in the highest London society. At only 21 years old, she took ill just as she and Rolfe were beginning their trip back to Virginia and died before the boat had even left the Thames. She was buried in Gravesend. After her death, the relations between the colonists and the Indians gradually worsened until 1622 when her uncle led a surprise attack that killed a third of the colonists. As in the rest of the continent, the Indian resistance was ultimately overcome. Within fifty years, there were only a few Indian settlements left in the area. There is a recreation of a Powhatan village at the site.
Mal and Lauren 