The History of the Jamestown Colony: America’s First Permanent English Settlement

By Doug West

Three small ships set out from London for the New World along a similar route as Christopher Columbus had done a little more than a century before. These brave or maybe foolish men were in search of gold and a sea passage to the riches of the Orient – they found neither. What they did find was a land filled with hardships, drought, famine, numerous deadly diseases, and a powerful Indian confederacy that controlled the region. The colony of Jamestown brought to North America, good or ill, the beginnings of slavery, a foothold in the New World for colonization, and the roots of a representative democracy. Out of this savage period emerged the legendary individuals: the rugged explorer and leader Captain John Smith, the Wiley Powhatan Indian chief Wahunsonacock, John Rolfe who introduced the cultivation of tobacco to North America, and the enchanting Indian princess Pocahontas. The story of the Jamestown Colony and the founding of Virginia is a story of arrogance, greed, suffering, violence, death, and ultimately the birth of a new nation, America.

The book “The History of the Jamestown Colony” gives a concise look at the formation and early years of the Jamestown Colony and the early years of the state of Virginia. To illustrate the story there are numerous pictures of the people, places, and events that were part of this adventure. In addition, a list of reference books for further reading is included. A timeline of the colony puts the events in sequence and there is a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.

30-Minute Book Series
This is the 43rd book in the 30-Minute Book Series. Books in this series are fast-paced, accurate, and cover the story in as much detail as a short book possibly can. Most people complete each book in less than an hour, which makes the books in the series a perfect companion for your lunch hour, a school project, or a little down time.

About the Author
Doug West is a retired engineer and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with special expertise in history, science, and biographies. Doug has a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Mar 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463900635

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

The History of the Jamestown Colony

America’s First Permanent English Settlement

By Doug West, Ph.D.

The History of the Jamestown Colony

America’s First Permanent English Settlement

By Doug West, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2020 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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For my grandson Patrick

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 – The Virginia Company

Chapter 2 – Early Days of Jamestown

Chapter 3 – Captain John Smith and Pocahontas

Chapter 4 – The Starving Time

Chapter 5 – Governor Lord De La Warr

Chapter 6 – A New Charter for the Colony

Chapter 7 – Growth of the Virginia Colonies

Chapter 8 – The Indian Wars

Chapter 9 – The Virginia Royal Colony

Chapter 10 – Origins of Slavery in America

Timeline of the Virginia Colonies

Biographical Sketches

Notes on Quotations, Dates, and Names

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books by Doug West

Preface

Welcome to the book, The History of the Jamestown Colony. This book is volume 43 of the 30 Minute Book Series and, as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book will take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing story of the Jamestown Colony, you may want to know more about the first permanent English colony in America. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events of the colonies, and a section titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book, and I hope you enjoy your time reading about an important part of early American Colonial history.

Doug West

March 2020

Introduction

After the explorer Christopher Columbus sailed west from Spain and discovered the New World in 1492, bold adventurers set sail from Europe to uncover the mysteries and riches of this new land. The Spanish and the French quickly started exploring the eastern coast of North and South America, setting up colonies in Canada, Mexico, and the West Indies. The English were preoccupied during the sixteenth century with the colonization of Ireland, paying little attention to the vast unexplored land across the Atlantic Ocean. At war with Spain in 1585, the impoverished country of England lacked the men and ships to fund exploration and colonization far from home.

Known as West Country men, wealthy London merchants seized the opportunity to exploit the New World for potential profit. One of these men was Sir Walter Raleigh, who preached, He that commands the sea, commands the trade, and he that is lord of the trade of the world is lord of the wealth of the world. The West Country promoters convinced the king that England needed