Jamestown, in Virginia, was the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded by the Virginia Company of London in 1607 on the James River. The colonists, around a hundred men and boys, struggled with disease, hunger and conflict with the Powhatan people, and the colony nearly collapsed during the winter of 1609-1610, known as the Starving Time. Captain John Smith helped it survive in its early years, and the cultivation of tobacco by John Rolfe gave it an economic basis. In 1619 the colony held the first representative assembly in English America, and that year the first enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia. Jamestown served as the colonial capital until 1699.
Before and after
- 24 November 1605Janszoon voyage of 1606
- 6 June 1606Birth of Pierre Corneille
- 15 July 1606Birth of Rembrandt
- 25 April 1607Battle of Gibraltar
- May 1607Jamestown
- 1608Publication of King Lear
- 15 October 1608Birth of Evangelista Torricelli
- 9 December 1608Birth of John Milton
- 1609The Elevation of the Cross
More in Exploration & discovery
- 20 May 1506Death of Christopher Columbus
- 25 April 1507The name 'America' appears on a map
- 1513Balboa sights the Pacific
- from 10 August 1519 to 8 September 1522Magellan-Elcano expedition
- 27 April 1521Death of Ferdinand Magellan
- 27 October 1728Birth of James Cook
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.