Jamestown

Jamestown

Jamestown (Virginia), former village of Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America. It is located in present-day James City County, on an island in the James River, southeast of Richmond, part of the 3816-hectare (9430-acre) Colonial National Historical Park.

Jamestown was founded on May 14, 1607, by a small group led by Captain Christopher Newport, who was hired by the London Company to transport colonists. Many settlers died from famine and disease in the winter of 1609-10. The survivors were encouraged to stay in Jamestown by the arrival of new settlers and supplies the following June. In 1612 tobacco growing was started. The colony prospered and became the capital of Virginia. In 1619 the first representative assembly in America was held here. In the same year, at Jamestown, the first Africans were imported into the original 13 English colonies. The village was often attacked by Native Americans. In 1622, 350 colonists were killed; 500 in 1644. Colonists rebelling against the rule of Governor William Berkeley burned Jamestown in