List of Jamestown colonists

Painting of John Smith and colonists landing in Jamestown

On 4 May [O.S. 14 May] 1607, 105 to 108 English men and boys (surviving the voyage from England) established the Jamestown Settlement for the Virginia Company of London, on a slender peninsula on the bank of the James River. It became the first long-term English settlement in North America.[1][2]

The trips aboard the ships Susan Constant, Discovery, and the Godspeed, and the settlement itself, were sponsored by the London Company, whose "adventurers" (investors) hoped to make a profit from the resources of the New World. The settlers suffered terrible hardships in its early years, including starvation, native attacks, and sickness. By early 1610 most of the settlers, 80-90% according to William Strachey, had died due to starvation and disease.[3] With resupply and additional immigrants, it managed to endure, becoming America's first permanent English colony.[4]

Once the settlement location was chosen, the company members opened sealed instructions containing the list of the previously chosen councillors of the Virginia Governor's Council. The first council president was Edward Maria Wingfield. The other six council members were Bartholomew Gosnold, John Martin, John Ratcliffe, George Kendall, Christopher Newport (ex officio) and John Smith.[5]

  1. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from A Short History of Jamestown. National Park Service.
  2. ^ "Timeline of exploration of N.America". Timepage.org. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  3. ^ Yorktown, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 210; Us, VA 23690 Phone: 757 898-2410 Contact. "A Short History of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "A Short History of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  5. ^ "A Short History of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-06.