Women of Colonial Virginia

In May 1607, one hundred men and young boys were on an expedition where they arrived in what is now known as Virginia. This group were the first permanent English settlers in America. They named the colony of Jamestown, after the English King James. The site was chosen precisely for its location and beneficial factors. Jamestown was surrounded by water on three sides of the land; this made it easily accessible for ships to come and go. It was far enough inland, making it easier to defend from a possible Spanish attack. At the time, it was said that the men had to be able to create a living before any women could be a part of the colony.^[1]

In the colony's early days, the Powhatan Indians were known for helping the settlers. They would provide food and other supplies to the English settlers. In 1609, the Powhatan tribe could not help the settlers due to drought and insufficient supplies to share between their tribe and the settlers. This was known as the starving time in Virginia, as most of the settlers died of starvation and diseases due to the lack of supplies.^[2] The essay, A Short History of Jamestown, notes that "As a result, they ate anything they could: various animals, leather from their shoes and belts, and sometimes fellow settlers who had already died due to starvation and disease."^[1] This illustrates how desperate the early settlers were for supplies and food.