Jamestown - The First English Colony

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Jamestown: The first English colony

In spite of the many Indian massacres, Jamestown still grew to be a successful colony. The London Company was the main founder of Jamestown. The London Company's founders believed that there were precious metals in America so they sent a group of settlers to Jamestown. The trip to the Americas was not a very easy one for these settlers. They had to overcome many obstacles just to get to the Americas. In 1619 the House of Burgesses was formed which marked the first legislative body in America. Jamestown was plagued by many disasters. They were faced with one continuous disaster, Indian wars. They fought over land with Indians for many years. The London Company, creation of the colony, and Indian wars all played a major role in the development of Jamestown.

The London Company was founded for the exploration of Jamestown and to fund anything that had to do with it. The founders of the London Company believed that, in the Americas, existed precious metals (London Company). The main founder of the London Company was King James I from England who chartered the London Company to form a colony in North America. They invested around $10,000 on the trip to Jamestown.

Those settlers who went on the trip were called "planters" and those who stayed in England and invested their money in it were called "adventurers". Each planter and adventurer was to share in the company's profits which failed to profit, however, through many tries."(London Company)

In 1619, the House of Burgesses was formed which gave Jamestown the first for of government. This was also the first legislative body in the American colonies. "The House passed measures designed to help the company prosper. An Indian upris...

... middle of paper ...

... Jamestown and also set up the first form of government and almost was always sending supplies and money to the colonists to either suite their needs or keep the colony from shutting down or abandoning. The creation of Jamestown was a big, long, and drawn out process that took many times to work. They still fought through failure in the end. The Indian wars were still the most important of the disasters and played a major role in Jamestown's history and general population. Overall, Jamestown was the main colony who started American society. Jamestown was both a failure and a success because it did mark the first English colony but did not last which made it both a success and a failure.

Works Cited

Abbot, Kathryn A. "Indian Wars." World Book. 2004.

Martin, James K. "Jamestown." World Book. 2004.

Smelser, Marshall. "London Company." World Book. 2004.

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