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Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestowne, Williamsburg | |
|---|---|
Fort (1607) and Town (1619) | |
.jpg) The ruined tower of the 17th century Jamestown Church; the nave was reconstructed in 1907 on its original foundations | |
 Location of Jamestown in Virginia | |
  Jamestown Location of Jamestown in Virginia  Jamestown Jamestown (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 37°12′33″N 76°46′39″W / 37.20917°N 76.77750°W | |
| Colony | Colony of Virginia |
| Established | May 14, 1607 |
| Abandoned | Briefly in 1610; again after 1699 |
| Founded by | London Company |
| Named for | James I |
The Jamestown[a] settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about 2.5 mi (4 km) southwest of present-day Williamsburg.[1] It was established by the London Company as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 O.S. (May 14, 1607 N.S.),[2] and considered permanent, after brief abandonment in 1610. It followed failed attempts, including the Roanoke Colony, established in 1585. Despite the dispatch of more supplies, only 60 of the original 214 settlers survived the 1609–1610 Starving Time. In mid-1610, the survivors abandoned Jamestown, though they returned after meeting a resupply convoy in the James River.
Jamestown served as the colonial capital from 1616 until 1699. In August 1619, the first recorded slaves from Africa to British North America arrived at present-day Old Point Comfort, near the Jamestown colony, on a British privateer ship flying a Dutch flag. The approximately 20 Africans from present-day Angola, had been removed by the British crew from a Portuguese slave ship.[3][4] They most likely worked in the tobacco fields, under a system of race-based indentured servitude.[5][6] The modern conception of slavery in the British colonies was formalized in 1640, and fully entrenched in Virginia by 1660.[7]
In 1676, Jamestown was deliberately burned during Bacon's Rebellion, though it was rebuilt. In 1699, the colonial capital was moved to present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. In the 18th century, Jamestown ceased to exist as a settlement and remains as an archaeological site, Jamestown Rediscovery, which houses museums and historical sites, including the Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown. Jamestown is one of three locations composing the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia, along with Williamsburg and Yorktown.[8] Historic Jamestowne is the archaeological site on Jamestown Island and is a cooperative effort by Jamestown National Historic Site and Preservation Virginia. Jamestown Settlement, a living history interpretive site, is operated by the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, a state agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Shapiro, Laurie Gwen (June 22, 2014). "Pocahontas: Fantasy and Reality". Slate. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
- ^ "History of Jamestown". Apva.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ Deetz, Kelly Fanto (August 13, 2019). "400 years ago, enslaved Africans first arrived in Virginia". National Geographic. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019.
- ^ Waxman, Olivia B. (August 20, 2019). "The First Africans in Virginia Landed in 1619. It Was a Turning Point for Slavery in American History – But Not the Beginning". Time. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ "first documented Africans in Jamestown". The History Channel. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
- ^ "Angela (fl. 1619–1625) – Encyclopedia Virginia". May 28, 2021. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Royal African Company – Supplying Slaves to Jamestown". Historic Jamestowne. NPS.gov. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "Historic Jamestowne (U.S. National Park Service)". Historic Jamestowne. NPS.gov. August 3, 2009. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
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