Sea Venture
December 1st, 2008Discover the story of the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture in Bermuda and find out how the passengers and crew survived and managed to get to their original destination, Jamestown, Virginia.
International Trade
August 8th, 2008
Virginia played an important role in the 17th-century world economy. The colony became the main supplier of tobacco to England and Europe and imported manufactured goods made in many parts of the world.
Virginia Expands
August 4th, 2008
Jamestown was the first English settlement in Virginia in 1607. Within a few years, though, the colony began to stretch its boundaries both in population and territory.
Pocahontas and the Two Johns – Smith and Rolfe
August 4th, 2008
One of the most famous love stories in history is that of Pocahontas and John Smith. There’s only one little problem with that romantic tale: It never happened.
Voyage to Virginia
August 4th, 2008
In late April 1607 after 6,000 miles and over four months at sea, a little flotilla bearing 104 settlers and the hopes of anxious investors, rounded Cape Henry beginning the grand adventure that became Virginia.
Virginia Company of London
August 4th, 2008
For nearly two decades the Virginia Company of London tried to exploit its monopoly in the New World. Despite its efforts and innovations, its money and influence, the company could not make the colony pay.
Tobacco and Labor
August 4th, 2008
Tobacco cultivation in early Virginia could be lucrative if one had land and labor. Land was there for the taking, labor was another matter.
Women
August 4th, 2008
Although outnumbered, sometimes six to one, women played an important role in the survival and prosperity of Jamestown and Virginia.
The Great Charter and the First General Assembly
August 4th, 2008
The prospects for Virginia seemed bleak in 1618. The death rate was high, there were few if any profits or capital resources, and the course of the colony was uncertain. That year the colony acquired a new leader and a new direction.
Angolan Connection
August 4th, 2008
Angela, an African from what is now the modern nation of Angola, was captured by Portuguese slave traders for shipment to the Spanish colony of Mexico. In 1619, when her ship was captured by privateers in the Caribbean, she became one of the first Africans in Virginia.