A rough sketch of Jamestown, circa 1608
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America established in the Virginia Colony on May 14, 1607.
In December 1606, 108 men set sail from England with a charter from the Virginia Company of London to establish a colony in the Chesapeake Bay region of the New World. After a particularly long voyage of five months duration, the three ships, named Susan Constant, The Discovery, and The Godspeed, under Captain Christopher Newport made their first landing at a place they named Cape Henry in April 1607. They were under orders to select a more secure location, and after setting up a cross, and giving thanks for solid ground, they set about exploring Hampton Roads and a tributary they named the "James River", in honor of the English king, James I.
Jamestown survived two grisly uprisings. The first was in 1622 by local Indians, and the second was in 1676 by white settlers who were demanding more government action against the Indians. In 1699 the Virginia capital was moved to Williamsburg, and Jamestown gradually deteriorated into a ghost town in succeeding decades. Today it exists only as an archaeological site and living history museum.
Jamestown in A Different Flesh[]
Not only was Jamestown plagued by the scarcity of resources, there was a substantial presence of sims in the area. In their initial encounters, the sims of Virginia viewed their more evolved cousins from England as possible prey. One of the colony's leaders, John Smith, learned this the hard way, when, during an exploration, he was set upon and butchered by a pack of sims.
In 1610, Jamestown was raided by a group of sims. An infant, Joanna Wingfield, was kidnapped. Her father, Edward, led an expedition to rescue her. Although they were successful, it was at a great cost to both sides.
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