400 Years Earlier In Jamestown

Today, we went to the Jamestown Settlement, an outdoor living history museum that recreates a Powhatan Indian village, the three ships that brought the first settlers to what we now know as Jamestown and a replica of the James Fort, built in 1610 and used until 1614. The museum chronicles the origins of Jamestown, the Colonists struggles to survive, and their interaction with the Indians.

The photo above shows an example of the Algonquin-speaking Powhatan Indian dwelling, known as the long house, made of reeds. This dwelling was quite spacious and efficient. These Indians were clearly not savages, as portrayed in Western movies, but were highly evolved people, who had adapted to their environment and the local ecology. They were farmers as well as hunters and had a well balanced diet, including meat, fish, grains, nuts and vegetables. Had the colonists treated them as equals rather than savages, perhaps, they would have had a better time of it in and there would have been harmony rather than bloodshed. The arrogance of it all amazes me. One of the interpreters explained that the Indians viewed the Colonists as the savages because they did not know how to take care of themselves in this environment. The Colonists seemed amazingly unprepared to move to the area and did not have enough provisions or the right tools to survive.On May 13, 1607 (399 years ago tomorrow) and after 4 1/2 months at sea, three ships brought 110 men and boys to the banks of the James River to build what would be the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The three ships were the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery. According to the orientation movie that we saw, these poor guys really suffered the first year. They had arrived too late to plant crops, but then they had a fort to build first. They weren't prepared for the severity of the winter but the Indians did try to help them by sharing food.

The Colonists had been sponsored by the Virginia Company, a private joint-stock company, a profit making enterprise, with the hopes that gold would be easily found, thereby enriching the investors. The Virginia Company was chartered by King James I in 1606 and began assembling ships, men and supplies for the future settlement. After years of settlement, it was the cultivation of tobacco as a cash crop that finally ensured the economic success of the colony.

The photo above is of a replica of the Susan Constant that served as the flagship for the venture. It held 57 passengers and 17 crew. Once the colony was established, the ship returned to England in June 1607 to continue her life as a regular trading ship. The Godspeed carried 39 passengers and 13 crew and also, returned to England in June. The smallest of the three ships, the Discovery, carried 12 passengers and 9 crew. The Discovery stayed in Jamestown and was used by the Colonists to explore the inland waterways of the Chesapeake Bay.
This photo shows a portion of the recreation of James Fort. The fort was used by the Colonists from 1610 to 1614, after which the Colonists felt secure enough to move into the interior of Virginia to establish farms and villages. Inside the wooden stockade are wattle and daub stuctures with thatched roofs. The dwellings include a church, a storehouse, the governor's house (nothing like the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg), many cabins, a tobacco barn and an armory. If you want to see Hollywoods interpretation of life in Jamestown, rent New World, a really boring movie with emphasis on the love affair between Pocohantas, Chief Powhatan's daughter, Captain John Smith and ultimately, her marriage to John Rolfe. Probably, a better choice is the book, Love and Hate in Jamestown, by David A. Price.

A "settler" fires his matchlock musket to the amazement of the school students on today's field trip. See how I was able to capture the smoke coming from the gun muzzle. I couldn't believe I caught the image because I jumped when the gun went off.

It was another beautiful sunny day in Virginia giving us a grand opportunity to explore this 17th century settlement. The Colonists were a hearty group. I am not sure that this is something that we could have done today. As an interpreter explained to me, our expectations are different today from what they were in those days. Life in the Colony was different but not that much so as what they were used to in their homeland. Life in the English countryside was difficult, too.