Thirteen years before the pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, the colony of Jamestown was founded. It was founded by a group of 104 men and boys who were sponsored by the Virginia Company. After two weeks of exploration, a site was found for the colony. It was a defensible location and had deep anchorage for their ships.
The colony had some serious problems: a nearby tribe of 14,000 Algonquin Native Americans ruled by the powerful chief Powhatan, bad water, a prolonged drought that began when they arrived, unfamiliar climate, and disease. Many of the colonists were upper class Englishmen, which meant that there were few skilled workers.
John Smith became the leader of Jamestown in 1608. He is best known for getting the lazy men to work with his “He who does not work shall not eat.” policy. In fall of 1608 he was injured and left for England. His departure left the colony with little food. They tried to trade with the Indians for food, but they would only trade so much. Eventually war broke out and many died from war and starvation or disease.
They were pressed by the Virginia company to begin to make a profit, so they tried several things including glassmaking, wood, pit, tar, and potash production. All of these enterprises failed, until John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a cash crop. The economy of Jamestown took off and it became a very successful colony bringing more indentured servants to the new world in search of making a fortune. As the need for more tobacco increased the colonists began to move onto the Indians land.
