Virginia (Jamestown) Colony - Part 2

This page tells about the history of the Virginia Colony.

Virginia Colony and Jamestown - Part 2

After John Smith left Jamestown, the struggling settlement entered one of the darkest periods in its history. The years that followed included the Starving Time, harsh new laws, growing conflict with the Powhatan peoples, the capture of Pocahontas, the rise of tobacco, and the development of new systems that helped transform Jamestown into a permanent English colony.

Smith Returns to England

Jamestown had become more stable under the strict leadership of John Smith, but the Virginia Company was reorganizing the colony's government. A new charter called for Virginia to be led by a governor rather than by a council president. Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, was appointed governor, while Thomas Gates was sent ahead to serve as an interim leader. John Smith, meanwhile, suffered a serious injury from a gunpowder explosion and returned to England in 1609. Gates never reached Jamestown on schedule because his ship was wrecked near Bermuda, leaving the colony without the strong leadership it desperately needed.

A New Outlook on Profit

By 1609, the Virginia Company realized that quick profits from Jamestown were unlikely. The company began developing a longer-term plan for making the colony successful. Instead of sending mostly individual fortune-seekers, company leaders hoped to encourage entire families to settle permanently in Virginia. Some colonists were promised land after completing a period of communal labor, while people who could not afford the cost of passage could have their journey paid in exchange for several years of labor. These workers became known as indentured servants.

The Starving Time

With John Smith gone and Thomas Gates delayed in Bermuda, Jamestown once again suffered from weak leadership, food shortages, disease, and worsening relations with the Powhatan peoples. Powhatan leaders restricted trade with the settlement, and colonists who ventured outside Jamestown in search of food faced great danger. During the winter of 1609-1610, conditions became so desperate that the period became known as the Starving Time. Colonists ate horses, dogs, cats, rats, and other desperate sources of food, and archaeological evidence has confirmed that at least some colonists resorted to cannibalism. When Gates finally arrived in 1610, only about 60 of roughly 500 settlers remained alive. Gates decided to abandon Jamestown, but as the surviving colonists sailed down the James River, Lord De La Warr arrived with supplies and orders to continue the settlement.

The Return of Discipline

De La Warr and Gates restored strict discipline to Jamestown. A set of harsh regulations known as the Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall governed the colony and imposed severe punishments for disobedience. Sir Thomas Dale, who later became an important colonial leader, enforced these rules. The strict system reflected how desperate Virginia Company officials had become to make Jamestown survive and become profitable.

Increasing Violence

Relations between the English settlers and the Powhatan peoples continued to deteriorate. Jamestown still depended partly on Native communities for food, while the English increasingly used military force to obtain supplies and expand their settlements. Powhatan warriors resisted English expansion, and both sides carried out attacks that resulted in years of bloodshed.

The Kidnapping of Pocahontas

During the winter of 1612-1613, English captain Samuel Argall devised a plan to capture Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan. With the assistance of Native intermediaries, Pocahontas was lured aboard an English ship and taken prisoner. The English hoped to use her as leverage in negotiations with Powhatan. During her captivity, Pocahontas learned more about English culture, converted to Christianity, and was baptized under the name Rebecca. In 1614, she married tobacco planter John Rolfe. Their marriage contributed to several years of relative peace between the English colonists and the Powhatan peoples.

Tobacco and the Headright System

Jamestown still struggled with disease and food shortages, but the success of John Rolfe's tobacco crop gave the colony a dependable source of profit. Tobacco quickly became Virginia's most important cash crop, and settlers devoted increasing amounts of land to growing it. Private land ownership also expanded, giving colonists a greater personal stake in the colony's success. The Virginia Company later developed the headright system, which generally awarded land to people who paid for the transportation of settlers to Virginia. This system encouraged immigration and helped provide the growing tobacco economy with a larger labor force.

The Powhatan Attack of 1622

The expansion of tobacco plantations placed growing pressure on Powhatan lands. In 1622, forces led by Opechancanough, Powhatan's successor as a powerful Native leader, launched coordinated attacks against English settlements along the James River. About 347 colonists were killed, including John Rolfe. The English responded with years of warfare and retaliation. In 1624, amid continuing conflict, high death rates, and financial problems, King James I revoked the Virginia Company's charter and made Virginia a royal colony under direct control of the crown.

Why it mattered: Jamestown survived enormous hardships and eventually became the foundation of the Virginia Colony. Tobacco, private land ownership, immigration, and the growth of English settlement transformed Virginia, while also intensifying conflict over land with Native peoples.

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