The voyage lasted one hundred and forty-four days in total, reaching land, They named the location Cape Henry, in honour of the young Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales,  the eldest son of their King James. which is south of the Chesapeake Bay near James River, on 14th May 1607. The Susan Constant and God Speed ships, sailed back to England on the 22nd June 1607, taking precious minerals, leaving behind the one hundred and five colonists and the ship the Discovery for the colonist to use if need be.

In the early days of the settlement, it was difficult, most of the men were nobles, they had no skills in farming or hunting, or even fishing, and most of the days they searched for non-existent Gold.

Many of the new settlers, who didn’t die when travelling on the ships to the New World, died once there of disease, malnutrition and starvation. One captain died, and another captain John Radcliff fell sick, however, did recover.

The settlers chose Jamestown due to how easy it would be to defend if they were under attack by European countries, It soon became apparent why the Indians had not settled on the same land, Jamestown was quite swampy and it offered poor hunting prospects and a shortage of drinking water. By June 22nd, 1607, James Fort was built and completed in a triangle shape with three bulwarks sporting artillery, the English settlers had worked on this

The Indian leader, Chief Powhatan's, had been observing the English settlers from a distance, and if it hadn’t been for their intervention, the first English settlers would not have survived. The Indians brought corn and bread, some of the men decided they would rather die than work, as things got so bad. By 1608, only thirty-nine of the one hundred and four original colonists were alive. After a fire of settlers fort, in 1608, the Indian leader's daughter Pocahontas brought food and clothing to the colonists.

Over time, over one hundred and thirty-five settlers would die from malaria, and drinking the contaminated water caused many to suffer from saltwater poisoning, fevers, and dysentery.

Pocahontas:

  Things did not truly improve until John Smith made friendship with an Indian girl called Pocahontas

John Smith would be remembered, for the work he put in, in the early days of the colony, when they struggled to survive and couldn’t feed themselves, John proved to be skilful in negotiating with the native Americans. John before the voyage had been a professional soldier and had learned skills, and had life experience in survival.

In December 1607, John while seeking food along the Chickahominy River, was captured and was then taken to meet the chief of the Powhatans at Werowocomoco, the main village of the Powhatan Confederacy. It would here, where John would first encounter Pocahontas.

John  was eventually released without harm and later attributed this in part to the chief's daughter Pocahontas who, according to Smith, threw herself across his body: "at the minute of his execution, the tribe were about to beat his brains with stones, and she laid her head in his arms to beat her head  instead, but so prevailed with her father, Emperor was contented he should live to make him hatchets, and Pocahontas  bells, beads, and copper...” later  he was safely conducted to Jamestown. Pocahontas translated means “little wanton," meaning she was playful and hard to control.

Pocahontas was the favourite daughter of the Powhatan paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, In 1608 she saved John, for the second time, and his friends, John and some others had been invited by Werowocomoco by Chief Powhatan peaceful friendly terms, however, she warned them that it was planned they would be killed. Due to this warning, the English stayed on their guard and the attack never came.

On September 10, 1608, John Smith became president of the council for the colony., his famous words were “He that will not work shall not eat. “John installed a policy of rigid discipline, and worked on strengthening the defences, and encouraged farming. John had skills in taking control and organisation.

John Smith returned to England in mid-October 1609 after suffering a severe injury to his leg, in September after a gunpowder exploded while he was sleeping in a boat in the river one night. This accident meant he was deposed as president of the colony. When John sailed away from Jamestown, on the Discovery, leaving the colony, he would never set foot in Virginia again.

Later in 1613, Pocahontas was captured by Sir Samuel Argall, colonist and sea captain, during Anglo-Indian hostilities and held for ransom. During her captivity, she converted to Christianity and took up the name Rebecca.,” which means “mother of two peoples”, When the opportunity arose for her to return to her people, she chose to remain with the English.

In April 1614, Pocahontas married tobacco planter, John Rolfe. John Rolfe had come to Jamestown in 1609 aboard the Sea Venture, along with other new settlers. John’s wife and child died on the ship. When John and other colonists in had reached Jamestown, they found that settlers there were struggling to return profits to the Virginia Company, they had tried making glass, silks with no finance in planting. By 1617 tobacco exports to England totalled 20,000 pounds. The next year shipments more than doubled. Twelve years later, one and a half million pounds were exported. The first great American enterprise had been established.

Pocahontas and John married in the large church inside James Fort on April 5th, 1614. John was one of her teachers while she was being held captive, John instructed her in matters of the new culture she was being assimilated into. In January 1615, their son, Thomas Rolfe was born. Pocahontas and John Rolfe’s marriage became part of the first peace treaty ending the First Anglo-Powhatan War.

 In 1616, captain Thomas Dale took dozen Algonquian Indians along with Pocahontas, her husband, John Rolfe, and their infant son, Thomas. Back to London England with him, to help promote the colony. Pocahontas got allot of attention when she arrived in London and was presented to King James and His wife Queen Anne. In London at this time was Captain John Smith, whom she had not seen for eight years and whom she believed was dead, overcome with emotion, she could barely speak, after pulling herself together, she sat and spoke of old times with him. Only a few months later before making plans to return to Virginia, she would die. At their home in Gravesend, England, aged only twenty-two-year-old.

Chief Powhatan's died in 1618, Pocahontas’s father, his younger brother Opechancanough assumed full power, being their middle brother Opitchapam as the new mamanatowick, and Nemattanew continued to be a prominent figure alongside him

Pocahontas was remembered as a peacemaker, between the Native Americans and The English settlers. She is now a legend in our history. The Powhatan Indian confederacy rapidly went downhill, after her uncle’s attack in 1622 massacre failed to stop English colonization

Murder of John Ratcliffe (Governor) and Post Anglo-Powhatan War

Between 1609-1610 was known as the starving time, the colonists were not prepared or equipped to grow their own crops, they believed they would survive by trading. John Ratcliffe worked with the explorer John Smith to remove one the colonist Edward Wingfield from the presidency because he had been, hiding food for himself that the colony needed.

 John Ratcliffe was then elected president from the remaining colonists, he then asked for John Smith to oversee the work and trades with the native Americans. John Ratcliff’s over-generosity in trading prompted John Smith to complain that they would soon run out of trade eventually. By January 1608, there were only forty colonists left. Not long after, Radcliff, either left his post of Governor or resigned.

The urgently needed First Supply mission had arrived in Jamestown in the January 1608 via Christopher Newport.  There were only forty original colonists alive by then and Ratcliffe and the Council planned to return to England on the remaining ship the Discovery. However, despite replenishing the supplies, the two ships that brought supplies also brought an additional seventy men, which meant more colonists to feed, Christopher Newport left immediately for England in order to send back for much need more supplies. taking back with him also Powhatan tribesman, “Namontack” to London. John Ratcliffe. John Radcliffe had decided to join them on the trip to London. They remained there for three months and returned to Virginia with Christopher Newport same year.

In October 1608, Christopher Newport brought a second shipment of supplies along with seventy new settlers, including the first women. Some German, Polish, and Slovak craftsmen also arrived but they brought no food supplies. On his return, Christopher Newport knew how vital it was the friendship between the Native Americans and The Settler, he suggested, they "crown" the chief (native American) with a ceremonial crown to make him an English "vassal."[The coronation went badly, however, because he stated he was already a king and refused to kneel to receive the crown.

The third supply was set to sail from Plymouth, England in June 1609, the ship the “Sea Venture”, was one of the ships, under Christopher Newport. On the 24th July, the nine ships encountered a massive three-day-long storm and became separated. Sea Venture, being newly built for the voyage, was leaking heavily, having lost her caulking. August: The ships that survived the Hurricane of the third supply arrive. A Captain James Davis came with one of the ships of the Third Supplies and, assumed command of the nearly built Fort Algernon. The fort was very close to the American natives, Kecoughtans village, and in one of the acts leading to the First Anglo-Powhatan War, in mid-1611, a fire accidentally destroyed all of Fort Algernon

By the winter of 1609, the James River froze over, and the settlers were forced to live in the burnt ruins. Chief Powhatan had ordered his warriors to lay siege to James Fort, which was the catalyst for the infamous “starving time” Food supplies ran low, John Smith had written that "more than half of them had died

Trapped inside James Fort, was about 300 settlers inside. The Settlers ate horses, snakes, rats, cats, dogs, and shoe leather to avoid starvation that killed all but sixty of the fort’s residents by the springtime. One of the settlers trapped in James Fort is a 14-year-old girl who arrived on the “Third Supply.” When she dies, desperate settlers resort to survivor cannibalism.

In December 1609, John, Ratcliffe and fourteen other fellow colonists were invited to a gathering with the tribe of Powhatan Indian. Powhatans promised the starving colonists would be given corn, but it was a trap. The colonists were attacked. John Ratcliffe suffered a particularly gruesome fate: he was tied to a stake in front of a fire. Women removed the skin from his entire body with mussel shells and tossed the pieces into the flame as he watched. They skinned his face last and finally burned him at stake

Thomas Gates had arrived in May 1609, aboard the Sea Venture, the new flagship of the Virginia Company. He later. That winter had been hard, and in truth they  all had, had enough of it all

.

Thomas Gates later decided it would be better to evacuate Jamestown. However, on their second day of sailing out of the bay in 1610, they met with new Governor Baron De La Warr, who sent them back to Jamestown,

 Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, had been a member of the Privy council of Elizabeth 1st of England, as well as her cousin, Thomas’s great grandmother was Mary Boleyn. In 1610, he arrived in Jamestown along with more colonists. Things did not get any better, and on top, there were culture clashes with the Indians. Clashes. Thomas West, had a far harsher attitude and approach, towards the native Americans. Which turned into wars when Thomas West decided to raided Indian villages in 1610, and take what they wanted. This is what began the First Anglo-Powhatan War.

Anglo-Powhatan War:

On August 9th, 1610, captain Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr got sick of waiting for or a response from the chief Powhatan, Delaware then sent George Percy who was a survivor of the original colonists, along with hundred and fifty men into Paspahegh capital, burning their houses and cutting down their cornfields. They killed sixty-five to Seventy of their people and captured one of Wowinchopunk's wives and her children. Returning downstream, the English threw the children overboard, and shot out "their Braynes in the water". The queen was put to the sword in Jamestown. The Paspahegh never recovered from this attack and abandoned their town. After their killing of a royal woman, now was grounds for war.

In February 1611, Wowinchopunk was killed in a skirmish near Jamestown, which his followers revenged a few days later by enticing some colonists out of the fort and killing them

Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, eventually returned to England in 1611, due to illness, however, did return and died in Virginia in 1618. The new deputy governor to work in Thomas west’s absence, when   Sir Thomas Dale, arrived he soon began looking for places to establish new settlements. Thomas arrived in May 1611. He served as acting Governor for three and half months in 1611, and again for a two-year period between 1614 and 1616.

 In 1614, a peace agreement was negotiated, and this ended the first war between English settlers and native American war, This peace agreement, was sealed with the marriage, between  John Ralph and English settler and Indian, or Native American  Pocahontas.

However, this treaty was not what saved the English settler survival in the new world, it was John Ralphs idea on selling the Tobacco.

Tobacco would have sold quite profitably in England. This was a turning point for James Town, by 1616 Tobacco was James town principle export, and finally, put the colony on the firm economic ground. By 1624, King James of England decided that Jamestown should not be under Governorship of The Virginia company, but directly under his control.

Indian Massacre Of 1622

This Massacre, took place in what Virginia is today, On the 22nd March 1622, after an English settler was murdered by the American native Nemattanew, Nemattanew was chief advisor to Opechancanough the new tribal chief, The new tribal chief did not have the same interest in peace with the English settlers. The chief launched a campaign of surprise attacks on at least thirty-one separate English settlements and plantations, mostly along the James River the Powhatan "came unarmed into The English settler’s homes with deer, turkeys, fish, fruits, and other provisions to sell them "They grabbed any weapons they could and killed all English settlers they found, including men, women, and children of all ages. Chief Opechancanough led a coordinated series of surprise attacks by the Powhatan Confederacy that killed three hundred and forty-seven, settlers, a quarter of the English population of the Virginia colony. The Powhatan burned houses and crops. The English ended up leaving many of the smaller settlements. It was said that a young Indian called Chanco, had warned Richard Pace a colonist of the Jamestown of the surprise attack. According to the story, a Powahatan youth (chance)living in the household of Richard Pace had been instructed to kill Pace and his family in conjunction with a planned attack on the colony. The youth instead warned Pace of the impending attack. After securing his household, Pace rowed across the James River to warn James City.

The surviving English settlers were in shock after the attacks. As they began to recover, the men worked on a plan of action., they decided to draw people into fewer settlements so as to have a stronger defence. the Indian chief believed this attack would make the settlers respect the laws of Native Americans and live under their rules. The English took revenge against the Powhatan by “the use of force, surprise attacks, famine resulting from the burning of their corn, destroying their boats, canoes, and houses.

The 1622 massacre was used as a justification for the ongoing seizure of Powhatan land by the colonists, that continued for the next decade.

Later Years

In 1624 Virginia was made a royal colony of England. This meant that the Crown took direct authority rather than allowing guidance by the London Company.

The original Jamestown fort seems to have existed into the middle of the 1620s, but as Jamestown grew into a "New Town" to the east, written references to the original fort disappear.

James City Shire was formed in the British colony of Virginia in 1634. By order of Charles I, King of England, eight shires or counties with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants were established in the colony of Virginia.

About 1642-43, the name of the James City Shire was changed to James City County.