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2. Britain in the New World

The ventures that failed, the joint stock companies that funded the next attempt, Jamestown and its starving time, tobacco, war and peace with Powhatan's people, and the first assembly.

2. Britain in the New World

Before the English arrived in North America, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Swedish, and the French were already on the scene. This map shows the areas claimed by…

2a. Early Ventures Fail

When John White returned to Roanoke Island in 1590, the colonists he hoped to find had vanished. Their homes were gone, and the only clue was the word "CROATOA…

2b. Joint-Stock Companies

View of St. Paul's across the River, Wenceslaus Hollar 1647As the city of London filled to capacity in 1600, Richard Hakluyt suggested to Queen Elizabeth…

2c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time"

Jamestown, Virginia, was the site of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The settlers chose a location close to the water, hoping to establ…

2d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade

A Smoking club James Gilray, 1793 '> Among 18th-century Europeans, tobacco smoking indicated a high social class. In this 1793 etching by James Gillray, wea…

2e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People

Despite his suspicions, Chief Powhatan helped the British settlers through their first winters. But the good relations did not last, and Powhatan was forced to…

2f. The House of Burgesses

After his arrival in Jamestown in 1619, Governor George Yeardley immediately gave notice that the Virginia colony would establish a legislative assembly. This…