Captain John Smith & Pocahontas

Pocahontas, her son and a dozen Powhatan Indians accompanied Rolfe and Sir Thomas Dale on a Virginia Company promotional voyage in 1616. The well-publicized visit was a smashing success. Pocahontas was presented to James I and the cream of London society. During her visit she had an unexpected meeting with John Smith, who she had been told was dead.

After a seven-month stay in England, a return voyage was arranged, but Pocahontas' health had begun to deteriorate. She was put ashore at Gravesend, England, either dead or dying. The cause of death is unclear. It has been speculated that she died from pneumonia, tuberculosis or smallpox. The 22-year-old was buried in Gravesend at St. George's parish church.

Her son, Thomas, would remain in England until age 20 and would never see his father again. He would later marry and return to Virginia.

Survival

Of 900 settlers who arrived in Jamestown between 1607 and 1610 only 150 survived.

The massacre of 1622 killed 350 settlers, one-third of the colony's population.

Jamestown: A short history

Jamestown was the brainchild of a group of London entrepreneurs whose goal was a permanent settlement that could provide a way station during passage to the Orient (North America was thought to be only a narrow strip of land) and a new source of gold. Investors also looked to cash in on a lucrative fur trade and perhaps corner the market on sassafras. A charter was granted by King James I in June of 1606, and a group of 104 settlers on three ships (Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery) sailed to the Chesapeake area from London in December of that year.

The new settlement was plagued by problems from the beginning. A swampy area with poor drinking water was chosen for the fort, and the settlers, mostly gentlemen, were ill prepared or unwilling to engage in the labor needed to provide basic food and shelter. Malnutrition, malaria, pneumonia and dysentery were a part of daily life along with the constant threat of Indian attack. Of the 104 original settlers, only 38 survived the first year.

Tobacco

A major reason for the eventual success of Jamestown was tobacco. John Rolfe is credited with bringing the tobacco seeds from Trinidad that saved the colony's economy.

The production of tobacco proved to be a great source of contention between the English and the Indians. Tobacco cultivation requires large plots of land because it can wear out the land quickly in two to three years. The settlers found it much easier to take over Indian fields than to clear farmland themselves.

Powhatan Indians