The Virginia Colony grew from Jamestown, which the National Park Service calls the first permanent English settlement in North America.[2] Its history runs from a royal charter in 1606 to the move of the capital to Williamsburg in 1699, and beyond to the Revolution.

Quick answer: The Virginia Colony began with the First Charter of Virginia, granted by King James I on April 10, 1606. Settlers chose the Jamestown site on May 13, 1607. The colony survived the Starving Time, grew rich on tobacco after 1612, and became a royal colony in 1624.

Contents

The Charter and the Voyage

King James I granted the colony’s founding charter on April 10, 1606.[1] The charter allowed a company of investors to establish settlements on the Atlantic coast of North America.

The voyage began on December 6, 1606, on three ships: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery.[2]

Jamestown and the First Years

In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in Virginia. On May 13 they chose a site on the James River and named it for King James I.[2]

The first years were deadly. Settlers drank salty or slimy river water, and disease and food shortages killed many of them.[2] The worst period came in 1609-1610, the “Starving Time” (a winter of famine during a drought, when relations with the Powhatan had broken down). By early 1610 most of the settlers had died; William Strachey estimated the losses at 80 to 90 percent.[2]

Tobacco and Growth

In 1612 John Rolfe introduced a new strain of tobacco. It became the cash crop of the Virginia Company and made the settlement profitable.[2]

The English kidnapped Pocahontas, a young Powhatan woman, in 1613. Her conversion and her marriage to Rolfe in 1614 helped bring a period of peace.[2]

1619: Assembly and the First Africans

On July 30, 1619, Governor George Yeardley called the first representative legislative assembly in the colony.[2]

In the same year the first documented Africans were brought to Virginia to work in the tobacco fields. The National Park Service notes that historians debate whether they were treated as indentured servants or as enslaved people, and that the evidence points closer to enslavement.[2]

From Company to Crown

In March 1622 a coordinated Powhatan attack killed 350 to 400 of the roughly 1,200 settlers. Fighting continued until an uncertain peace in 1632.[2]

On May 24, 1624, King James I revoked the charter of the Virginia Company. Virginia then remained a royal colony until the Revolutionary War.[2] In 1699 the government moved from Jamestown to Middle Plantation, renamed Williamsburg, and Jamestown ceased to be a town.[2]

Timeline of the Virginia Colony

Year Event
1606 First Charter of Virginia (April 10); ships depart (December 6)
1607 Jamestown site chosen (May 13)
1609-1610 Starving Time
1612 John Rolfe introduces a new tobacco strain
1614 Marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe
1619 First representative assembly (July 30); first documented Africans
1622 Powhatan attack (March)
1624 Virginia becomes a royal colony (May 24)
1699 Capital moves to Williamsburg

Frequently asked questions

When was the Virginia Colony founded? The charter dates from April 10, 1606, and the Jamestown site was chosen on May 13, 1607.

Why was the Virginia Colony important? Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America, and in 1619 the colony held its first representative legislative assembly.

When did Virginia become a royal colony? On May 24, 1624, when King James I revoked the charter of the Virginia Company.

What was the main crop of the Virginia Colony? Tobacco, after John Rolfe introduced a new strain in 1612.

References

Why the settlers chose Jamestown is explained in Jamestown: Why There?.