In the early 1600s, England built its first permanent colonies in North America. These settlements, Jamestown and Plymouth, were started for different reasons and faced different challenges. Both colonies helped shape the future of English colonization in America.
Jamestown: A Colony for Profit
Jamestown, founded in 1607 in present-day Virginia, was the first successful English colony in North America. It was started by the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company. This company allowed many investors to pool their money to pay for the colony. They hoped the colony would find gold, silver, and other resources to sell in Europe.
Most Jamestown settlers were men, including wealthy gentlemen and workers. Their main goal was to make money, not to build a community. At first, many settlers spent time searching for gold instead of farming or preparing for winter. Their lack of planning led to serious problems.
The colony was built in a swampy area with unsafe water and disease-carrying mosquitoes. Food was scarce. The settlers also clashed with the Indigenous Powhatan Confederacy, a powerful group of tribes in the region. When trade broke down, the Powhatan stopped helping the settlers, leading to starvation.
Jamestown barely survived its first years. Captain John Smith helped organize work and traded for food, but after he left, the colony suffered again during the “Starving Time.” Eventually, the settlers discovered that tobacco could grow well in Virginia. Tobacco became a cash crop that helped the colony earn money for its investors. Over time, Jamestown grew into a profitable settlement.
Plymouth: A Colony for Religious Freedom
Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620 in present-day Massachusetts, had a very different purpose. The people who started Plymouth were English Separatists, later called the Pilgrims. They wanted to escape religious persecution in England and practice their faith freely. They first moved to the Netherlands, but later decided to sail to North America.
The Pilgrims traveled across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship called the Mayflower. They planned to settle near the Hudson River, but storms forced them to land farther north. They named their colony Plymouth after the town in England where their journey began.
Before coming ashore, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, agreeing to govern themselves and make decisions as a group. Their first winter was harsh. More than half the settlers died from cold, hunger, and disease. Help came from nearby Indigenous people. A man named Squanto taught them how to plant corn and catch fish. The Pilgrims made a peace agreement with the Wampanoag leader Massasoit, which helped the colony survive.
Plymouth remained a small but stable community focused on religious life and cooperation. Later, it became part of the larger Massachusetts colony.
