The first permanent English settlement in the new world was the Jamestown Colony, named for King James I. It did not begin prosperously. Early troubles included lack of profit, diseases throughout the colony, internal discord with the native peoples, and confrontations with the Powhatan Indians.
The Pilgrims of the Mayflower crossed the Atlantic to escape Anglican persecution in their homeland. Hoping to leave a lasting imprint on the coastal region of New England, the Puritans formed a strict society rooted in fairness. They acquired land and attracted settlers with their beliefs. The Jamestown colonists, along with the Puritans, created societies that held true to their previous beliefs; their beliefs would be their purpose for their future.
The Jamestown Colony was situated on the Chesapeake Coast of Virginia. The Colony was chartered by the Virginia Company of London in hopes of developing profit. Unfortunately, the investment did not create the profit they had hoped. Settlers were not familiar to the diseases of their new land. Cases of dysentery, malaria, drought, and malnutrition carried off several settlers. A program involving indentured serving was advertised in England because their colonies needed settlers. Many signed up to become servants to land owners in Virginia in order to obtain a free passage from England. The “free labor” eventually lost popularity,