What Factors Attracted Early Settlers To Virginia

Early Virginia and its Factors of Attraction Virginia was founded in 1587 at Roanoke. The Roanoke settlement was unsuccessfully settled due to unknown reasons. The second attempt at settlement in the Virginia colony was on the James River in 1607 and was successful. Attempting to become the first permanent English settlers of the New World the colonists found themselves surrounded by hostile natives, famine, drought, and disease. Little did these seventeenth century colonist know, they were in route to setting the foundation for the most progressive democracy in the history of the world. 1607 commences the era of chains for the African-Americans and exploitation of the Native Americans natural environment. The Africans, Natives, and Englishmen were impending cultural demise and rise under comparison. The New
World’s invigorating natural beauty in addition to its economic realm of positive possibilities drew Europeans in vast numbers. Colonization for the English, in the New World, was sought for numerous reasons.
Some wanted a more unpolluted form of worship. Others desired to be in the New World because of the fascinating thought of land ownership, or higher social stature. Many others ventured to the Virginia Colony to escape jail sentences, poverty, and corrupt marriages. Economic considerations often played a major role in the ultimate verdict to break away from England and move to Virginia. The visualization of the New World had been portrayed to be a paradise. Upon arrival to the New World, settlers had to make a tremendous amount of adjustments. The settlers were greedy people and wanted the good land. The Indians had ownership over the land that the settlers wanted; therefore the settlers had to incorporate ways to acquire land from the Indians. Because the Indians tools and supplies were not as effective as the settlers, the settlers used that for bargaining. The settlers started trading tools and supplies for land. Eventually the Indians realized that the settlers were taking advantage of them and became reluctant on trading anything with the
settlers. The settlers were unable to produce a sufficient amount of food for them. A period named the starving time started in the winter of 1609-1610 at Jamestown. There were 215 settlers that arrived in Jamestown. By spring of 1610, only 60 settlers remained alive. There was a sever drought in 1609 that caused crops to fail and bad harvests. There were other contributions to the deaths of the Indians, depredations and disease played major roles in the number of people lost. A freezing winter hit forcing settlers to use their houses for firewood. Many turned to cannibalism after eating their way through mice, livestock, and pets. Nearly ninety percent of the colony had died during that winter. The Virginia Colony was extremely rough and uncomfortable for the Indians and the settlers, especially in the first three years of colonization in Virginia. After dealing with death, disease, starvation, lack of food, social inadequacies, and extreme weather the settlers decided to pack up and go back to England. The settler’s ship was not but ten miles down river when another ship approached telling these settlers of the one-hundred and fifty colonists and three ships with supplies that were on their way to Jamestown. When the colonists that were heading back to England heard of these ships approaching they turned around and headed back to Jamestown waiting in immense anticipation of the ships. These people, both, Indians and settlers suffered tremendously.