From the islands to Jamestown
The 1602 expedition returned to England. The Jamestown voyage was a different venture, farther south, in 1606–1607.
| Ship | Captain | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Susan Constant | Christopher Newport | Newport commanded the fleet. |
| Godspeed | Bartholomew Gosnold | Gosnold commanded this ship. |
| Discovery | John Ratcliffe | The smallest of the three ships. |
Organizing a colony
Gosnold helped gather supporters and participants for the Virginia venture. Ships left England in December 1606 and reached the Chesapeake Bay in April 1607. The settlers established Jamestown in May.
The Virginia Company expected its colony to serve English interests and generate returns for investors. Gosnold sat on the local governing council. Jamestown’s location beside deep water helped ships approach, but living there brought severe difficulties.
Whose country was this?
The English entered the homelands of the Powhatan peoples in a region often called Tsenacomoco. These communities had their own leaders, towns, farming, trade, and goals. They were not Wampanoag communities; the Chesapeake and New England have distinct Indigenous histories.
Food exchanges, diplomacy, competing demands, and violence all shaped relations. A history of Jamestown needs Native perspectives as well as the English records.
Learn about Powhatan and his people ↗A difficult first summer
The settlers struggled with food supplies, drinking water, illness, and conflict. Native assistance was important to their survival. Europeans were not protected from every disease simply because they had crossed the Atlantic.
Gosnold died on August 22, 1607. The surviving accounts describe an illness, but they do not provide a modern laboratory diagnosis. George Percy recorded his death and an honored burial with gunfire.
Connect the two voyages
In 1602, the expedition’s short-lived post was on Cuttyhunk in present-day Massachusetts. In 1607, Gosnold helped start Jamestown in present-day Virginia. These were different ships, journeys, places, and Native homelands.
The first voyage helped build knowledge and interest in English colonization. It did not make Jamestown inevitable. Ask how planning, investment, local knowledge, environmental conditions, and people’s choices affected each venture.