# 4136 - 2007 41c Settlement of Jamestown
2007 41¢ Settlement of Jamestown
City: Jamestown, VA
Quantity: 60,000,000
Method: Lithographed
Settlement Of Jamestown
England’s Queen Elizabeth I granted Sir Walter Raleigh permission to establish a colony in America in 1584. Raleigh sent several expeditions to the New World, but they all failed due to inadequate supplies. At that time, Raleigh and the queen gave the name Virginia to the east coast of America, after Elizabeth who was known as the “virgin queen.”
They finally selected a site along present-day Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. The men made landfall on May 14, 1607 and named the small peninsula settlement and nearby river in honor of their king, James I. At Jamestown, the first representative government of the American continent was established. However, the site of the settlement was a poor choice, the men were ill equipped for manual labor, and disease took a heavy toll. Additionally, no gold was found, and the men showed little interest in farming the land.
The first two women arrived in October 1608 on the ship Mary and Margaret. Mistress Forrest was joining her husband, but sickened on the three-month long journey and reportedly died within a month after arriving. The second woman, 14-year-old Anne Burras, had been Mistress Forrest’s personal maid. She married carpenter John Laydon just three months after her arrival. They were the first couple to be married in Jamestown, and were also the parents of the first English child born in Jamestown in December 1609. Virginia was the first of four daughters born to the couple, the others being Margaret, Katherine, and Alice. John and Anne were among the lucky few who survived the “Starving Time” during the winter of 1609-10.
That the colony survived at all in those first years was due to the strong leadership of Captain John Smith. Born in England, John Smith was a soldier and adventurer who fought for many causes. He fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, and in Eastern Europe against the Turks. Smith was even captured and enslaved by the Turks until he escaped to Russia.
Unfortunately, Captain Smith was severely wounded in a gunpowder accident in 1609 and had to return to England. Without Smith’s leadership, the colony floundered. During the following winter, many colonists died of starvation. In the spring, the colonists began to leave Jamestown, but were met by supply ships led by Governor Thomas West, who was also known as Lord De La Warr.
2007 41¢ Settlement of Jamestown
City: Jamestown, VA
Quantity: 60,000,000
Method: Lithographed
Settlement Of Jamestown
England’s Queen Elizabeth I granted Sir Walter Raleigh permission to establish a colony in America in 1584. Raleigh sent several expeditions to the New World, but they all failed due to inadequate supplies. At that time, Raleigh and the queen gave the name Virginia to the east coast of America, after Elizabeth who was known as the “virgin queen.”
They finally selected a site along present-day Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. The men made landfall on May 14, 1607 and named the small peninsula settlement and nearby river in honor of their king, James I. At Jamestown, the first representative government of the American continent was established. However, the site of the settlement was a poor choice, the men were ill equipped for manual labor, and disease took a heavy toll. Additionally, no gold was found, and the men showed little interest in farming the land.
The first two women arrived in October 1608 on the ship Mary and Margaret. Mistress Forrest was joining her husband, but sickened on the three-month long journey and reportedly died within a month after arriving. The second woman, 14-year-old Anne Burras, had been Mistress Forrest’s personal maid. She married carpenter John Laydon just three months after her arrival. They were the first couple to be married in Jamestown, and were also the parents of the first English child born in Jamestown in December 1609. Virginia was the first of four daughters born to the couple, the others being Margaret, Katherine, and Alice. John and Anne were among the lucky few who survived the “Starving Time” during the winter of 1609-10.
That the colony survived at all in those first years was due to the strong leadership of Captain John Smith. Born in England, John Smith was a soldier and adventurer who fought for many causes. He fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, and in Eastern Europe against the Turks. Smith was even captured and enslaved by the Turks until he escaped to Russia.
Unfortunately, Captain Smith was severely wounded in a gunpowder accident in 1609 and had to return to England. Without Smith’s leadership, the colony floundered. During the following winter, many colonists died of starvation. In the spring, the colonists began to leave Jamestown, but were met by supply ships led by Governor Thomas West, who was also known as Lord De La Warr.