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1607 BCE
The Search for Riches
Inspired by the Spanish riches from colonies founded upon the conquest of the Aztecs, Incas, and other large Native American populations in the 16th century, the first Englishmen to settle permanently in America hoped for some of the same rich discoveries when they established their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, VA in 1607. -
1607 BCE
Virginia Colonies
It took strong leaders, like John Smith, to convince the colonists of Jamestown that searching for gold was not taking care of their immediate needs for food and shelter and the biblical principle that "he who will not work shall not eat.“
The extremely high mortality rate was quite distressing and cause for despair among the colonists. Tobacco later became a cash crop, with the work of John Rolfe and others, for export and the sustaining economic driver of VA and the neighboring colony of MD. -
1607 BCE
Religious Immigration
Roman Catholics were the first major religious group to immigrate to the New World
Settlers in the colonies of Portugal and Spain (and later, France) were required to belong to that faith -
Migration to North America
A strong believer in the notion of rule by divine right, Charles I, King of England and Scotland, persecuted religious dissenters.
Waves of repression led to the migration of about 20,000 Puritans to New England between 1629 and 1642, where they founded multiple colonies.
