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Jamestown Settlement
Three ships carrying 105 settlers select a site on Chesapeake Bay for a new settlement named Jamestown. -
Pocahontas Rescues John Smith
Captain John Smith departs Jamestown with a provisioning party to obtain food from the neighboring Indian villages. During this mission, he will be captured by the Pamunkey chief Powhatan. Later he will be rescued by Pocahontas. -
Sir Thomas Gates is named Governor
Sir Thomas Gates is named governor of the Jamestown colony as part of a reform effort. He will arrive in Jamestown on 23 May 1610, only to discover that just 60 of the colony's 500 settlers have survived the preceding winter. -
John Rolfe first Tobacco Crop
English settler John Rolfe begins experimenting with cultivation of tobacco. While the tobacco produced locally by the Indians is too harsh to sell in the European market. -
First Africans in Virginia
About twenty Africans servants are delivered to the colony. These may be the first Africans in Virginia. -
Indian Raids
Pamunkey Indians, disturbed by the rapid growth of the Jamestown colony, attack the English settlement, killing 347 people. Harsh retaliatory raids lead to the deaths of a far greater number of Native Americans. -
First Royal Colony
The Virginia Company's charter is revoked and governance of Jamestown is transferred to the Crown. Virginia becomes Britain's first royal colony in America.
