The English settlers chose the location of Jamestown, Virginia as the site for their first permanent colony in North America for several strategic reasons. The location along the James River allowed ships easy access to dock close to shore. It also provided the settlers with the ability to see up and down the river for miles from the fort, helping them defend against attacks. While the water initially tasted fresh, the settlers later discovered it was unhealthy for drinking and farming, but they remained due to the strategic advantages of the location.

1. Jamestown, its People and
the Virginia Waters
By Lisa Yanes

2. Why did the Jamestown
colony settle in this location,
and why did they not move
when they discovered that
the water was bad for
farming and drinking?

3. Deciding on a location that was save over being convenient.
It took over two weeks of exploring the James River before the English
choose Jamestown as their first settlement. A narrow link to the
mainland is where Jamestown was placed. The location was 50 miles
upstream from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/7jamestown.html

4. An area with diseases, bug-infested swamp
with bad water: what a place for a colony to
settle in. However, there were some benefits
for choosing this site.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-settle-on-jamestown.htm

5. It was easy for
ships to park.
Ships were close to shore,
they were moored to trees
that were 36 feet from the
water. In 1648 Jamestown
was a bustling port city.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-settle-on-
jamestown.htm

6. They were able
to defend
themselves
from all sides
The narrow strip connecting
Jamestown with the mainland was
under water during high tide; the
peninsula itself extended into the
James, giving the settlers a view
several miles up and down the river
from where they built their fort.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-
settle-on-jamestown.htm

7. They were able to travel from the Atlantic to
the Pacific.
Lewis and Clarke were not the first to seek a
water route across North America; European
explorers had been seeking the mysterious
Northwest Passage for centuries before. The
Virginia Indians told John Smith that to the
west, “a great ridge of high hills”, “a great sea
doth run”. The James River was big enough to
travel through, and it could be a shortcut to the
silk and spices of India and China?
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-settle-on-jamestown.htm

8. Wealth for London
London was looking forward to establishing an English colony in North
America. Jamestown was going to be the new home for the settlers. A
place with a port to deliver treasures back to London.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-settle-on-jamestown.htm

9. Is it Gold or
Fools Gold?
The English heard that Spanish ships were loaded
with gold. There was no doubt gold would be found
in Virginia. Ignoring survival needs, all the men did
was “dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold,”
Captain John Smith was disgusted and reported that
the “gold” proved to be iron pyrite, AKA fools gold.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-
settle-on-jamestown.htm

10. Thinking it was unoccupied
The Council of the Virginia Company of London advised the
settlers to keep the peace with the naturals. In 1607 over
15,000 Virginia Indians resided in Tidewater Virginia. The
colonists needed the Indians willingness to help them
survive on this new land that was unoccupied at the time the
ships landed, may 13, 1607. In fact, the land was used for
hunting.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-settle-on-jamestown.htm

11. Sweet Tasting Fresh Water
The English remarked that the water tasted
sweet. Thinking that the snow from the
mountains was melting, filling the river
with fresh-tasting water. With time, the
weather warmed up and the water was
tasted salty and was unhealthy to drink.
They began to dig wells in order to survive.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/why-settle-on-
jamestown.htm

12. Bad Water
Since 1607, there has always been concern over Chesapeake Bay.
Freshening itself with the ocean has been a natural decomposer. Once
humans were getting sick, it struck concern on what was going into the
bay. No longer were fishermen harvesting seafood.
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/7jamestown.html

13. Bad Waters
The history of the Chesapeake Waters has been a concern for four
centuries, from 1607, when the first English settlement colonized in
Jamestown, Virginia, up to the twentieth century.
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/7jamestown.html

14. Bad Water
Federal and local governments within the last few decades, have
influenced how people use the bay: the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency completed a massive study of bay quality; the Chesapeake Bay
Program was launched; the Critical Area Protection Act went into
effect.
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/7jamestown.html

15. Quote by William Strachey
1609-1610
• This quote was taken from a video of the sufferings that
the settlers of Jamestown had to endure through the
winter. They were completely on their own.
http://qrius.si.edu/watch/quotes-
jamestown-settlers-during-harsh-winter-
1609-1610

16. Conclusion
The colonist were looking for a safe place to dock their
ships. Jamestown seemed to have a lot of advantages
for the settlers, to create a colony. With the water
tasting sweet and cold, it gave the illusion that is was
the run off from the mountain snow. The colonist were
able to see all around them in case of an enemy attack.
The waters were good for traveling in search for a
shortcut to China. Gold was thought to be discovered,
when in fact it was fools gold.

17. Works Cited
“Why Settle on Jamestown?” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior,
www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historycuture/why-settle-on-jamestown.htm.
Google Search, Google.
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+chesapeake+va+jamestown&rlz=1C1AVUC_enUS762US762&tbm=isch&source=iu&pf=m&ictx=1&fir=-
5Iow7R_j13pcM%253A%252CzX8pkcX4KxYLAM%252C_&usg=__gh_ekUX9PrBbEep1imykNjxB9iw%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimzsHa_6PXAhVF54MKHYD6ChcQ
9QEIPDAF#imgrc=-5Iow7R_j13pcM:
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/7jamestown.html
ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. Site,
Scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/fac_books/21/.
http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/fac_books/21/.

18. “Town founding in seventeenth-Century North America: Jamestown in Virginia.” Journal of Historical Geography, Academic
Press, 1 Sept. 2004, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pli/0305748882902419
“Quotes from the Jamestown settlers during the harsh winter of 1609 – 1610.” Q? Rius, 6 May 2016,
qrius.si.edu/watch/quotes-Jamestown-settlers-during-harsh-winter-1609-1610. http://qrius.si.edu/watch/quotes-
jamestown-settlers-during-harsh-winter-1609-1610