What is Jamestown, Virginia?
[[File:Jamestown-Virginia-settlement-ships-NOAA.jpg|thumb|Ships such as these might have landed in Jamestown. These ships are reconstructions of the original ships.]] '''Jamestown''' is a [[town]] in the [[United States]]. It was founded on May 13, 1607, by about 100 men and boys and women who came to [[Virginia]] from [[London]], [[England]].<ref name=jastwnsettHIST>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jamestown-settlers-arrive |title=1607 Jamestown settlers arrive |author= |website=This Day in History |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |accessdate=December 5, 2016}}</ref> They named the town Jamestown after [[James I of England|King James]]. These men hoped to find [[gold]] and silver in order to become rich.<ref name=jastwnsettHIST/> There was no gold or silver in the land because of its [[geography]], which they did not understand at the time. However, they did find out that they could make lots of money from growing and selling [[tobacco]] crops, due to the marshy soil. Soon, they were making their fortune from tobacco instead of gold.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jamestown Colony - Powhatan-English War, Starving Time, West, Pocahontas, Rolfe {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamestown-Colony/The-Starving-Time-and-near-abandonment-1609-11|access-date=2023-07-08|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in what would become the United States. The town was built on '''Jamestown Island''' along the [[James River]]. This location was selected because the local [[Native American]] tribes did not live on the [[island]]. Built on a peninsula, it was a good place to [[defense (military)|defend]] themselves from other [[Europe]]an [[colony|colonists]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacities/7jamestown.html |title=Jamestown - Why There? |author= |website= |publisher=Virginia Places |accessdate=15 September 2016}}</ref> == Background == Before Jamestown, fourteen colonies had been attempted in [[North A