Second Supply
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Jamestown supply missions were a series of fleets (or sometimes individual ships) from 1607 to around 1611 that were dispatched from England by the
London Company The Virginia Company of London (sometimes called "London Company") was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. History Origins The territory ...
(also known as the Virginia Company of London) with the specific goal of initially establishing the company's presence and later specifically maintaining the
English settlement ''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Records. It marked a turn towards the more pastoral pop songs that would dominate later XTC releases, wi ...
of "James Fort" on present-day
Jamestown Island Jamestown Island is a island in the James River in Virginia, part of James City County, Virginia, James City County. It is located off Glasshouse Point, to which it is connected via a causeway to the Colonial Parkway. Much of the island is wet ...
. The supply missions also resulted in the colonization of
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
as a supply and way-point between the colony and England. The Jamestown colonists initially chose the fort's location because it was favorable for defensive purposes. Although some of them did some farming, few of the original settlers were experienced farmers, and as hunters they quickly exhausted the area's supply of small game. To make matters worse, the most severe drought in 700 years occurred between 1606 and 1612. Consequently, the colonists quickly became dependent upon trade with the Native Americans and periodic supply from England for their survival. Captain
Christopher Newport Christopher Newport ( – ) was an English seaman and privateer. During the war with Spain Newport was one of the most successful ' Elizabethan Sea Dogs' to venture to the Spanish Main, making large profits. Newport is best known as the c ...
was tasked with the duty of leading the first three re-supply missions back to Jamestown. However, it was not until a fourth mission under Lord Thomas West that the settlement was finally able to establish both defensive and
food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...
.


Original mission

The
London Company The Virginia Company of London (sometimes called "London Company") was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. History Origins The territory ...
organized a for-profit expedition to establish a settlement in the Virginia territory in late 1606. The expedition consisted of three ships which set sail on December 20, 1606, from Blackwall, with 105 men and boys and 39 crew members. There were no women on the first ships. The ships in this fleet were: *''
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
, 20 tons,'' with Captain
John Ratcliffe John Lee Ratcliffe (born October 20, 1965) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the ninth director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2025. He previously served as the sixth director of national intelligence from ...
and 21 people *'' Godspeed'', 40 tons, with Captain
Bartholomew Gosnold Bartholomew Gosnold ( – ) was an English barrister, explorer and privateer who was instrumental in founding the Virginia Company in London and Jamestown in colonial America. He led the first recorded European expedition to Cape Cod. He is co ...
(serving as vice admiral) and 52 people *''
Susan Constant ''Susan Constant'' (or ''Sarah Constant'') was the largest of three ships of the English Virginia Company on the 1606–1607 voyage that resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new Colony of Virginia. Captained by Christopher Newport, she ...
'' - sometimes known as ''Sarah Constant'' - (flagship), 120 tons, with Captain
Christopher Newport Christopher Newport ( – ) was an English seaman and privateer. During the war with Spain Newport was one of the most successful ' Elizabethan Sea Dogs' to venture to the Spanish Main, making large profits. Newport is best known as the c ...
and 71 people


Voyage

The fleet headed south-west towards the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. Early in the voyage, on February 13, 1607, near the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, Captain John Smith was charged with mutiny, and Newport had him arrested and planned to execute him upon arrival in the Caribbean (and later in Virginia). The execution was never carried out, after the colonists landed at
Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Ch ...
on April 26, 1607, and unsealed orders from the Virginia Company designating Smith as one of the leaders of the new colony, thus sparing him from the gallows. Passing
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
on March 23, they also visited
Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
, on March 28,
Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...
, and St. Croix, where they replenished their water and food. By April 6, 1607, the fleet arrived at the Spanish colony of
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, where they stopped for provisions before continuing their journey. They landed on Mona and
Monito Island Monito Island ( English: ''Little Mona'', ) is an uninhabited island about northwest of the much larger Mona Island. ''Monito'' is the masculine diminutive form of ''Mona'' in Spanish, which also translates to ''little monkey'' in Spanish. It ...
s on April 7 and left on April 9, the last stop before the mainland. After an unusually long voyage of 144 days and the death of only one passenger, they made landfall on April 26, 1607, at the southern edge of the mouth of what they named the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
on the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
. A party of men then explored the area and had a minor conflict with some local "Indians", so the colonists moved north. On , they finally chose
Jamestown Island Jamestown Island is a island in the James River in Virginia, part of James City County, Virginia, James City County. It is located off Glasshouse Point, to which it is connected via a causeway to the Colonial Parkway. Much of the island is wet ...
(at that time a peninsula), further upriver and on the northern shore, for their settlement, as it was a location that could be easily defended from attacks by other European states, notably the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. However, after the long voyage, their food stores were sufficient only for each to have a cup or two of grain-meal per day. Further, the worst drought in 700 years occurred in the area between 1606 and 1612, affecting the Jamestown colonist's and local
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
tribe's ability to produce food and obtain a safe supply of water. In addition to settling, the early colonists were expected to make a profit for the owners of the company. The early settlers were excited by the apparent availability of gold, and from the outset settlers attempted to produce timber for export, given the seemingly inexhaustible supply within Virginia's virgin forests. However, they could not devote much time to developing commodity products, as they were too busy trying to survive. On June 22, 1607, Newport sailed back for London with ''Susan Constant'' and ''Godspeed'' carrying a load of supposedly precious minerals, leaving behind the 104 colonists and ''Discovery'' (to be used in exploring the area).


John Smith (1607)

Using ''Discovery'' and some assembled
shallop Shallop is a name used for several types of boats and small ships (French ''chaloupe'') used for coastal navigation from the seventeenth century. Originally smaller boats based on the chalupa, the watercraft named this ranged from small boats a ...
s left to the colony, Smith undertook three exploratory voyages of the Chesapeake Bay and along the various rivers seeking a supply of food for the colonists in June, July, and August 1607. However, while leading one food-gathering expedition in December 1607, this time up the
Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern border of Charles City County, Vir ...
west of Jamestown, his men were set upon by
Pamunkey The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Pamunkey people in Virginia. They control the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in King William County, Virginia. Historically, they spoke the Pamunkey language. They are one of 11 Native ...
natives, and Smith was captured. After being "saved" by
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
, Smith returned alone to Jamestown just in time for the first supply in January 1608.


First supply mission

Arriving back in London on August 12, 1607, Newport delivered a letter from the council alongside his cargo of "gold" (which was quickly determined to be iron
pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...
). He was then put in charge of the urgently needed re-supply mission, containing a few provisions and more than 70 additional colonists. The ships were: *''John and Francis'' with Captain Christopher Newport *''Phoenix'' with Francis Nelson


Voyage

The first re-supply fleet, tracing the same route as the original fleet, arrived at the colony on January 2, 1608. Upon his return, Newport found that the effects of the lack of planning and lack of skills amongst the original colonists, combined with Powhatan attacks, had quickly reduced the original settlement to only 38 survivors. However, despite replenishing the colony's supplies, the two ships also brought an additional 120 men (settlers and crew), as recorded later by Smith. This proved troublesome, particularly when a few days later the fort caught fire, destroying most of the existing buildings, food, and supplies. Despite their original intention to grow food locally and trade with the local natives, the barely-surviving colonists became increasingly dependent upon external supply missions. After expanding fortifications, rebuilding shelters, and placing armed men to defend crops from native attacks, Newport felt he had sufficiently re-secured the settlement by the end of winter. Accordingly, he departed again for England on April 10, 1608, with another cargo of "gold". In his absence, the meagre food supplies quickly ran low, and although Native Americans brought some food, Smith wrote that "more than half of us died".


John Smith explorations (1608)

Smith ventured into the Chesapeake Bay twice more in 1608, in the months between the first and second supply missions, charged by the company to search for gold and a passage to the Pacific Ocean. The first trip lasted from June 2 to July 21; a second, longer expedition spanned July 24 to September 7. Searching for badly needed food, he covered an estimated 3,000 miles (4,828 km), producing a map that was of great value to local explorers for more than a century. This time he successfully traded for food with the
Nansemond The Nansemond are the Indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile-long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Nansemond people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where they fished (with the name "Nansemond" meani ...
s along the
Nansemond River The Nansemond River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in Virginia in the United States. Virginian colonists named the river ...
, and several other groups. He had mixed results dealing with the various other tribes, most of whom were affiliated with the
Powhatan Confederacy Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powha ...
. These explorations were later commemorated in the
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is a series of water routes in the United States extending approximately along the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary, and its tributaries in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and i ...
, established in 2006.


Second supply mission

Newport and the ships arrived back in London on May 21, 1608, and despite another disappointment with false gold, an additional re-supply trip was quickly organized. Urgently needed supplies and 70 additional settlers were gathered, including Thomas Graves, Thomas Forrest and Forrest's wife "Mistress Forrest and
Anne Burras Anne Burras (later, Anne Laydon) was an early English settler in Virginia and an ancient planter. She was the first English woman to marry in the New World, and her daughter Virginia Laydon was the first child of English colonists to be born in t ...
her maide" (the first women known to have come to Jamestown). Also included were the first non-English settlers. The company recruited these as skilled craftsmen and industry specialists: soap-ash, glass, lumber milling (
wainscot Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to ...
,
clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'', in modern Am ...
, and ‘deal’ — planks, especially soft wood planks) and naval stores ( pitch,
turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...
, and tar). Among these additional settlers were eight "Dutch-men" (probably
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
or German-speakers),
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
(see
Jamestown Polish craftsmen The Polish craftsmen in the Jamestown Colony first arrived in 1608 to serve in essential industries in the New World. They are generally considered the first Polish Americans. History The first Polish immigrants came to the Jamestown colony in O ...
) and Slovak craftsmen, who had been hired to help develop and manufacture profitable export products. William Volday (Wilhelm Waldi), a Swiss German mineral prospector, was also among those who arrived in 1608. His mission was seeking a silver reservoir that was believed to be within the proximity of Jamestown. Some of the settlers were the artisans who built a glass furnace which became the first factory in America. The ship was: * ''Mary Margaret'' (sometimes ''Mary and Margaret'') with Captain Christopher Newport


New colonists manifest

A manifest of "new colonists" in the second fleet was recorded, in Volume 1 of ''
The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles ''The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles'' (often abbreviated to ''The Generall Historie'') is a book written by Captain John Smith, first published in 1624. The book is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, hi ...
'' by Captain John Smith, published 1624.' Master
Francis West Francis West ( – ) was a Deputy Governor of the Colony of Virginia. Early and family life Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 28 October 1586, West was one of four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr (1556–1602) of Wherwell Abbey in ...
and mariners on the voyage are omitted from the document.


Voyage

Newport's instructions were to search for any survivors of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, resume exploring for gold mines, and stage a "coronation" of Powhatan, making him a "sub-king" under
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334 ...
. On October 1, 1608, the supply ship arrived following a journey of approximately three months. Following his orders, Newport searched for the lost colonists and gold mines and attempted a coronation, all without success. He then returned to England, this time not with iron pyrite but with products of the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
including: "clapboard, wainscot, pitch, tarre, glasse,
frankincense Frankincense, also known as olibanum (), is an Aroma compound, aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family (biology), family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality in ...
, and sope ashes". He arrived in London in mid-January 1609, and despite all these efforts, profits from these early exports were not sufficient to meet the expenses and expectations of the investors back in England, and no New-World silver or gold had been discovered, as earlier imagined. Despite these disappointments, the need for another, ideally much larger supply mission was conveyed to the leaders of the company.


Samuel Argall

In early 1609, Captain
Samuel Argall Sir Samuel Argall ( or 1580 – ) was an English sea captain, navigator, and Deputy-Governour of Virginia, an English colony. As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlan ...
, as an employee of the London Company, was commissioned to develop a shorter, more direct route for sailing from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the colony at Jamestown. He was also ordered to fish for
sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...
on the voyage. Rather than following the normal practice of going south to the tropics and west with the
trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...
, Argall, aboard ''
Mary and John ''Mary and John'' was a 400-ton ship that is known to have sailed between England and the American colonies four times from 1607 to 1634. Named in tribute to John and Mary Winthrop she was captained by Robert Davies and owned by Roger Ludlow ( ...
'', sailed west from the Azores to the Bermuda area, then almost due west to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. This voyage took only nine weeks and six days, including two weeks becalmed (compared to the three to five months of previous fleets), enabling the English to save on provisions and to also avoid hostile Spanish ships. Upon his arrival at Jamestown, Argall found the colonists in dire straits, since in April an infestation of rats had been discovered, along with dampness, which had destroyed all their stored corn. He resupplied the colony with all the food and wine he could spare (which Smith bought on credit), and also brought the news that the company was being reorganized and was sending more supplies and settlers to Jamestown along with a new governor. Argall then returned to England at the end of the summer of 1609. His unexpected help was significant, in that it came to the colony at one of the most critical moments in its history, as it preceded the
Starving Time The Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period of starvation during the winter of 1609–1610. There were about 500 Jamestown residents at the beginning of the winter; by spring only 61 people remained alive. The colonis ...
, and without the provisions Argall had left, the colony may have been totally destroyed.


Third supply mission

On May 23, 1609, King James issued a new charter for the company to allow for reorganization and additional capital. Company treasurer
Thomas Smythe Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until envelo ...
organised a major supply mission, with the goal to rescue the failing settlement. It consisted of nine ships, between 500 and 600 passengers, including women and children, livestock and enough provisions to last a year in "the largest fleet England has ever amassed in the West". Newport, as vice-admiral, commanded ''
Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission flotilla to the Jamestown Colony in 1609. She was the 300 ton flagship of the London Company. During the voyage to Virginia, ''Sea Venture'' encount ...
'', the new flagship of the company, which had been specially built for the purpose. It was considerably larger than the other eight ships, and carried a large proportion of the supplies intended for the colony. Also aboard the flagship were Admiral
George Somers Sir George Somers (before 24 April 1554 – 9 November 1610) was an English privateer and naval hero, knighted for his achievements and the Admiral of the Virginia Company of London. He achieved renown as part of an expedition led by ...
,
William Strachey William Strachey (4 April 1572 – buried 16 August 1621) was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonisation of North America. He is best remembered today as the eye-witness reporter ...
, Silvester Jourdain,
Ralph Hamor Ralph Hamor, Jr. ( - ) was one of the original colonists to settle in Virginia, and author of ''A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia'', which he wrote upon returning to London in 1615. Spellings of his first and last name vary; alter ...
, and Thomas Gates, people notable in the early history of English colonization in North America. On June 2, 1609, the fleet departed
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, England. The ships were: # ''Blessinge'' with Captain Gabriel Archer and Captain Robert Adams # ''Catch'' (
ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch f ...
or pinnace) with Master Matthew Fitch # ''Diamond'' (second largest) with Captain John Ratcliffe and Captain William King # ''Faulcon'' (third largest) with Captain John Martin and Master Francis Nelson # ''Lion'' with Captain George Webb # ''
Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission flotilla to the Jamestown Colony in 1609. She was the 300 ton flagship of the London Company. During the voyage to Virginia, ''Sea Venture'' encount ...
'' (largest ship and flagship) with Captain Christopher Newport, Fleet Admiral George Somers, and Lt. General Thomas Gates # ''Swallow'' with Captain John Moone # ''Unitie of London'' with Captain Wood and Master Robert Pitt # ''
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
'' (rigged pinnace; first ship built in Colonial America) with Captain James Davis and Master Robert Davis"


Voyage

The fleet stayed together for seven weeks as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean, save for ''Virginia'' (which returned to England from the Azores). On July 25, the fleet ran into a massive 'tempest', believed to have been a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
, which lasted for three days, and all became separated. After the storm, ''Blessinge'', ''Faulcon'', ''Lion'', and ''Unitie'' came together and headed for Virginia, "falling into the James River" on August 11. ''Diamond'' appeared a few days later, and ''Swallow'' a few days after that (around August 18). ''Virginia'' arrived some six weeks later on October 3. All in all, seven ships arrived safely at Jamestown, delivering most of the colonists but relatively few supplies. In the colony, there was no word of the fate of ''Sea Venture'' (which had been wrecked in Bermuda) or ''Catch'' (which had been lost at sea), including the supplies, passengers, and leaders who had been aboard them. Four of the ships harbored sufferers of yellow fever, while ''Diamond'' and ''Unity'' brought
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
to the colony, killing at least 30 emigrants on the journey (and more over the following months). ''Blessing'', ''Diamond'', ''Falcon'', and ''Unitie'' returned to England on October 14 to advise of Jamestown's plight carrying Captain Samuel Argall, an injured John Smith, and 30 young men sent from England but rejected by the colony. However, no further supply ships from England arrived that year nor the following spring. In the absence of strong leadership and most of the supplies, all of which had been aboard ''Sea Venture'', the existing and newly-brought settlers at James Fort were ill-prepared to survive the winter, resulting in the siege and "Starving Time" of 1609-1610, when most of the inhabitants perished.


''Sea Venture''

During the tropical storm, ''Sea Venture'' was separated from the seven other vessels of the third supply fleet and began taking on water through her new caulking. On July 28 and with bailing efforts failing, Somers had the ship deliberately driven onto the reefs at Discovery Bay in eastern Bermuda to prevent her sinking. The 150 passengers and crew members all landed safely, but the ship was disabled. Over a period of nine months, the survivors built two
pinnaces Pinnace may refer to: * Pinnace (ship's boat), a small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels among other things * Full-rigged pinnace The full-rigged pinnace was the larger of two types of vessel called a pinnace in use from the sixteenth ...
—''Deliverance'' and ''Patience''—using local
Bermuda cedar ''Juniperus bermudiana'' is a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda. This species is most commonly known as Bermuda cedar, but is also referred to as Bermuda juniper ( Bermudians refer to it simply as ''cedar''). Historically, this tree formed w ...
and hardware salvaged from the wreck. The original plan was to build only one vessel, ''Deliverance'', but it soon became evident that one would not be large enough to carry the settlers and all of the supplies that were being sourced on the islands. During the building, ''Sea Ventures
longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest bo ...
was fitted with a mast and sent to find Jamestown, but neither it nor its crew were ever seen again. The named ships were provisioned with salvaged and local goods—from Bermuda the crew were able to gather pork from feral pigs, sweet potatoes, and onions, figs and olives from stock grown in Bermuda. The vessels disembarked on May 20, 1610. By May 23 they had reached
Old Point Comfort Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the Independent city (United States), independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in ...
. The survivors of ''Sea Venture'', led by Gates and Somers, assumed they would find a thriving colony in Virginia. Instead, they found the colony in ruins and practically abandoned. Of the 500 or so colonists living in Jamestown in the autumn, they found only 60 survivors with many of those also sick or dying. Worse yet, many supplies intended for Jamestown had been lost in Bermuda, and Gates and Somers had brought along with them about 140 additional people but only a small food supply. The decision was made to abandon Jamestown, and on June 7 everyone boarded ''Deliverance'', ''Discovery'', ''Patience'', and ''Virginia'' to return to England.


Francis West

In the interval between the departure of Smith for England and the arrival of the ''Sea Venture'' survivors,
George Percy George Percy may refer to: *George Percy (governor) (1580–1632), English explorer, author, and early colonial governor of Virginia. * George Percy, Earl Percy (born 1984), British businessman and heir apparent to the Dukedom of Northumberland *Ge ...
became president of the council in Jamestown. He however accomplished little while in charge, other than to order to construction of
Fort Algernon Fort Algernon (also spelled Fort Algernourne) was established in the fall of 1609 at the mouth of Hampton Roads at Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony by Captain John Ratcliffe. A strategic point for guarding the shipping channel leading from ...
at Old Point Comfort. To secure food, he had sent
Francis West Francis West ( – ) was a Deputy Governor of the Colony of Virginia. Early and family life Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 28 October 1586, West was one of four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr (1556–1602) of Wherwell Abbey in ...
and James Davis up the Chesapeake Bay to obtain corn from the
Patawomeck The Patawomeck are a Native American tribe based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River. ''Patawomeck'' is another spelling of Potomac. The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia is a state-recognized tribe in Virginia that identif ...
in 1609, but instead of delivering that food to the starving colony, West sailed ''Swallow'' directly back to England and avoided the Starving Time by abandoning Percy and the colonists. Percy wrote later that when West brought his ship loaded with corn back to Point Comfort, the captain in charge of Fort Algernon told everyone about the hunger at Jamestown, and instead of hurrying upstream to feed the colonists, "Captain Weste, by the persuasion, or rather by the enforcement, of his company hoised up sails and shaped by their course directly for England, and left us in that extreme misery and want."


"Fourth" supply mission

During the period that ''Sea Venture'' suffered its misfortune and its survivors were struggling in Bermuda to continue on to Virginia, the publication of Smith's books of his adventures in England sparked a resurgence of interest and investment in the company. There was also a religious call in England by clergymen and others to support the stranded colonists. Another mission was prepared, equipped with additional colonists, a doctor, food, and supplies, and heading this group was Francis West's older brother,
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1576 – 7 June 1618), was an English nobleman, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. A member of the Ho ...
, who also recruited and equipped an armed contingent of 150 men at his own expense. The ships were: *''Blessing of Plymouth'' * ''De La Warr'' with Admiral Thomas West and
Samuel Argall Sir Samuel Argall ( or 1580 – ) was an English sea captain, navigator, and Deputy-Governour of Virginia, an English colony. As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlan ...
* ''Hercules of Rye''


Voyage

West and his fleet departed Southampton on March 12, 1610, and arrived on the James River on June 9, just as the existing colonists were sailing downriver to leave Virginia. Intercepting them about 10 miles (16 km) downstream from Jamestown near
Mulberry Island Mulberry Island a roughly (11 sq mile) geographic area located in the city of Newport News, Virginia, in southeastern Virginia. While referred to as an island, it is actually a peninsula bordered on three sides by the James River, Warwick River ...
, West ordered the ships to return to the abandoned colony. This was not a popular decision at the time, but it proved to be a turning point in the English colonization of North America.


Subsequent supply missions

After the return to Jamestown, the settlement had a population of around 375. Captain Robert Tyndall was directed to take ''Virginia'' to catch fish in the Chesapeake Bay between Cape Henry and Cape Charles. On June 19, 1610, Somers, not wanting to be subordinate to West, departed for Bermuda aboard ''Patience'', accompanied by Captain Argall on ''Discovery'', with the intention of gathering more food, including fish, sweet potatoes, and live pigs for Jamestown. Blown north towards Newfoundland, the ships became separated in thick fog. Argall attempted fishing before returning, reaching the Chesapeake on August 31, while Somers, who had continued on to Bermuda, became ill on the journey. He died in Bermuda on November 2 before completing the mission. Captain
Matthew Somers Matthew Somers (fl. 1609 – c. 1624) was an English mariner, captain, and shareholder in the Virginia Company of London who played a small but pivotal role in the early history of Bermuda and the Jamestown colony. A nephew of Admiral Sir George ...
, in charge of ''Patience'' and probably keen to secure his uncle's inheritance disobeyed orders by returning to
Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...
, England, with the preserved body of his uncle. He was able to provide an update to the company on the status of the colony. On July 25, 1610, ''Hercules'' with Captain Adams was sent from Jamestown for supplies. It returned "soon after" the departure of Thomas West, who had left Virginia for the island of Mevis in '' De La Warr'' on April 7, 1611. ''Blessing'' and ''Hercules'' returned to England in September 1610 with Gates, Newport, Adams, and "others from Virginia". When the Jamestown garrison again required provisions in December 1610, Captain Argall was dispatched to the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
and procured maize and furs there from Iopassus (Japazaws), a Patawomeck town. Newport, Vice-Admiral of Virginia, and Sir
Thomas Dale Sir Thomas Dale ( 157019 August 1619) was an English soldier and colonial administrator who served as deputy-governor of the Colony of Virginia in 1611 and again from 1614 to 1616. Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour ...
, lieutenant Governor or Marshall of Virginia, left England in March 1611 for Jamestown with a fleet of three ships, 300 people, and supplies including horses and livestock. Sailing via Dominica and Puerto Rico, they arrived at Point Comfort on May 22, 1611. The ships were ''Elizabeth'', ''Prosperous'', and ''Starr''. The last major fleet of this time, under Sir Thomas Gates, lieutenant General of Virginia, sailed from England towards the end of May 1611 with three ships, 280 men, 20 women, 200 cattle, and "many swine and other necessaries". They sailed via the West Indies and arrived in Virginia on August 30. The ships were ''Sara'', ''Swan'', and ''Trial''.


Impact

By 1610, with the end of the Starving Time, the majority of the colonists who had arrived at the Jamestown settlement had died, and its economic value was negligible with no active exports to England and very little internal economic activity. Only financial incentives including a promise of more land to the west from King James I to investors financing the colony kept the project afloat. The timely arrival of West and the “Fourth” fleet in 1610 resulted in a renovation of the settlement and a counter-offensive against the Powhatan Confederacy, whose refusal to trade and siege of the fort had threatened the food security of the colony. The campaign ended the Powhatan siege and resulted in the marriage of Pocahontas and
John Rolfe John Rolfe ( – March 1622) was an English explorer, farmer and merchant. He is best known for being the husband of Pocahontas and the first settler in the colony of Virginia to successfully cultivate a tobacco crop for export. He played a ...
(a ''Sea Venture'' survivor) which introduced a short truce between the English and the Powhatan Confederacy. This allowed the English to fully secure the colony's fortifications and housing, expand its farming, develop a network of alliances with other Indian nations, and establish a series of outlying smaller settlements. Colonists continued to die from various illnesses and disease, and the company continued to finance and transport settlers to sustain Jamestown. For the next five years, governors Gates and Dale continued to keep strict discipline, with Sir Thomas Smythe in London attempting to find skilled craftsmen and other settlers to send to Jamestown. By 1612, Rolfe successfully pioneered strains of tobacco that allowed the colony to cultivate and export its own
cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...
, thereby ensuring a form of financial security.


References

{{Jamestown Colony English colonization of the Americas Colony of Virginia History of the Thirteen Colonies Colonial settlements in North America Migrant ships to the United States History of Bermuda