''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 The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

. Captained by

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 ...

, she was joined by the ''

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 ...

'' and '' Godspeed''.

History

''Susan Constant'' was rated at 120 tons. Its keel length is estimated at . The overall length from tip of its bowsprit to stern is estimated at . On the 1606–1607 voyage, it carried 71 colonists, all male, including John Smith.Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center: Jamestown Settlement Ships
/ref> On June 22, 1607,

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). ''Susan Constant'', which had been a rental ship that had customarily been used as a freight transport, did not return to Virginia again. She later served as a merchant ship through at least 1615. Her fate is unknown.

Name

The alternative name ''Sarah Constant'' has been cited, and is shown as being the name noted on the earliest document,JSTOR: “The Susan Constant and the Mayflower”, by Minnie G. Cook
/ref> leading to a belief that Samuel PurchasJSTOR: “Sarah versus Susan”, by Gregory Robinson, Robin R. Goodison
/ref> had the name wrong in his ''Pilgrims'' book.Samuel Purchas (1575?–1626): Purchas His Pilgrimes, In Five Books There is growing support for the name ''Sarah Constant''.“Decades of work will see a ship’s story honored today” , HamptonRoads.com , PilotOnline.com
The article that cites ''Sarah Constant'', presumably written by Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

, is as follows:

Replica

Replicas of ''Susan Constant'' and her sisters, ''Godspeed'' and ''Discovery'', are docked in 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 ...

Jamestown Settlement Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, created in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park for the 350th anniversary celebration. Today it includes a recreation of the original James Fort (c. 1607 to 16 ...

(formerly Jamestown Festival Park), adjacent to

Historic Jamestown Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century town of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia, and opera ...

In popular culture

''Susan Constant'' is depicted in the 1995 animated film ''

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 ...

'', where its captain was Governor Ratcliffe (who actually captained ''Discovery''), instead of Christopher Newport. In May 2007, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

issued the first 41-cent denomination first-class stamp. The stamp had an image of ''Susan Constant'', ''Godspeed'', and ''Discovery''. ''Susan Constant'' was also depicted on Virginia's coin of the 50 State Quarters, in celebration of the quincentennial of Jamestown. The ship served as the inspiration for the ECS Constant in the 2023 videogame '' Starfield'', a generational ship intended to found the colony New Jamestown.

History

Name

Replica

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading