Showing results for "Jamestown" in History

What was life really like for the band of adventurers who first set foot on the banks of the James River in 1607? Important as the accomplishments of these men and women were, the written records pertaining to them are scarce, ambiguous, and often conflicting, and those curious about the birthplace of the United States are left to turn to dramatic and often highly fictionalized reports.

Have you ever thought about the treasures we leave behind? This podcast invites you to explore the fascinating world of Jamestown, Virginia, which celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2007 as the first successful English settlement in America. While the colonists eventually relocated upriver to escape the harsh conditions of the small island, they left behind a wealth of artifacts‚Aîsome used, some worn, and some long forgotten. Just as you might underestimate the items that fill your life, the colonists‚A possessions tell a compelling story of survival and adaptation in a new world. ...

The essential history of the extraordinary year in which American democracy and American slavery emerged hand in hand in Virginia “If anyone today knows colonial Virginia, it is James Horn.” —Wall Street Journal Along the banks of the James River, during an oppressively hot spell in the...

Sometime between 1610 and 1611, William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest. The idea for the play came from the real-life shipwreck in 1609 of the Sea Venture, which was caught in a hurricane and grounded on the coast of Bermuda during a voyage to resupply England's troubled colony at Jamestown, in present-day Virginia. A lesser known passenger was Stephen Hopkins. During the 10 months the Sea Venture passengers were marooned on Bermuda, Hopkins was charged with trying to incite a mutiny and condemned to die, only to have his sentence commuted moments before it was to be carried out.

In the spring of 1621, Plymouth Colony sent Stephen Hopkins to make the first visit to Wampanoag sachem Massasoit to present a red horsemans coat as a gift and sign of friendship. For most ordinary Englishmen, venturing off into the depths of unexplored America would have been a once in a lifetime adventure - but not for Stephen.