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Article: 1607: the legacy of Jamestown: four hundred years ago, the first permanent English settlement in North America planted the seed that became the United States. How would things be different if the colonists had given up and gone home?(TIMES PAST)
- Article from:
- New York Times Upfront
- Article date:
- November 27, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BACKGROUND
Jamestown was not the first European settlement in North America, but it was England's foothold in the NewWorld and the seed from which the United States sprang. The world might be a much different place had the Spanish, French, Swedish, or Dutch won the contest to control the continent.
Sailing in three small ships and armed with a charter from King James I, 144 settlers and seamen left England in December 1606, hungry for gold, committed to converting "savages," and seeking to colonize the New World.
On May 14, 1607, they reached their destination and came ashore 60 miles from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, where they would be safe ...