In the 1570s and 1580s two British mariners named Martin Frobisher and Sir Francis Drake explored Asia and South America but didn’t start any settlements British adventurer Sir Humphrey Gilbert made a series of expeditions to explore New World sites for settlements On his last ill-fated voyage across the North Atlantic five ships and more than 250 men were lost at sea The British imperialists changed their tactics and fell in behind Sir Walter Raleigh who suggested trying to colonize the southeastern coast of North America In the late 1580s Raleigh established a colony on Roanoke Island in what is today North Carolina Relief supplies were late in coming because the Spanish navy attacked the British ships By the time the British arrived with more settlers in 1590 all of the original settlers had disappeared They were never found Raleigh’s colonization attempt was expensive and failed utterly The colony known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke soured the English on colonization Due to its failure to colonize Britain appeared weak Queen Elizabeth I proved it wasn’t When she learned in 1588 that the Spanish intended to invade England and depose her she rallied British citizens and the military She even rode on horseback to inspire the troops The decisive naval defeat of the 130-ship Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines on July 29 gave England confidence and earned it respect The nation believed it could now rule the seas and again set out to explore the New World Business Ventures England had to rely on the wealth of private businesses and affluent nobles instead of the national treasury to finance its expansion plans Originally English exploration was financed by two joint-stock companies the East India Trading Company and the Muskovy Company which traded with Russia To fund This 1686 engraving is of the oldest European settlement in America which was named after Augustine a Christian saint 9 Against the Odds
the colonizing and trade expeditions the companies sold shares to individuals Turning toward investment in the New World England laid claim to all land from Newfoundland to Florida The vast region was named Virginia after Queen Elizabeth who was known as the Virgin Queen To accomplish the goal of establishing colonies in the New World two new companies were formed the Virginia Company of London and the Virginia Company of Plymouth In April 1606 Queen Elizabeth’s successor James I signed a charter authorizing the Virginia Company of London to explore and make habitation on behalf of England The Charter of 1606 begins Whereas our loving and weldisposed subjects and divers various others of our loving subjects have been humble sutors unto us that wee woulde vouchsafe unto them our licence to make habitacion plantacion and to deduce a colonie of sondrie of our people into that parte of America commonly called Virginia and other parts and territories in America either appartaining unto us or which are not nowe actuallie possessed by anie Christian prince or people scituate lying and being all along the sea coastes between fower and thirtie degrees of northerly latitude King James gave the Virginia Company of London all the land between present-day North Carolina and New York Investors called adventurers lined up to buy shares in the company Not only were nobles getting involved but numerous individuals invested They expected quick and sizeable profits from the New World Just as Spain and Portugal found copper gold silver and precious gems and minerals throughout much of their New World holdings British investors projected the same outcome for themselves 10 Jamestown and the Settlement of Virginia
Beyond the risk of exploring the unknown the adventurers the term also applied to settlers took on political risks Both Spain and France had established colonies along the coastlines of North America and relations between those European powers and Britain were unstable King James believed that colonizing the coastline would be a means of protecting British merchant ships from raids by the Spanish He also believed that successful British colonies would threaten Spain’s commanding authority King James encouraged the Virginia Company to act swiftly were not the only reasons for establishing an American settlement A merchant with the East India Trading Company named Thomas Smythe became treasurer of the Virginia Company He supported exploration to America in the hopes of finding a more direct trade route to Asia Other merchants hoped to find new markets in the colonies where they could sell their British-made goods Religious leaders supported the venture as well Both Spain and France were Roman Catholic countries and Britain was Anglican Protestant British clergy wanted to spread Protestantism among the native people in order to increase the number of followers and undermine the religious activities of Spain and France Profits and politics though the most powerful reasons This is the original charter given to the Virginia Company of London in 1606 11 Against the Odds
