Jamestown -- the birth of a nation 400 years ago

Yahoo (AFP) ^ | 29 April 2007 | by Jocelyne Zablit

[Thinkin' Gal]

Jamestown -- the birth of a nation 400 years ago

The replica Jamestown ships, The Susan Constant, center, Godspeed, right, and Discovery ply the waters of Hampton Roads as they make their way to Virginia Beach to participate in the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Va., Tuesday, April 24, 2007. The centerpiece of the 18-month commemoration of the 400th anniversary of America's first permanent English settlement is almost here after a decade of planning. About two-thirds of the tickets for the 'America's Anniversary Weekend' extravaganza May 11-13 remain available; 31,587 had been sold as of April 19. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

by Jocelyne Zablit
Sun Apr 29, 6:11 PM ET

JAMESTOWN, United States (AFP) - When 104 men and boys sailed across the Atlantic 400 years ago to become the first permanent English settlers in the New World, little did they know that their odyssey would give birth to history's biggest superpower.

The small group of high-born, but ill-prepared colonists who set up camp along the James River on May 14, 1607 on a swampy, mosquito-infested swath of land in Jamestown, were seeking gold and a water route to the Orient.

Instead they found famine, disease, drought and hostile natives whose fate would forever be altered by the Jamestown settlement, the 400th anniversary of which is being celebrated this year.

"The settlement of Jamestown is a tremendous legacy," Jeanne Zeidler, executive director of "Jamestown 2007," the committee organizing the celebrations, told AFP. "This is the true story of America.

"Jamestown is the story of some very good people and some people who weren't always so good and ... people who learned to live together and sometimes fought each other."

The Jamestown colony, located in the eastern state of Virginia and generally upstaged in the nation's memory by the Mayflower pilgrims who arrived to Plymouth, Massachusetts, 13 years later, also laid the groundwork for America's principles of representative democracy and free enterprise.

The highlight of the quadricentennial celebrations will be a visit by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on May 3 and 4, followed by three days of festivities on May 11-13 that will include stage productions, a ceremonial sailing by replicas of the three ships that transported the settlers and a concert by a 1,607-member choir and an orchestra of 400 musicians.

The queen, who will be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, also attended the 350th anniversary events in 1957 which marked her first visit to the United States as a monarch.

US President George W. Bush is also due to attend the ceremonies which have been 10 years in the planning.

But amid all the pomp and circumstance surrounding a date that marks the birth of a nation, some, especially Native Americans and blacks, are questioning whether there is much to celebrate.

For Native Americans, 1607 marks the beginning of their downfall and for African-Americans, Jamestown symbolizes the beginning of slavery in America with the arrival of the first African slaves in 1619.

"1607 marks the beginning of the English taking our land away from us," said Chief Bill Miles, who heads the Pamunkey Indian tribe in Virginia, which existed when the Jamestown settlers arrived and whose members have refused to take part in the 400th anniversary festivities.

"We are certainly proud to be Americans ... but we don't feel like it's something to celebrate or commemorate the fact that the settlers basically took our land away from us," Miles told AFP.

Of the estimated 15,000 American Indians who lived in the area near the English settlement in 1607, all but about 1,500 died within a century, most from disease or in battle with the settlers.

"When I ride though these roads here I see that only one or two percent of the people are Indians and there are all these other people," said Chief Ken Adams, who head the Upper Mattaponi tribe. "Four hundred years ago there was only us."

No Native American from the time of the English colonists is better known than Pocahontas, whose dealings with the settlers has formed the basis of many legends and a factually incorrect Walt Disney movie.

In a bid to avoid controversy and show consideration, organizers of the anniversary have toned down their wording to describe the event as a "commemoration" instead of a "celebration" and are going out of their way to include blacks and Indians in the festivities.

"We now tell the story of Jamestown as the place where the people of three cultures came together, not only the English," said Mike Litterst, spokesman for the Colonial National Historical Park.

"Certainly those three cultures didn't join hands and come together to join a society.

"But it is the contribution of all three that helped Jamestown survive and ultimately created the character of today's America."

[Molly Pitcher]

Proud bump.

Thanks for the article, TG.

[Thrownatbirth]

Great place to visit this summer. And Pierce’s Barbeque is only 20 min. away.

[Thinkin' Gal]

colonists who set up camp along the James River on May 14, 1607...

Vayechi Yaakov [b'eretz goshen] ping.

[Dave Elias]

There is a Time Team special on Jamestown on UKs Channel 4 tonight. Would be worth streaming it from somewhere...

[knarf]

Bump for the refresher lesson.

[mewzilla]

From this link...

'Invasion' vs. Celebration

....For the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, you'll hear a lot this summer about political correctness and very little about the courageous Christians who helped establish a nation of unparalleled liberty.

[SlowBoat407]

"1607 marks the beginning of the English taking our land away from us," said Chief Bill Miles, who heads the Pamunkey Indian tribe in Virginia, which existed when the Jamestown settlers arrived and whose members have refused to take part in the 400th anniversary festivities.

For the record, the Pamunkey were, at the time, part of the Powhatan Chiefdom and seat of power for Powhatan, who ruled most of what is now Virginia with terror attacks, intimidation and high taxes on foodstuffs, tools and other resources. Women from other tribes were kidnapped and forced into marriage with Powhatan in his effort to unify the tribes. When the Chesapeake tribe in southeastern Virginia refused to join the Chiefdom, Powhatan had them wiped out.

Live by the sword, die by the sword. A more powerful tribe arrived.

[Blake#1]

When the English landed at Jamestown they quickly moved inland to do work that the natives refused to do! Because of this action we have the most wonderful nation on GOD’S GREEN EARTH!

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

Pat Robertson just made a full length movie about this called First Landing. I saw some of it yesterday. Well made, entertaining, and very informative. If public schools would show this half as much as they show Al Gore’s pile of slop, a climate of hope, instead of fear, would create a much more healthy and productive place of learning.

http://www.firstlandingthemovie.com/

[P8riot]

We’d like to welcome y’all to Vajenya, specially during this time. This is the real birthplace of the United States of America.

[tkathy]

Many of the native americans were brutal, tribalistic, slave taking, in some cases, cannibals who spent most of their time killing each other.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the ping, MP. Always nice to hear from you. I belive this article is worth a ping to the full list.

The Washington Family Coat of Arms

(The original family name was D'Wessington; it appears that The General had a bit of Celtic blood in him. This is where the logo on the Washington, DC license plate comes from)

RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list (FreepMail me if you want to be placed on or taken off the list):

[Dr. Scarpetta]

BUMP!

[RayStacy]

“The Jamestown colony, located in the eastern state of Virginia and generally upstaged in the nation’s memory by the Mayflower pilgrims who arrived to Plymouth, Massachusetts, 13 years later,”

I am eternally amazed at how many people, groups, institutions, books, tv programs, etc., etc., repeat that American began with the first Americans and the first Thanksgiving and the first everything else in Mass.

[wouldntbprudent]

The local rag, the Virginia Pilot, rarely even mentions this event.

Wierd.

[Verginius Rufus]

Of the estimated 15,000 American Indians who lived in the area near the English settlement in 1607, all but about 1,500 died within a century, most from disease or in battle with the settlers."

So there were some 1,500 Indians who were 100 years or older in 1707 in that part of Virginia? Impressive. None of the settlers lived so long (most of them had short life expectancies).

Powhatan could have wiped out the Jamestown colony at the outset but thought the English would be useful to him in his wars with other Indian tribes. Powhatan's brother later did launch a massacre which tried to exterminate the English settlers.

[Verginius Rufus]

Back in 1957, when Jamestown was celebrating 350 years since its founding, someone got the bright idea of having the Mayflower II sail from England to America. Why in that year?

[EDINVA]

I’m really proud that someone in my husband’s ‘line’ was among the early settlers. Not a direct ancestor as apparently the poor bloak was among those who didn’t make it past the first year.

For those planning to go to Jamestown this summer (and it would be a wonderful experience especially for school children) .. beware, Jamestown still has a swamplike feel with heat and humidity. Bring lots of water.

[EDINVA]

It’s not only the DC license plates .. the red/white stripes and 3 red stars are the “state” flag of DC.

If memory serves, whenever a head of state visits the city, the street lights (in the tourist sections at least) are decorated with the US flag, the flag of the head of state’s country, and the DC flag.