10 European colonies in America that failed before Jamestown

National Constitution Center ^ | Tue, May 14, 2013..

[presidio9]

The Jamestown settlement in Virginia, which officially was started on May 14, 1607, was one of the first European colonies to last in North America, and was historically significant for hosting the first parliamentary assembly in America.

But Jamestown barely survived, as recent headlines about the confirmation of cannibalism at the colony confirm. The adaption to the North American continent by the early Europeans was extremely problematic.

The success of tobacco as an early cash crop helped Jamestown weather the loss of most early colonists to disease, starvation, and attacks by the resident population of Native Americans.

A turning point in Jamestown’s fortunes was in 1619, when a General Assembly met at a church on July 30. Two representatives from 11 regions of the area debated the qualifications of membership and other matters for six days. A heat wave ended the session of what would be known as the House of Burgesses.

The session established a government that citizens could address to settle grievances and end legal disputes.

It was a huge step forward, since numerous European attempts to establish any foothold in North America had failed for almost a century.

Spain has tried to establish at least five colonial settlements in North America during the 16th century. It had established footholds in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Peru.

But Spanish efforts failed in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia, in short order.

The settlement of San Miguel de Gualdape in what is now Georgia or South Carolina was built in 1526 with the first use of African slaves in North America. It only lasted three months. The colonists dealt with same problems as the Jamestown residents,

[livius]

Well, I know that the Spanish didn’t fail altogether in Florida, because I still live in one of their settlements: St Augustine, established in 1565. It’s the oldest European settlement in what is now the US.

[Thunder90]

PING

[yarddog]

Pensacola was settled before St. Augustine. Unfortunately no one knows what happened to them. It was later settled for sure.

[SevenofNine]

IT well known fact that Vikings were here first see Native Americans

[muawiyah]

Spain eventually succeded in building settlements in Texas and the Mississippi Valley. They may have even set up a fort at Marietta Ohio but later British efforts there overbuilt on the site of the fort so no one has any idea whether it was an early Spanish fort or a much later French fort.

They had initiated a survey by 1598 (when King Philippe II/III ascended the throne) which was followed up by an even more intense survey effort once the Treaty of London 1604 was promulgated.

Early ~ 1500s - settlements had a variety of problems with a rather severe drought on the East Coast (that may also have affected much of the Midwest and Great Plains) .

This field is wideopen for internet archaeology. There are all sorts of private records out there that make mention of things that could only be known by someone here before the subdivision of North America. Some of them are backed up by archaeology ~ many aren't ~ but there's plenty of opportunity for the astute observer to make some real finds.

There are no easy answers ~ like "the Vikings did it" ~ most all of the Viking finds involve little more than the use of a type of Rune alphabet well known by 1500s Swedes. Sure, it'd be great to find some Vikings, but who are those Swedes here in the 1500s? That's equally enigmatic.

A mystery I'm leaving for others is the old town core of Helena Mt. There are two of them! One North of the crick. One South. The crick was full of gold. Both town layouts conform to the rules and standards of the Spanish "Law of the Indies" ~ these things were old when the locals turned into the Comanches and rode off to raid in Texas!

Local amateur archaeologists have probably got an idea of whether or not this is a pre-Jamestown settlement ~ accessible from the Columbia river, but they haven't published, so they must have found some truly interesting stuff that will allow them to write books that others will pay good money for.

I'm sure there's something to look for there but has it been found. Time will tell.

[Ditter]

read later

[OldNewYork]

Very interesting.

[Travis McGee]

Santa Fe begs to differ, and the point of contest is the word “continually.”

Crazy days back then. What history, for both cities.

[yarddog]

I am going on an old memory but if I am right, when the English, Jamestown settlers first set foot on what is now Virginia Beach, they noted a White couple living in a hut near the beach and living mostly on oysters.

[sean327]

The old Spanish families of New Mexico beg to differ. My family settled in what is now Sandoval County in 1598.

[presidio9]

The one that always interests me the most are the numerous artifacts that indicate Roman presence in America, most convincingly in the first century. There isn't much evidence to indicate that those early explorers ever managed to return to Europe, but it is intriguing to to think about how different the world might be today if they had.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Very cool, I work with some folks that can trace their families back that far.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Thunder90. Bernal Diaz was involved in a couple of unsuccessful expeditions before going to Mexico with Cortez. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Slyfox]

A little bit of Texas history.

The Spanish friars at the Alamo wondered if the land would ever be settled. Because it was one thing to attain the land but it was another thing to fill it with settling families willing to maintain the ranches. That is why the Spanish were happy to have some Catholic families help to settle the land, even if they were English.

[sean327]

My dad seems to think there may have been some that came earlier, but the farthest back we have been able to confirm is 1598.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I can’t even begin to imagine how tough they had to be.

[yarddog]

My family on both sides has been in Florida since the 1700s. they did not come straight to Florida tho. They came from the Western Islands of Scotland to North Carolina then to Florida.

I once saw a 1741 census of the Island of Colonsay and the names were exactly the same as all my friends and school mates in Walton County, FL. There were even several names I did not know were Scottish such as “Blue” or “Currie”. Both common in my hometown.

[sean327]

My great grandfather used to tell me the stories his dad told him about the Navajo raids into Bernalillo. The raids didn’t stop until The Navajo were rounded up and moved to Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner.

[RegulatorCountry]

Ft. Caroline would have been a year older, but they were wiiped out by the settlers of St. Augustine.