On April 26, 1607, three English ships, sent by the Virginia Company of London, sailed along the coast of what is now know as southern Virginia. A group of about 104 men and boys sailed up the James River but were watched cautiously watched by The Powhatan Indian tribe. They sailed up the James River another 60 miles and came upon a peninsula which was just what they were looking for. This would protect them from both the Spanish and the Indians. They called this land Jamestown in honor of King James. The three ships landed in Virginia and started building what would be the first successful English colony in present-day North America.
Before the ships even left the Virginia Company, who funded the trip, put seven names in a box and the colonists were told to open the box when they arrived. These names were the people who were picked to run the colony. They were Christopher Newport, Bartholomew Gosnold, John Ratcliff, Edward Maria (haha) Wingfield, George Kendall, and John Smith. After being locked up in the bottom of the ship most of the trip for a fight the other 6 men refused to let John Smith help lead the colony. After Smith predicted an Indian attack they let him in, he then told the men to finish building the fort.
By the summer of 1607 the colony started running into to some major problem. People began to get ill from sickness and starvation. Because of bad water and mosquitoes many diseases were spreading but the biggest problem was the lack of food. Jamestown had some trade with the Indians but not enough. Smith knew that if they were going to survive they needed to get much more food from the Powhatan. Smith decided to go on allot of trips in search of food. The colonists would bring small trinkets and other items to trade for corn, bread, and meat. .
Since the colonists were not fully trusted they got attacked and Smith was captured by the Powhatan.