Surrounded by Danger

The site chosen by the first Jamestown settlement is free of Indians, but there are plenty of Indians villages in the surrounding area. This is a single tribe, numbering perhaps 20,000, with villages that line all the inlets.

The Indians are wary of the new settlers at first, then cautiously friendly. During the first few hard years, settlers are dependent upon food which they receive from the Indians in trade, and sometimes as a gift.

But as soon as the settlement becomes established, things turn more confrontational. As the colony expands, the English encroach further and further into Indian territory, driven to continue planting more and more tobacco.


	Surrounded by Hostiles The entire western side of Chesapeake Bay is Indian country. The ORANGE dots indicate Indian villages. Jamestown is the GREEN dot in their midst, a swampy site which the Indians don't want. Although the settlers are counting on establishing friendly relations, the situation soon deteriorates. Newly-arriving settlers come into conflict with Indians over shoreline areas.



	Friendly Indians, at first During the first year at Jamestown, food quickly becomes a problem. Local Indians attempt to establish friendly relations by giving food to the hungry settlers, knowing that they have ships and weapons that seem to have magical powers. The text above, which documents this, is taken from the journal of one of the settlers during that first year. But as soon as the colony begins to prosper, with increasing tobacco income, tensions begin to mount. Conflict will soon erupt.


	Turf Wars As time goes on, settlers keep extending their settlements further and further upriver from Jamestown (GREEN dots above). Within 10 years, there are 1400 settlers. The once-friendly Indians now view the English settlement as a spreading cancer, which must be wiped out by any means necessary. The Indians bide their time, then suddenly launch a vicious attack. Despite their losses, the English hang on, and go on to win all four Indian wars. In the end, Indians submit to English rule.