Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in the Americas in 1607. The settlement was established by the Virginia Company of London in the Colony of Virginia.
The settlers founded James Fort on Jamestown Island beside the James River. The site was named for King James I of England, whose government had chartered the company. The settlement followed earlier failed English ventures, including the Roanoke Colony, and it became the first lasting foundation of what developed into the English colonies that later formed the United States.
Jamestown faced severe problems, including disease, hunger, conflict, and a shortage of clean drinking water. During the Starving Time winter of 1609–1610, only about 60 of the original 214 settlers survived. Tobacco cultivation later transformed the colony’s economic prospects. Jamestown served as Virginia’s colonial capital until 1699, when the government moved to Williamsburg. It is often confused with Plymouth, founded in 1620, but Jamestown predates Plymouth by 13 years.