Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in the Americas after its establishment in the Virginia Colony in 1607.
The London Company organized the expedition under a charter from King James I. The settlers built a fortified community on an island in the James River, choosing a defensible location that also allowed ships to reach deep water. The settlement was named for James I, who ruled England at the time.
Jamestown faced severe problems, including disease, hunger, conflict, and shortages of supplies. The winter of 1609–1610 became known as the Starving Time, when the population fell drastically. The colony survived, however, and Virginia developed into one of the English colonies that later joined the American Revolution.
Jamestown is sometimes confused with Plymouth, founded in 1620, or Roanoke, an earlier English colony that disappeared. St. Augustine was founded by Spain in 1565, making it older than Jamestown but not English. Jamestown's history therefore connects the colonial era to the nation commemorating its 250th anniversary in 2026.