The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1907-06-27
Jamestown Three Centuries Ago.

jamestown Three Centuries Ago.
AS an incident of the founding Of the
great colony of Virginia, the landing
or the English voyagers at jamestown
on May Is, 1907, is worthy of COM
memoration. Jamestown's own history
was tragic. Nothing vital to the sue
cess of the enterprise which CHANGED
to make that point landmark took
place there. First destroyed by VIC
lence in 1876 during "Bacon's rebel
lion then laid in ashes in 1858. the
end of the century found it a helpless
ruin, and its fate was until very recent
years left wholly to the vandal hand
of time.
III chosen and malarious. Jamestown.
AZ the wisest Of The first company OF
colonists to arrive pointed out. coulI
have no future as the capital Of s.aT
empire. The first step CT tie settlers
was fort for defense against tie H.
dams. Tits done. where there was a
citadel the col2nistts rallied. Iiats were
gradually built. and Fort James be
came the center of EnGli1h power and
influence in Virginia. within three
years Ere AID famine SO discouraged
the settlers that the surviving rem
nant embarked for England in 1910
Meeting Il relief expedition bearing
supplies, :ae people turned back. From
that date forward jamestown was new
er anything more than place of ref
uge 1t was fortified in a crude way,
and there was church after 1919, and
the legislature met there.
In the early days of the jamestown
settlement the noted Captain John
Smith was leading spirit. How val
liable his services were to the enter
prise has always been matter of dis
pute. The site for settlement was his
choice, and it is said that his courage
and energy saved the community from
disaster. He sailed for England in
1909 and never returned to Jamestown.
It was at jamestown that the first
felons sold by the English government
to be held as slaves by colonists were
put up at auction. This took place in
1919, and in the same year Dutch trad
ers landed and sold twenty negroes as
slaves, the beginning of this traffic IN
the British colonies. About this time
also the romantic sale of wives to
young planters was introduced, and
without doubt the young women had
as little choice in the matter of their
fate as the condemned felons from
English prisons or the blacks brought
from Africa chained in the hold of the
slave ship.
A great influx Of colonists to the
Virginia plantations after the first
decade naturally caused jamestown to
dwindle in Importance. Its site was
bad. Other landings We're established,
and the social and commercial interests
of the people became divided Bacon's
''rebels" were outsiders-that is, scat
tering planters, who took up arms to
defend themselves against Indians. and
incidentally marched upon Jamestown,
the capital of the governor of the colo
ny Of Virginia, whose policy they re-
scented. The matter Of abandoning
jamestown as the capital Of the colo
ny was long mooted. Finally the
flames settled the controversy by burn
ing all but a house or two to the
ground, and the capital was establish
ed at Williamsburg, an inland settle
ment, but one more central at that
stage Of virginia's development
jamestown is surrounded by historic
spots. Much vigor and greatness that
was to be were Graded there for short
intervals between 1907 and 1893.