Why is jamestown important? jamestown was the first permanent english settlement in north america. it is america’s birthplace. who were the first europeans to explore virginia? the earliest european visitor to the chesapeake bay is believed to have been italian explorer giovanni da verrazano who probably sailed past the virginia capes in 1524. by 1560 english and spanish explorers probably had visited the area also. about 1570, spanish jesuits established a mission on the york river. english colonists at roanoke in the 1580s entered and explored the region. bartholomew gosnold, captain of the godspeed, had been to the north american coast on a prior voyage in 1602. who established the jamestown colony? in april 1606 king james i of england granted the virginia company a charter to establish colonies in virginia. the virginia company was a private stock holding company. the charter named two branches of the company, the virginia company of london and the virginia company of plymouth. the virginia company of london established the colony at jamestown. when was jamestown established? the colonists arrived at jamestown on may 13, 1607. when did the voyage to jamestown begin and how long did it take? three ships left london on december 20, 1606. the ships sighted the land of virginia and landed at cape henry (virginia beach today) on april 26, 1607. the voyage lasted 144 days, approximately four and a half months. why did the voyage take so long? the ships used an established southerly route in order to catch favorable trade winds and ocean currents, as well as to make re-provisioning stops in the canary islands and the caribbean. after spending six weeks in the “downs” in the english channel waiting for winds, the ships headed south along the coast of europe and north africa, stopping at the canary islands. they then turned west to the caribbean, making several stops. finally, the ships sailed north, parallel to the coast of north america, ending in virginia. the entire trip was more than 6,000 miles. why did the virginia company of london establish the colony? the virginia company was in search of economic opportunity. they expected to profit from mineral wealth such as gold and iron ore, timber and wood products and other natural resources. they also hoped to find a northwest passage or sailing route to the orient for trade.
