Before 1619

Abstract

Before 1619, the English failed time and again in their efforts to establish colonies in the Western Hemisphere. But, despite the disappointments and loss of capital and human life, a group of Elizabethan promoters, led by the younger Richard Hakluyt, kept the goal of establishing American settlements alive. Yet even Hakluyt eventually grew weary of the problems that the English faced, including in Virginia. Still, efforts to maintain the nascent colony in the face of its many problems continued long enough for the colonists to recognize the value of tobacco. That economic possibility proved sufficient to sustain investment in Virginia despite the terrible relations that the newcomers had with the Pasapeghs, the local Algonquians led by Wahunsonacock, known as Powhatan to the English. The colony survived to 1619, but its existence remained precarious unless the English could identify a reliable source of labor to produce and export tobacco.