The 'Towne of Henricus' Part I

In order to tell the story of Henrico, Virginia, the writer almost always has to tell the story of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The tale begins in the year 1606. The English had just made a peace treaty with the Spanish after a long and drawn out period of conflict. The empire found that they had many ships, seamen and adventurers available, and money again was beginning to fill their treasury.

There were a number of companies in England at that time that 'bankrolled' adventurers looking to explore and treasure hunt. It was still important also, to continue the search for new lands to expand the empire, and of course, to find treasure to fill the coffers of the rulers. In December of 1606, The Virginia Company sent three fully outfitted ships to the New World with specific instructions to set up a colony, and search for minerals and other riches. They were told also, to make their settlement safe from attack by the Spanish and the Indians in the new land.

For those that might have forgotten, this settlement was to be the second try at colonizing Virginia, the first being the ill-fated attempt at Roanoke Island in 1585 by Sir Walter Relegh. After leaving London, the ships took a circular route that led them to the Canary Islands and then on up the Eastern seaboard to what is now called the Chesapeake Bay. The view of the Chesapeake Bay must have been awe-inspiring to those aboard ship. Stretching for 200 miles along the coast and 20 miles inland, the bay was fed by four great rivers. Each of the rivers was given a name that they arte still known as today. The James, York, Rappahannock and the Potomac.

The bay was an excellent choice for the colonists. It had navigable rivers flowing into it, and fertile soil, game and edible plants. The bay itself was plentiful with shellfish. This area was also home to about 24,000 Indians, broken down into 30 different tribes, united by the Algonquin language.

The supreme ruler of the Algonquin confederacy was a noble, powerful man known as Chief Powhatan. He is said to have had over 40 bodyguards and 100 wives. The tribe Powhatan ruled was a people far different than their English counterparts.

The Algonquins had a strict division of labor, with the men being seen as warriors and hunters. The tribe did not go to war for the sake of fighting and killing either. Usually, when a tribe did engage in conflict with another tribe, it resulted in only a handful of warriors dying, and perhaps a few women and children being taken. If the tribe could make their opponents 'lose face', then they had succeeded in winning the battle.

The English never took into account that the Algonquins were not farmers. Yes, they grew maize, but only enough to sustain the families through the winter ahead. If drought occured, or worms took over their corn fields and destroyed the crop, then they suffered because of it. This one important bit of knowledge about the Native-Americans would not bode well for the English colonists as they tried to make their settlement grow.

Because of their concerns with being safe from attack by the Spanish, it was decided that the colonists travel on up the James River to search for a suitable spot for the settlement. About 60 miles upriver, a piece of land was found along the north shore, next to a marsh. It was decided that this spot would become 'Jamestowne'. It afforded natural protection, being next to a marshy area and would be easily defended. Almost immediately, a triangular stockade was erected and life in the new colony was born.

Nine months later, there were only 38 people left of the 104 that started Jamestown. Although the marsh was a great defensive barrier to attack by the Spaniards and the indians, in the hot and humid summer months, it proved to be a putrid, smelly cauldron of disease. The settlers were attacked by mosquitos, which carried Malaria. Being filled with brackish water, the swamp, where the colonist's got their drinking water, caused many to come down with 'salt sickness'. To add to their woes, the English dumped their garbage and excrement into the swamp, and soon were ill with dysentary and Thyphoid Fever.

Through all of these trials, there was still the need to explore on up the river, searching for the falls where it started. They needed to find what minerals or gold that could be found so that the colony would prosper.