Profile America: Jamestown

The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. William Kelso writes that Jamestown "is where the British Empire began." Wikipedia

The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. William Kelso writes that Jamestown “is where the British Empire began.” Wikipedia

Saturday, May 13 — Today marks the 410th anniversary of the founding of the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, at Jamestown, Virginia. Captains John Smith and Christopher Newport were among the leaders of a group of royally chartered settlers who sailed from Plymouth, England, aboard three small ships — the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery. By 1625, more than 1,200 European colonists lived in Virginia, with perhaps 30,000 native Indians. Today, the state has a population of over 8.4 million, and around 42,000 American Indians.

Although Jamestown is now a tourist attraction and archaeological site with no residents, the surrounding James City County has a population of about 71,000.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online here.

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