Christianity and the Jamestown Settlement

 

In the 1600s Europeans looked to expand their lands and establish colonies around the world. As English colonizers left Europe and headed to America, they brought with them their ideas and beliefs. One of the first places European settlers established their new residence was the colony of Jamestown. As English colonizers traveled in the early 1600s to the New World, they worked to establish a colony along the Chesapeake Bay. That region in the New World had the resources available for a colony to be successful. This occurred not necessary by want, but more out of default due to previous colonizers from Spain and Portugal that had captured islands and lands in South America and the Caribbean.[1] The initial establishment of the Jamestown settlement presented many risks and dangers to the colonists.

There were cultural, political, and social ideologies that led to the establishment of the Virginia Colony. Generations of war had ended and there was peace between England and Spain. There was political uncertainty due to the death of Elizabeth Tudor. Nonetheless, King James I listened to his nobles and the great merchants of London to launch an expedition and establish the Virginia Colony. The location of the English colony became almost default due to previous explorations done by the Spanish and Portuguese colonizers. Nonetheless, men were sent off from England to establish the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. The influence of Christianity can be seen in many of the social and cultural norms of the time. The work the colonists did daily was in dedication to God and to further spread Christianity in the New World.[2] Christianity significantly impacted the Jamestown settlement.

Although 144 passengers sailed to establish Jamestown, only a little over a 100 arrived on the Virginia shoreline. Eight months after the passengers disembarked the ship there were only 38 men still alive inside Jamestown. Establishing a new colony was very difficult. The colonists faced many dangerous events while establishing their footprint in the New World. Disease, starvation, incompetent leaders, and intermittent war with Native Americans all impacted colonial daily life. Colonizers looked to God for direction and security as they fought through some of the toughest times in their lives. Furthermore, they worked to establish churches and spread Christianity in Jamestown. There were differences of theologies between the Native Americans and the Virginia Colonizers. The colonists were shocked to see Native Americans praising idols and the sun instead of the one true God. This further created hostilities between the men in Jamestown and the surrounding native tribes.[3] The colonizers tried to spread Christianity and hope they could lead the Native Americans to learning more about the one true God. There are clear ties between Christianity and the Jamestown settlement.

 

Bibliography

Grizzard, Frank E. Jr, and Smith, Daniel Boyd. Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2007.

Southern, Ed. The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605-1614. La Vergne: Blair, 2011.

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[1] Frank E. Grizzard Jr and Daniel Boyd Smith. Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. (Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2007). XV-XXXIII

[2] Frank E. Grizzard Jr, and Daniel Boyd Smith. Jamestown Colony. 1-34

[3] Ed Southern. The Jamestown Adventure: Accounts of the Virginia Colony, 1605-1614. (La Vergne: Blair, 2011). 1-32