Beginning of Essay
The European history of Virginia began in 1570 with a short-lived Spanish mission probably located on the York River. In 1584, Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained a grant from Queen Elizabeth to colonize all of North America not occuppied by the Spanish or French. The f ....

Middle of Essay
.... was established May 14, 1607. Early Trials: The colony, the first permanent English settlment in the New World, suffered from poor leadership, famine, disease, disputes with the Indians, and failure to find a marketable product. Captain John Smith returned to England in 1609, and conditions grew so severe during the following winter that the colonists decided to abandon their settlment. As they set sail in June of 1610, Lord De La Warr arrived with reinforcements and supplies. In 1614, John Rolfe who introduced tabacco to Virginia, married Pocahontas, daughter of the chief Powhatan, a union that led to a period of peace with the Indians. Under ....