THIS IS AMERICA -March 11, 2002: Jamestown
By Jill Moss
. . . . . . . . .
VOICE ONE:
Almost four-hundred years ago, three British ships
loaded with passengers and supplies sailed across the
Atlantic Ocean. Their trip was long and difficult. They
settled on the edge of the James River in sixteen-oh seven.
They immediately began building what was to
become England’s first permanent settlement in
America. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The colony of Jamestown, Virginia is our report today on the VOA Special English
program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Unlike the first colonists on Jamestown Island, people today arrive by car. As they drive up, visitors can either
stop at the Jamestown Settlement or they can see the very place where the colonists first settled on Jamestown
Island.
The Jamestown Settlement is a re -created version of the colony and a nearby Powhatan Indian village. Visitors
can see what life was like in the colony almost four-hundred years ago. The people who work at the settlement
speak English the way people did in the seventeenth-century. They also wear clothes from that time period and
fire musket guns from colonial days. Visitors can see the kind of food the settlers ate, the games they played and
the way they lived.
There are also recreated versions of the ships that carried the colonists to Jamestown
Island. The ships were called the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery.
VOICE TWO:
Jamestown Settlement was built by the state of Virginia in nineteen-fifty-seven to
celebrate the three-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the former colony. The goal was
to bring more visitors to the area. This is because the true place where the settlers
landed on Jamestown Island offered visitors little to see. Today, however, this has changed. Historians,
archeologists and research experts are now working to uncover the remains of the old colony.
The United States National Parks Service and a Virginia historical organization jointly run Jamestown Island.
The two groups work together to provide visitors with a full understanding of the historical value of the land and
the remains that are being discovered there.
VOICE ONE:
For example, several months after arriving in America in Sixteen-Oh-Seven, the colonists built a three-sided
structure, or fort, along the edge of the island. Some of the remains of that fort still exist today. However, for
years, researchers believed the fort had worn away into the James River.
People visiting Jamestown Island will see a huge archeological project. Guides answer questions about the
discoveries being made. Several hundred-thousand historical objects have already been recovered from the
colony, including the remains of an early settler. Visitors can see many of these historic objects at the visitor
center at the entrance to Jamestown.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
The first few years of life in the Jamestown colony were extremely difficult. The colonists suffered from lack of
food and diseases. They clashed with the Native American Indians who lived there. The winter of Sixteen-Oh-
Nine was one of the worst periods in the colony’s history. It was called “the starving time”
because everyone
went hungry. Almost ninety percent of the colonists died that year. Weapons and valuable farming tools were
traded to the Indians for small amounts of food. Wood from people’s homes was burned for heat. There were no
crops, and no hope.
To mark this difficult time, a memorial cross was built on the eastern coast of Jamestown Island. It honors some
of the three-hundred burial places dug by the settlers during “the starving time.
”
Queen Elizabeth of England
attended the observance in Jamestown in Nineteen-Fifty-Seven when the Memorial Cross was raised.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Jamestown is divided into two areas --“Old Towne”
and “New Towne.
”
The new area of the settlement was
built in sixteen-twenty. This is when the colonists had become economically secure through the trade of smoking
tobacco. Many settlers built homes in the New Towne area. Visitors can still see parts of these buildings,
including the ruins of the Ambler Mansion. This was a two-floor home built in the mid-seventeen-hundreds. It is
one of the oldest standing structures at Jamestown.
VOICE TWO:
Another historic building on Jamestown Island is the old colonial church. A wood version of this church was first
built in Sixteen-Seventeen. Years later, in Sixteen-Thirty-Nine, a stone church was built in its place. Jamestown
Church has great historical value. The first representative legislature in America met here in Sixteen-Nineteen.
During this meeting, a plan of self-government was established for all future American colonies.
VOICE ONE:
People can also visit the Old Colonial Tower next to the Jamestown Church. This tall building was added to the
church in Sixteen-Forty-Seven. Traditionally, builders of seventeenth century English churches added the bell
tower after the church was finished. At one time, the Old Colonial Tower stood fourteen meters high and had two
upper floors. Six small windows were on the top floor. Those openings permitted light to enter the upper room.
They also let the sound of the church bell be heard across the colony.
VOICE TWO:
Near the historic Old Church Tower is a statue of the Indian woman, Pocahontas. She was the daughter of Chief
Powhatan. She married English colonist John Rolfe in Sixteen-Fourteen. This marriage began an eight-year
period of peace between the settlers and the Powhatan Indians. Jamestown used this peaceful time to develop and
grow a new crop--tobacco. With the help of Pocahontas, tobacco for smoking became as valuable as gold. By
Sixteen-Nineteen, the colony had exported more than nine -thousand kilograms of tobacco to Europe.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Near the statue of Pocahontas is the Tercentenary Monument. This tall memorial stands thirty-one meters high. It
was built in Nineteen-Oh-Seven to mark the three-hundredth anniversary of Jamestown. The monument is made
of smooth white stone. Tercentenary Monument is a place where visitors gather before a Jamestown guide leads
them on a walk around the former colony.
For visitors who want to drive around the island, there is a four or eight-kilometer road that circles Jamestown.
The drive provides visitors with a look at the natural environment first discovered by the settlers. Signs along the
drive tell about the early industries and agricultural traditions of the colonists.
Down the road from Jamestown is a stone building known as the glasshouse. Local artists work here every day.
They demonstrate for visitors how the Jamestown settlers made glass products. Glass-blowing was one of the
early industries started by the English colonists in Virginia.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
Nearly one -hundred years after Jamestown was settled, a rebellion led by colonist Nathaniel Bacon burned the
settlement to the ground. The colony fell into ruin in sixteen-ninety-nine, when the capital of Virginia moved to
Williamsburg. Jamestown never became the great city its first settlers imagined. But it did allow England to
establish a permanent presence in North America. Jamestown, America’s first colony, started a culture that
would shape this country forever.
In two-thousand-seven, Jamestown will celebrate its four -hundredth anniversary. State and federal officials are
planning special events. They want Jamestown to be remembered as the place where America’s government,
economy and culture were born.
((MUSIC FROM JAMESTOWN))
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Mick Shaw.
I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program This is America.
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