Jamestown was the first permanent English colony founded in 1607 on the James River. A private company financed this venture called the Virginia Company who had hopes of finding silver and gold in the Americas. After the colonists had established settlements, relations with the indigenous people started with trading materials but eventually became more tenuous as time went on. Leaders of the colony reported back to the Virginia Company, saying that the colony was in good standing for the winter, but, as the fall of 1607 came casualties. The mismanagement of the colony was evident by the number of colonists deaths as well as a search for gold instead of creating a substantial stock of food. In 1608 John Smith became president of the colony, which was short-lived as a nobleman George Percy took up his post as a leader bringing supplies and more colonists. The colony, however, quickly shrank as the Powhatan Tribe refused to continue to offer the colonists support concerning their food supply. The colony ended up enduring, and eventually forged its way into the tobacco industry after the early years of famine, disease, and political disarray.
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