Crossing the Atlantic

The three ships carrying the Jamestown settlers left England in December of 1606, from the port at Blackwell. The three ships were converted cargo ships that were literally stuffed full of the men and supplies necessary to establish the colony. The largest ship Susan Constant was 116 ft in length and was carrying 71 men.

The second largest ship was the Godspeed, which was 68 ft in length and carried 52 men. The smallest vessel was the Discovery, with a crew of 21. Conditions for the crossing were amazingly difficult. The men on board survived the cramped and squalid conditions on ship without losing a single person in transit to disease or mishap. The path of the three ships took the settlers deep into Spanish territory.

As was the English custom of the day, the ships kept their eyes open and their cannons ready in case they should happen upon a tasty Spanish cargo vessel transporting riches from South America. English vessels called this type of act “privateering,” the Spanish simply called it piracy. The ships landed on the Island of Dominica to refill their water stock and had a first encounter with natives of the New World. These were the Caribe people, who had successfully fought off the Spanish and had earned a notorious reputation as cannibals. The English had no difficulty with them, however.

The next stop would be the island of Nevis, where the colonists were stunned by the Machineel tree, whose bark emits a sap that burns flesh like acid and grows a poisonous fruit that closely resembles an apple. It is on the island of Mona that the expedition will have its first fatality-Edward Brookes, who attempted a six mile uphill climb without water. Minus one member, the rest of the party would arrive safely in the Chesapeake Bay, at a point they named Cape Henry. Now the real work had to begin, the building of Jamestown.

~Recreations of the ships at Historic Jamestown

~Jamestown interpreter preparing to unload cargo

~Deck gun from the Godspeed