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Line 19: − + + + + + + + − Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] led an English exploration party in 1584. A group of men from England invested in a Joint Stock Company called "The Virginia Company" to find gold and other treasures. The company was granted lands in 1606 from what is now [[North Carolina]] to [[New York]], all under the name of "Virginia" after [[Queen Elizabeth I]] (known as the "Virgin Queen" as she never married). It established the first permanent settlement for England known as [[Jamestown]].<ref>[http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown/jamestown.cfm Jamestown Settlement], accessed 10 March 2007</ref>
→Indians: Jamestown
Before Europeans arrived, there were three main groups of [[American Indians]] living in the area now covered by Virginia. These were the [[Algonquian]], [[Iroquoian]] (including [[Cherokee]], [[Meherrin]] and [[Nottoway]]) and the [[Siouan]] Indians.<ref>http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html accessed 10 March 2007</ref>
Before Europeans arrived, there were three main groups of [[American Indians]] living in the area now covered by Virginia. These were the [[Algonquian]], [[Iroquoian]] (including [[Cherokee]], [[Meherrin]] and [[Nottoway]]) and the [[Siouan]] Indians.<ref>http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html accessed 10 March 2007</ref>
Spanish explorers visited parts of what is now Virginia in 1560 and again in 1570 when [[Jesuit]] missionaries attempted to set up a mission. Within a year, instead of converting the Indians to Christianity, they had been killed by the Indians.<ref>''[http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20030830.html Spanish Martyrs for Virginia]'' by Matthew M. Anger (30 August 2003), accessed 10 March 2007</ref>
The Powhatan were the most powerful and numerous tribe; they lived in settled villages in the eastern shore and tidewater regions. Their food came from hunting, fishing, and garden crops, such as corn, squash, and pumpkins. The Indian population of Virginia was never great, numbering perhaps 17,000 in 1607. The numbers declined sharply because of new diseases especially smallpox. The English adopted many Indian place names, including Appomattox, Nansemond, Rappahannock, and Shenandoah.
Spanish explorers visited parts of what is now Virginia in 1560 and again in 1570 when [[Jesuit]] missionaries attempted to set up a mission, but were all killed by Indians. <ref>''[http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20030830.html Spanish Martyrs for Virginia]'' by Matthew M. Anger (30 August 2003)</ref>
English adventurer Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] led an exploration party in 1584. A group of men from England invested in a Joint Stock Company called "The Virginia Company" to find gold and other treasures. King [[James I]] granted lands to company in 1606 stretching from North Carolina to New York. The name "Virginia" honors [[Queen Elizabeth I]] (known as the "Virgin Queen" as she never married). The company in 1607 sent 105 settlers who established the first permanent settlement.<ref>[http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown/jamestown.cfm Jamestown Settlement], accessed 10 March 2007</ref>
The stockade village, named "[[Jamestown]]" after King James I, was poorly sited in a grassy swamp filled with malaria-bearing mosquitos. There was a shortage of fresh water or good soil. Malaria and other diseases, "starving times" of low food supplies, low morale, poor leadership, and repeated Indian attacks left Jamestown on the verge of extinction. In 1624 the company was bankrupt and the king revoked the charter; the colony thus came under the direct administration of the crown until 1775.
==Colonial Era==
==Colonial Era==
==American Revolution==
==American Revolution==