The four glass furnaces located by archeological excavation on Glasshouse Point.
In midsummer of 1609, conditions at Jamestown were not good, although it is doubtful that they were any worse than during the two previous summers. The settlers were becoming acclimated, and they were learning the ways of the new country. Supplies were low, yet the number of colonists was small, and a good harvest and a good autumn might have improved matters had not some 400 new, inexperienced settlers sailed into the James without their leaders, without instructions, and with damaged supplies. To add to other complications, they brought fever and plague. In the selection of prospective settlers for the voyage the standards had been low, and too many ne’er-do-wells, and even renegades, had been included. This was the third supply, and it reached Jamestown in August 1609.
THE SECOND COMPANY CHARTER AND THE THIRD SUPPLY.
The company had received a new charter in May 1609 which corrected some of the defects of the old and made provision for a strong governor to rule in the Colony. Despite discouraging news from Virginia, the supporters of the enterprise did not abandon their plans to maintain the colony. The second charter, as this was called, was subscribed and incorporated by 56 companies of London and 659 persons, of whom 21 were peers, 96 knights, 11 doctors, ministers, etc., 53 captains, 28 esquires, 58 gentlemen, 110 merchants, 282 citizens, and others not classified. Altogether they represented a cross section of English life in that period.
It was resolved to send a much larger expedition to Virginia than the three sent prior to this date. It went out in June under Sir Thomas Gates and with him were Sir George Somers and Captain Newport. There were 9 ships and about 500 settlers. The voyage was uneventful until they ran into a stiff hurricane that broke up the fleet and cast ashore in the Bermuda Islands the flagship with its three commanders. The rest of the fleet, except one small ship lost at sea, limped into the James and went on to Jamestown.
Returning to Virginia in the third supply were several men who had been earlier leaders in the colony and who were now all hostile to Smith—Archer, Ratcliffe, and Martin. A confusing scene developed over command. The old leaders, particularly Smith, refused to give way to the new in the absence of Gates, the appointed governor, and his instructions. There was considerable bickering which led to an uneasy settlement, leaving Smith in charge for the duration of his yearly term, now almost expired.
It was obvious to everyone that there were too many men for all to remain at Jamestown. John Martin was sent to attempt a settlement at Nansemond, on the south side of the James below Jamestown, while Capt. Francis West, brother of Lord Delaware, was sent to settle at the falls of the James. Returning to Jamestown after an inspection tour at the falls, Captain Smith was injured by burning gunpowder and incapacitated. The implication in the documents of the period is that Ratcliffe, Archer, and Martin used this opportunity to depose him and to compel him to return to England to face their charges against him. These three men, failing to agree on a replacement from their own number, persuaded George Percy to accept the position of president. Percy was in command during the terrible winter that followed.
THE “STARVING TIME.”
The winter of 1609-10 has been described through the years as the “starving time”—seemingly, an accurate description. It saw the population shrink from 500 to about 60 as a result of disease, sickness, Indian arrows, and malnutrition. It destroyed morale and reduced the men to scavengers stalking the fort, fields, and woods for anything that might be used as food. When spring came there was little spirit left in the settlement. It would seem unjust to attribute the disaster to Percy, who did what he could to ameliorate conditions by attempting trade and keeping the men busy. The “starving time” appears to have been caused by an accumulation of circumstances.