He also built up two new towns. Bermuda City he named for the haven which the Sea Venture survivors had appreciated after the tempest. After Gates became governor in 1611, Dale preferred to live in Henricopolis, which was situated on a higher and drier site than Jamestown enjoyed. It had three streets of well-framed houses, several having brick first stories. They had gardens and orchards, and more space than those in Jamestown.
By Christmas there was a pretty street in Jamestown itself which had a London look. There were "two fair rows of framed timber houses with upper garrets corn-loft high." Some had plaster on the lower framing and some weather boarding, while still others had shingle tiles which were hung from the battens across the posts. There was a blockhouse outside of town, the town itself being enclosed with a palisade.
Sir Thomas Gates who had arrived again in August of 1611 with six vessels and three hundred men, replacing Dale, had the "Country House" for governors built. It had a commanding view of the river, outside of the town limits.
Fine as these buildings were, they were constantly needing repair. A jealous Spanish spy declared in 1613 that the whole settlement could be kicked over. Spanish spies had been captured outside of Jamestown in 1611 and were kept there for several years.
Until 1612 Sir Thomas Smith, who was no kin of John, but who gave prestige to the name, being the most powerful merchant in London, had managed the colony by remote control, along with his docile council in England. Then a joint stock company began, being composed of the "court party" which urged martial law and the "patriot party." Sir Thomas Smith gradually veered from the patriot to the court party, leaving the former to brilliant Sir Edwin Sandys.
Samuel Argall, a cousin of Thomas Smith, had landed with Delaware earlier. In 1613 he was sent to capture fifteen Frenchmen who had left Nova Scotia to try a settlement in Mount Desert, Maine, and he brought them as prisoners to Jamestown.
That same year Argall became a frequent figure in the Pocahontas story.
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