Why was Jamestown founded?

Answer 1

There was the thing about finding gold, yeah, but also 'cause they believed they had a right to self governemt and religious freedom. Also to get out of the taxes England was giving their people.

Jamestown, founded on May 14, 1607, was the first permanent English colony established in America. It was located on a peninsula of the James River in the present-day state of Virginia. It was named for King James I of England and here the first American representative government was established. One year before Jamestown was founded the King of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company of London. This charter gave the company the right to settle, explore and govern limited parts of the New World. And so it began when, on December 20, 1606, a group of some 100 men, including Captain John Smith and commanded by Captain Christopher Newport, sailed away from a port near London, beginning an adventure to the New World.

The New World and James River in VirginiaJust five months later, in May, this expedition reached a marshy peninsula about 30 miles up the James River. There they anchored their three small ships-the Godspeed, the Discovery,and the Susan Constant. On the following day, May 14, 1606, these adventurous and brave men first stepped foot upon the soil of America.

Brave and enterprising as this group surely was they rather missed the boat on one point. They had been instructed, back in London, to select the site of their settlement with care. They were told to be certain that the location was healthy. I suppose this meant not to locate their town too near swampy land where all sorts of illnesses abound. However, this was exactly what they did do. They selected what was an island at high tide in the James River. Although the island did possess some hills, the low surrounding areas of the island, at low tide, were damp and swampy. Eight months later when a supply ship arrived, which also brought more colonists, only 38 of the original 105 settlers remained above ground.

Answer 2

The settles of Jamestown wanted to make money and find gold. But they didn't find gold anyway.