Third Supply Mission

The Jamestown supply missions were a series of fleets (or sometimes individual ships) from 1607 to around 1611 that were dispatched from England by the London Company (also known as the Virginia Company of London) with the specific goal of initially establishing the Company's presence and later specifically maintaining the English settlement of "James Fort" on present-day Jamestown Island. As an unintended side effect, the supply missions also resulted in the colonization of Bermuda as a supply and way-point between the colony and England.

The Jamestown colonists initially chose the fort's location because it was favorable for defensive purposes. Although some of them did some farming, few of the original settlers were experienced farmers, and as hunters they quickly exhausted the area's supply of small game. To make matters worse, the most severe drought in 700 years occurred between 1606 and 1612. Consequently, the colonists quickly became dependent upon trade with the Native Americans and periodic supply from England for their survival. Captain Christopher Newport was tasked with the duty of leading the a "first", "second", and "third" re-supply missions back to Jamestown. However, it was not until a "fourth" mission under Lord Thomas West that the settlement was finally able to establish both defensive and food security.

The London Company organized a for-profit expedition to establish a settlement in the Virginia territory in late 1606. The expedition consisted of three ships, which set sail on December 20, 1606 from Blackwall, with 105 men and boys and 39 crew-members. There were no women on the first ships.

The ships in this fleet were:

The fleet headed south-west towards the Azores. Early in the voyage, on February 13, 1607, near the Canary Islands, Captain John Smith was charged with mutiny, and Newport had him arrested and planned to execute him upon arrival in the Caribbean (and later in Virginia). Passing Martinique on March 23, they also visited Dominica, on March 28, Nevis, and St. Croix, where they replenished their water and food. By April 6, 1607, the fleet arrived at the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico, where they stopped for provisions before continuing their journey. They landed on Mona and Monito Islands on April 7, and left on April 9, the last stop before the new world.

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