Virginia Company of London
 |
|
| Public | |
| Industry | Company colonies |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | The Somers Isles Company (in Bermuda) |
| Founded | 1606 |
| Defunct | 1624 |
| Headquarters | London, Kingdom of England |
|
Number of locations
|
Jamestown, Virginia, St. George's, Bermuda, Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, Henricus, Virginia, Charles City Point, Virginia |
|
Area served
|
Virginia, Bermuda, New England |
| Products | Cash crops, Tobacco, Timber |
The London Company (also called the Charter of the Virginia Company of London) was an English established in 1606 by royal charter by King James I with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
The territory granted to the London Company included the coast south America from the 34th parallel (Cape Fear) north to the 41st parallel (in Long Island Sound). As part of the Virginia Company and Colony, the London Company owned a large portion of Atlantic and Inland Canada. The company was permitted by its charter to establish a 100-square-mile (260 km2) settlement within this area. The portion of the company's territory north of the 38th parallel was shared with the Plymouth Company, with the stipulation that neither company found a colony within 100 miles (161 km) of each other.
The London Company made landfall on April 26, 1607, at the southern edge of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, which they named Cape Henry, near present-day Virginia Beach. Deciding to move the encampment, on May 4, 1607, they established the Jamestown Settlement on the James River about 40 miles (64 km) upstream from its mouth at the Chesapeake Bay. Later in 1607, the Plymouth Company established its Popham Colony in present-day Maine, but it was abandoned after about a year. By 1609, the Plymouth Company had dissolved. As a result, the charter for the London Company was adjusted with a new grant that extended from "sea to sea" of the previously-shared area between the 38th and 40th parallel. It was amended in 1612 to include the new territory of the Somers Isles (or Bermuda).
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