Jamestown was founded in 1607 primarily as an English venture to establish a permanent colony in the New World. It was sponsored and funded by the Virginia Company of London, a group of investors aiming to profit from discovering gold, silver, and other valuable resources, as well as to find a possible water route to the Pacific for trade with the Orient. Additionally, England sought to counterbalance the expansion of other European nations abroad and to convert Native Americans to the Anglican religion. The settlement was also strategically chosen for its defensible position and deep water anchorage on the James River. It was named Jamestown after King James I, who had granted the charter to the Virginia Company to establish the colony. The founding of Jamestown marked England's first permanent foothold in North America and began a significant cultural and historical chapter in what would become the United States.
