Plymouth backers acknowledge that Jamestown was indeed founded 13 years earlier, but say the colony begun by the Pilgrims in 1620 proved more important to the founding of the American nation. The first democratically elected assembly met there in 1619. But there were advantages as well to what was chosen as the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. One basic geography question is "Why did the English settle Virginia - and why did they start at Jamestown?" Energy was wasted in the search for gold and silver, when prudence demanded crop planting. Add your answer and earn points. Jamestown is important to British history because it was the first successful English settlement in continental North America. The first English settlement in the New World was the Roanoke Island colony, settled in the 1580s. A disease-ridden, bug-infested swamp with bad water: what a place to found a colony! The root difficulty was that the colony needed soldiers, craftsmen and farmers, but instead was populated largely by self-important gentlemen unaccustomed to manual labor. Few Native Americans were converted. Factors to consider include: why Europeans had the resources/interest to colonize a new world, while the Algonquians lacked draft animals, the wheel, metals, and writing; why the English, rather than some other culture, populated Virginia Why was Jamestown important? Jamestown was very important because it was the first permanent English settlement in North America. Governor John White returned to England in 1587 and when he returned in 1588 the colonists were gone. The Virginia Company settlers made land on Jamestown Island on May 14, 1607. The first Jamestown settlers wanted to make money, but they also put on their to-do list converting the Native Americans to Christianity and establishing a base to counteract the New World successes of Catholic powers France and Spain. Also know, why is Jamestown so important? Why is Jamestown important? The earliest European visitor to the Chesapeake Bay is believed to have been Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano who probably sailed past the Virginia Capes in 1524. It is America’s birthplace. Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first successful permanent English settlement in what would become the United States. It is America's birthplace. Who were the first Europeans to explore Virginia? - 8448032 User is waiting for your help. This colony is important both to history and to the question of Jamestown's importance because it is the LOST COLONY. Jamestown's early history alternated between near disaster and faint success. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America. Jamestown was the birthplace of representative government in North America. Jamestown, in modern-day Virginia, is important as it was the first permanent English settlement in North America.There had been a number of previous … In 1699 the capital was moved to nearby Williamsburg, and there it remained until the birth of the United States. The settlement grew and eventually held the first English representative assembly in North America. The Jamestown settlement in present-day Virginia was the first settlement under the charter granted to the Virginia Company by King James I.