American women are known for being strong and resilient because of the endurance and perseverance that early colonial women modeled at Jamestown. The women of Jamestown were raped, forced to stifle their ambitions, and forced to endure intensive manual labor. Researchers have discovered diaries and stories passed down through generations that describe these women's devastating events. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In 1606, three ships arrived in Virginia, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. They chose the Jamestown area because it was surrounded by water on three sides but was far inland. Jamestown takes its name from King James I. The settlement was completed in June and is shaped like a triangle with gazebos at each corner. Soon after, settlers began dying of diseases (believed to be caused by the river water they were drinking from). Their food was also low and the leader of the local indigenous group, Chief Powhatan, decided to offer them food to help them. They were forced to face devastating food shortages. This period was known as “the famine period”. They ended up eating everything they could, sometimes even previously deceased colonists. This caused the death of 80 to 90% of people. Another ordeal the settlers faced was the threat of the Powhatan tribe. After Jamestown's early hardships, they endured wars between those already living on their land and those who wanted what they had. Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in North America. It was located in eastern Virginia and founded in 1607. Nearly a year after the men arrived, the first two English women arrived. Men outnumbered women for most of the 17th century. In 1620, ninety single women arrived with the intention of anchoring the colony and bringing it respect. Women were known for being the backbone of Jamestown. In the beginning, women did not have enough rights as was previously the case in England. They were not allowed to vote, own land, or even hold political office. If a woman was unmarried, her father held the rights to her until she was married and had a decent husband. The only time a woman could escape her husband's control was when he died. If this woman chose to remarry, she could finally control her own land. Mistress Forest and her servant Anne Burras would be the only two women in the colony until 1609, when another ship arrived bringing more. These are just two of many women who were influential in the success of Jamestown and the building of colonial America. Mistress Forest arrived in Jamestown in 1608 during the Second Supply with her husband, Thomas Forest, and her servant, Anne Burras. Mistress Forest is said to have died shortly after arriving in Jamestown. Anne Burras was only fourteen years old when she arrived. She married John Laydon, aged twenty-eight. This union was Jamestown's first official marriage. About a year later, they gave birth to their first child named Virginia. She was the first child to be born in the colony. This birth brought a sense of hope and stability to the settlers. They eventually had three more children, all girls. These two women were just the beginning of the impact the women of Jamestown had. Pocahontas was born around 1595 and..