In 1606, the London Company sent 144 men to Virginia on 3 ships: the Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Godspeed. These men arrived at Chesapeake Bay in 1607 and traveled 60 miles up the James River, where they built Jamestown. The men had chosen this location because they believed it was easy to protect; however, the decision would be regretted. In their early years, the settlers of Jamestown fell on hard times: the place was scorching and humid, swampy and log, and vulnerable to malaria epidemics. Additionally, Jamestown was surrounded by extensive forests, which made farming difficult. The lack of food, along with the malaria epidemic, reluctance to work, and extreme greed for land and resources led to the near extinction of Jamestown. However, the settlers of Jamestown discovered how to grow tobacco, thus leading to their prosperity and survival. With the success of Jamestown, more and more Europeans traveled to the New World and settled in 3 groups of colonies: the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. The original settlers of New England were the Puritans. Initially, the Puritans left for Denmark after receiving protection. However, Denmark was a Protestant nation: in England, religious mistreatment was rampant between the Puritans, the Church of England, the Catholic Church, and other Protestant churches. The Puritans wanted religious freedom, so they left for the New World in the Mayflower in September 1620. After the colonists arrived in Plymouth in the New World, they immediately established governments and villages that revolved around the General Council. The Puritans sought to reform society in the style they thought God rightly imagined was a plan... middle of paper...lonies, it was the rich and abundant land that drove settlers to plantations . Whether it is a change in geography or life, the colonies are still connected through the exploration feeling of their ancestors. Works Cited http://matsumoto.eesd.org/tm28/col09/colmc.html http://www. ushistory.org/us/4.asp http://original13colonies.weebly.com/mid-atlantic-colonies.html https://www.boundless.com/us-history/britain-and-the-settling-of- the-colonies-1600-1750/settling-the-middle-colonies-and-georgia/the-economy-of-the-middle-colonies/ http://www.ushistory.org/us/5.asp http:/ /plainedgeschools.org/jmolinari/southern_colonies.htm http://original13colonies.weebly.com/southern-colonies.html http://www.landofthebrave.info/southern-colonies.htm http://www.loma.k12. ca.us/CTE/teachers/siegrist/Colonial%20Project/Colonial%20Project/media/Southern%20ColoniesInfo.pdf