The London Company (also called the Charter of the Virginia Company of London), established by royal charter by James I of England on October 26, 1606, with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America, is not founded as a joint stock company, but will become one under the 1609 charter.

The territory granted to the London Company includes the coast of North America from the 34th parallel (Cape Fear) north to the 41st parallel (in Long Island Sound), but being part of the Virginia Company and Colony, the London Company owns a large portion of Atlantic and Inland Canada.

The company is permitted by its charter to establish a one hundred-square-mile (two hundred and sixty square kilometer) settlement within this area.

The portion of the company's territory north of the thirty-eighth parallel is shared with the Plymouth Company, with the stipulation that neither company establish a colony within one hundred miles (one hundred and sixty-one kilometers) of each other.

The name "Virginia" applies at this time to the entire northeast coast of North America from Spanish Florida to New France in modern-day Canada.

The area is technically under the claim of the Spanish crown, but is not occupied.

The Plymouth Company’s royal charter has granted it the rights to the coast between 38° to 45° N; the rival London Company has been granted the coast between 34° and 41° N. The colonists are to plant first within their respective non-overlapping areas; the overlapping area between 38° and 41° will then go to the first company that proves "strong enough" to colonize it.

The Popham Colony is a project of the Plymouth Company.

The first Plymouth Company ship, Richard, had sailed in August 1606 but the had Spanish intercepted and captured it near Florida in November.

The next attempt is more successful.

About one hundred and twenty colonists on May 31, 1607, leave Plymouth in two ships.

They intend to trade precious metals, spices, furs, and show that the local forests could be used to build English ships.

Colony leader George Popham sails aboard the Gift of God with Raleigh Gilbert as second-in-command.

The captain of the latter ship, Robert Davies, keeps a diary that is to be one of the main contemporary sources of the information about the Popham Colony.

George Popham is the nephew of one of the financial backers of the colony, Sir John Popham, the Lord Chief Justice of England, while Gilbert is the half nephew of Sir Walter Raleigh.

Other financiers include Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the military governor of Plymouth; much of the information about the events in the colony comes from his letters and memoirs.

Settlers include nine council members and six other gentlemen, while the rest are soldiers, artisans, farmers and traders.

The Popham Colony, founded five years after the settlement attempt at Cuttyhunk in what is now Massachusetts, is the second English colony in the region that will eventually become known as New England.

The ship Gift of God of the Plymouth Company arrives on August 13, 1607, at the mouth of the modern-day Kennebec River (at this time called the Sagadahoc River) in present-day Maine.

The English colonists establish a Fort St. George, also known as the Popham Colony.

The Mary and John arrives three days later.

The Popham Colony is settled on the headland of an area named Sabino.

The colonists quickly begin construction of large star-shaped Fort St. George, which includes ditches and ramparts and contains nine cannons that range in size from demi-culverin to falcon.

Colonist John Hunt had drawn a map of the colony on October 8, 1607, showing eighteen buildings including the admiral's house, a chapel, a storehouse, a cooperage, and a guardhouse.

Hunt was listed in the colony register as "draughtsman".

It is not known if all the buildings were completed at the time.

Hunt's map will be discovered in 1888 in the Spanish national archives.

A spy had sold it to a Spanish ambassador who had sent it to Spain.

It might be a copy of the now-lost original map, and is the only known plan of the original layout of any early English colony.

Popham and Gilbert have sent survey expeditions up the river and contacted the Abenaki, a tribe of Native Americans/First Nations belonging to the Algonquian peoples of northeastern North America.

In a letter to the King, Popham had written that the natives had told them that the area was full of easily exploitable resources.

However, the colony fails to establish cooperation with the tribe; they are suspicious because earlier expeditions had kidnapped natives to show at home.

Late summer arrival meant that there was no time to farm for food.

Half of the colonists return to Great Britain in December 1607 aboard the Gift of God.

Others face a cold winter during which the Kennebec River will freeze.

Fire has at least destroyed the Popham Colony's storehouse and its provisions.

Later excavation has hinted that there might have been other fires.

Colonists have divided into two factions, one supporting George Popham and the other Ralegh Gilbert.

George Popham dies on February 5, 1608, possibly the only colonist to die—a contrast to Jamestown, which loses half its population this year.

Ralegh Gilbert on February 5, 1608, at age twenty-five, becomes "colony president".

The Popham colonists have completed one major project: the building of a thirty-ton ship, a pinnace they name Virginia of Sagadahoc.

It is the first ship built in America by Europeans, and is meant to show that the colony could be used for shipbuilding.

They also finally managed to trade with the Abenaki for furs and gather a cargo of sarsaparilla.

When a supply ship comes in 1608, it brings a message that Sir John Popham had died.

Gilbert had sent the Mary and John to England with cargo.

When the ship returns later in the summer, it brings news that Gilbert's elder brother John had died.

Gilbert is therefore an heir to a title and estate of Compton Castle in Devon.

He decides to return to England.

The forty remaining colonists also leave, sailing home in the Mary and John and Virginia.

(The Virginia will make at least one more Atlantic crossing, going to Jamestown the next year with the Third Supply, piloted by Captain James Davis).

The colony has lasted almost exactly one year.

Later colonists in the area, building on the experience of the original colonists, will settle further up the Kennebec River, at the site of present day Bath, Maine, where the winter storms and tides are not as severe.

Northeastern North America

(1612 to 1623 CE): Expanding European Colonization, Indigenous Alliances, and Epidemic Devastation

Between 1612 and 1623 CE, Northeastern North America saw significant European settlement expansion, deepened indigenous alliances, intensified rivalries, and severe demographic consequences from epidemic disease. Permanent French and English colonies solidified their positions, transforming regional economics and alliances. Indigenous peoples faced strategic realignments driven by economic opportunities, diplomatic complexities, and catastrophic population declines from new diseases, particularly evident in the devastating epidemic of 1616–1619 in New England.

European Colonial Foundations and Growth

French Expansion in New France

Under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain, French settlements along the St. Lawrence River Valley—notably Quebec City (established in 1608)—became thriving trade hubs. Champlain strengthened relationships with the Huron (Wendat), Montagnais, and Algonquin, securing their position as key intermediaries in the profitable fur trade.

In 1615, Champlain deepened alliances with the Huron, enhancing Quebec’s influence over inland indigenous trade routes. These diplomatic ties became vital to France’s colonial and commercial strategies.

English Colonial Expansion: Newfoundland and Maritime Colonies

English settlements grew more stable in Newfoundland, notably around St. John’s, Cupids (founded in 1610), and Ferryland (1621), reflecting increased English commitment to permanent northern colonies. Further south, though beyond the immediate geographic boundary, the English Plymouth Colony (1620) emerged, indirectly influencing indigenous-European interactions throughout the northeastern region.

Indigenous-European Trade Networks

French-Indigenous Commercial Alliances

The French developed robust fur-trade relationships with their indigenous allies—the Huron, Montagnais, Algonquin, and Mi’kmaq. Indigenous nations eagerly embraced access to European commodities (metal tools, firearms, textiles, beads), significantly transforming their economies and enhancing their geopolitical influence.

English and Basque Maritime Activity

English fishermen along Newfoundland and maritime coasts maintained growing economic contacts with coastal indigenous communities, slowly introducing alternative trading partnerships. Meanwhile, Basque whalers continued seasonal whale-oil extraction at Red Bay and the Strait of Belle Isle, with limited but stable indigenous interactions.

Indigenous Alliances and Territorial Rivalries

Haudenosaunee Confederacy: Conflicts and Strategic Diplomacy

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Five Nations)—Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Oneida—faced increased competition for dominance in fur trade routes and regional influence. Champlain’s 1615 conflict supporting his Algonquin and Huron allies against the Mohawk deepened hostility between the Confederacy and French-aligned indigenous nations, laying the groundwork for ongoing regional conflicts.

Algonquin and Huron Alliances with the French

Champlain’s alliances with the Algonquin and especially the influential Huron Confederacy were critical. Positioned as central intermediaries between European traders and interior indigenous nations, these alliances significantly bolstered the political, economic, and military positions of both indigenous nations and French colonists.

Mi’kmaq Stability and Coastal Influence

The Mi’kmaq leveraged their strategic coastal positions to maintain strong economic and diplomatic ties with Europeans, particularly the French. Their adaptive strategy preserved cultural and territorial stability amid intensifying European pressures.

Interior Indigenous Nations: Great Lakes and Ohio Valley Dynamics

Stability Among Great Lakes Algonquian Tribes

Communities such as the Potawatomi in Michigan, and further north the Ojibway, Cree, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, continued traditional subsistence practices. Tribes like the Kickapoo, Menominee, Sauk, and Fox maintained stable agricultural communities, cautiously positioning themselves for advantageous roles in expanding trade networks.

Miami and Illinois Positioning

In the Ohio Valley, the strategically located Miami and Illinois further solidified their positions along important river routes, anticipating greater involvement in European trade.

Siouan-speaking Peoples: Stability and Westward Migrations

Eastern Siouan Communities

Siouan-speaking peoples (Dakota, Assiniboine, Winnebago/Ho-Chunk) continued stable settlements in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, largely shielded from direct European influences. Ancestors of future Plains nations (Omaha, Iowa, Kansa, Osage, Quapaw) prepared for westward migrations due to increasing eastern territorial pressures.

Mandan, Hidatsa, and Crow Expansion

Further west, the Mandan and Hidatsa nations consolidated prosperous agricultural villages along the Missouri River, facilitating trade with Plains and eastern tribes. The Crow, having separated from their Hidatsa kin, expanded westward, displacing the Shoshone and solidifying alliances with the Kiowa and Kiowa Apache.

Plains Indigenous Communities: Stability Amid Regional Shifts

Pawnee Cultural Continuity

The ancestors of the Pawnee maintained stable agricultural and ceremonial communities along the central Plains river valleys. Despite growing regional competition, their political and cultural resilience endured.

Gros Ventre and Tsuu T’ina Isolation

Northern tribes such as the Gros Ventre (around Lake Manitoba) and Tsuu T’ina (Sarcee) (northern Saskatchewan) retained traditional hunting lifestyles, largely protected from early European impacts by geographic isolation.

Devastating Demographic Impacts of Disease

New England Epidemic of 1616–1619

Between 1616 and 1619, a catastrophic epidemic ravaged the indigenous populations of coastal New England, particularly around Massachusetts Bay. The Wampanoag suffered particularly severe losses, with mortality estimates suggesting up to ninety percent of southern Massachusetts’s coastal native population perished.

Modern research suggests that the epidemic's primary cause was likely leptospirosis, a bacterial infection caused by the spirochaete bacterium Leptospira. Severe leptospirosis, known as Weil’s disease, produces symptoms including jaundice, kidney failure, and internal bleeding. Known historically by various names ("rice field jaundice," "autumn fever," "nanukayami fever," "cane-cutter’s disease," and "Schlammfieber"), leptospirosis was probably introduced inadvertently by European sailors and traders.

Historically proposed causes of this epidemic had included bubonic plague, smallpox, typhus, influenza, yellow fever, chickenpox, and combined infections of hepatitis B and D. However, recent evidence strongly favors leptospirosis due to its symptom profile and potential for rapid and devastating spread in populations lacking immunity.

Consequences of Epidemic Depopulation

This profound demographic collapse significantly weakened indigenous social structures, leaving coastal territories vulnerable to colonization and dramatically altering regional indigenous-European dynamics. Areas severely depopulated by the epidemic became more easily settled by European colonists, reshaping the geopolitical landscape of the region for centuries to come.

Strategic Depopulation and Haudenosaunee Dominance

Other regions, including the Central Appalachians and Upper Ohio Valley, remained notably depopulated due to disease, reinforcing the Haudenosaunee’s dominance over these territories. The sustained demographic vacuum reinforced strategic indigenous territorial management, influencing regional political relationships.

Newfoundland’s Beothuk: Increasing Pressures

Rising Risks from Expanded European Contact

Newfoundland’s indigenous Beothuk faced increasing threats as English coastal presence expanded, posing significant long-term risks including resource competition, disease transmission, and territorial displacement. Their cultural isolation, while providing temporary protection, increasingly came under severe pressure.

Indigenous Artistic and Cultural Resilience

Continuity of Artistic Practices

Indigenous communities sustained vibrant cultural traditions, such as ceremonial pottery, intricate beadwork, shell gorgets, and ornate tobacco pipes, reinforcing identity amid dramatic external pressures.

Persistence of Ritual Traditions

Communities preserved robust ceremonial practices, including Haudenosaunee Longhouse rituals, Mi’kmaq seasonal celebrations, and Pawnee religious ceremonies, ensuring cultural continuity amid regional geopolitical shifts and demographic crises.

Environmental Context and Indigenous Adaptations

Continued Adaptation to Little Ice Age Conditions

Climatic variability associated with the Little Ice Age persisted, challenging traditional indigenous subsistence strategies. Nevertheless, indigenous communities demonstrated significant resilience, adapting effectively through diversified agriculture, ecological knowledge, and seasonal mobility.

Legacy of the Era (1612–1623 CE)

The period 1612–1623 CE saw dramatic changes across Northeastern North America, defined by the expansion of permanent European colonies, complex indigenous alliances and rivalries, and devastating demographic collapse from disease, exemplified by the catastrophic epidemic of 1616–1619. Indigenous societies responded with strategic diplomacy, territorial realignments, and remarkable cultural resilience, profoundly influencing the region’s subsequent geopolitical, demographic, and cultural landscapes.

An epidemic sweeps New England in 1617, devastating many of the native tribes but not the Naragansetts.

A group of one hundred Protestants, whose disapproval of the Church of England has led them to self-imposed exile in the New World, had obtained a license in 1620 from the Virginia company to settle somewhere along the Hudson River.

The Mayflower arrives so late in the season that the Puritans agree with the captain’s decision not to risk the passage around Cape Cod, and drop anchor in Massachusetts Bay instead.

Northeastern North America

(1624 to 1635 CE): Consolidation of Colonization, Epidemics, and Intensifying Rivalries

Between 1624 and 1635 CE, Northeastern North America experienced increased European settlement and consolidation, extensive epidemics devastating indigenous populations, strategic indigenous realignments, and escalating colonial rivalries. The period witnessed significant expansions in English and Dutch colonization, notably in Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and New Netherland. Indigenous communities faced demographic catastrophe from diseases such as smallpox, reshaping regional power dynamics and altering patterns of settlement and alliance.

Expansion and Consolidation of European Colonies

French Expansion in New France

French colonization intensified under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain, who strengthened alliances with the Huron (Wendat), Montagnais, and Algonquin peoples around Quebec City. These diplomatic ties further solidified French dominance in the lucrative fur trade networks of the St. Lawrence region.

English Settlements in New England

The English colonies, particularly the Plymouth Colony (1620) and the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630), expanded significantly, increasing pressures on local indigenous communities. Myles Standish, a military leader who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, became a central figure in Plymouth. A red-haired veteran soldier, Standish quickly learned local indigenous languages, led military expeditions against hostile tribes, and helped maintain security for the fledgling colony.

While Longfellow’s poem The Courtship of Miles Standish romantically depicted him asking John Alden to propose marriage on his behalf to Priscilla Mullins, historical evidence does not support this story.

Dutch Colonization and the Patroon System in New Netherland

The Dutch West India Company, established by the States-General in 1620, dramatically expanded its colonization activities in the 1630s. Seeking to attract investment and settlers, the Company introduced the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions (1630) to encourage agricultural colonization of New Netherland.

Under this charter, any investor who established a colony of at least fifty adult settlers within four years would become a patroon, receiving extensive privileges, including the authority to govern locally, administer justice, control fishing and hunting rights, and establish towns and magistrates. Each patroonship could extend 16 miles along one side of a navigable river or 8 miles on both sides. Patroons were obligated to legally purchase land from indigenous groups rather than taking it by force.

Though fur trading remained a Company monopoly, patroons could trade elsewhere from Newfoundland to Florida, provided traders first stopped at Manhattan to engage in potential trade there. Colonists under patroon contracts could not legally leave without the patroon’s consent. Additionally, the West India Company pledged to defend colonists and supply patroonships with enslaved Africans as labor.

Devastating Epidemics: Smallpox and Demographic Catastrophe

Smallpox Epidemic of 1630

While Europeans brought smallpox to North America early in colonization, by 1630 it became a widespread and catastrophic epidemic among indigenous peoples. European settlers—mostly immune due to prolonged exposure in Europe—carried smallpox unknowingly. Twenty passengers on the Mayflower, including their physician, Dr. Samuel Fuller, had been infected, demonstrating the disease’s transatlantic journey.

In 1630, New England colonists witnessed the horrific toll taken on indigenous communities. A colonist described the scale of devastation vividly, noting indigenous populations "fell down so generally of this disease as they were in the end not able to help one another, nor to make a fire, nor to fetch a little water to drink, nor any to bury the dead."

Epidemic as Religious Justification

Some Puritans interpreted the smallpox epidemic as divine intervention favoring their settlement. Increase Mather, a future clergyman and president of Harvard College, would later state that the epidemic was God’s resolution to indigenous-Puritan land disputes. This view profoundly shaped Puritan justifications for further land appropriation.

Continuing Effects of the 1616–1619 Epidemic

Earlier demographic disasters—such as the 1616–1619 epidemic, likely leptospirosis—continued to reverberate, leaving large coastal areas depopulated and open to rapid European colonization, notably enabling the quick settlement of Massachusetts Bay.

Indigenous Alliances and Territorial Rivalries

Haudenosaunee Confederacy: Increased Assertiveness

The powerful Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Five Nations) intensified raids against French-allied tribes—especially the Huron and Algonquin—seeking dominance over regional fur trade networks. Persistent warfare deepened longstanding animosity between the Confederacy, French colonists, and their indigenous allies.

French-Allied Indigenous Confederacies

The Huron, Algonquin, and Montagnais intensified defensive alliances with the French against Haudenosaunee aggression. Access to French firearms and trade goods significantly increased their military and economic capabilities, intensifying regional conflict dynamics.

Interior Indigenous Communities: Adaptation and Stability

Great Lakes Algonquian Stability

The Potawatomi, Ojibway, Cree, Cheyenne, and Arapaho maintained traditional subsistence economies, cautiously engaging with emerging trade opportunities. The Kickapoo Menominee, Sauk, and Fox tribes increasingly positioned themselves as strategic trade partners in regional European-indigenous networks.

Miami and Illinois Strategic Positioning

The Miami and Illinois consolidated agriculturally productive settlements along Ohio Valley waterways, anticipating greater involvement in European fur trade networks and regional alliances.

Siouan-speaking Peoples: Stability and Migration

Eastern Siouan Stability

The Dakota, Assiniboine, and Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) continued stable settlements in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, insulated from significant direct European pressures. Eastern Siouan groups (Omaha, Iowa, Kansa, Osage, Quapaw) gradually moved westward under growing pressure from European settlements and eastern indigenous competition.

Mandan, Hidatsa, and Crow Consolidation

Further west, the Mandan and Hidatsa expanded prosperous agricultural settlements along the Missouri River, becoming influential trade intermediaries between Plains tribes and eastern groups. The Crow, migrating westward, displaced the Shoshone and consolidated alliances with the Kiowa and Kiowa Apache.

Plains Indigenous Communities: Territorial and Cultural Stability

Pawnee Continuity

The Pawnee remained in stable villages along central Plains river valleys, preserving their political and ceremonial cohesion amidst regional upheavals.

Gros Ventre and Tsuu T’ina Isolation

Northern Plains communities, notably the Gros Ventre around Lake Manitoba and the Tsuu T’ina (Sarcee) in northern Saskatchewan, maintained traditional hunting lifestyles, protected by geographic isolation from severe European disruption.

Newfoundland’s Beothuk: Increasing Pressures

Intensified Vulnerability

Newfoundland’s Beothuk faced severe pressures from expanded English coastal settlements at St. John's and neighboring areas. Increasing territorial encroachment, resource competition, and disease risks endangered their long-term survival.

Indigenous Artistic and Cultural Resilience

Continued Vibrancy of Cultural Practices

Indigenous artistic traditions—including ceremonial pottery, intricate beadwork, shell gorgets, and tobacco pipes—persisted robustly, reinforcing cultural identity amid ongoing disruptions.

Strength in Ritual Continuity

Haudenosaunee Longhouse rituals, Mi’kmaq seasonal celebrations, and Pawnee religious practices provided strong cultural continuity, maintaining social cohesion during times of rapid geopolitical and demographic change.

Environmental Context and Adaptations

Little Ice Age Challenges

Persistent climatic variability associated with the Little Ice Age challenged indigenous subsistence strategies. Communities effectively adapted through diversified agriculture, seasonal mobility, and ecological knowledge.

Legacy of the Era (1624–1635 CE)

The period 1624–1635 CE saw intensified European colonization, the introduction of Dutch patroonships, severe demographic crises due to smallpox and earlier epidemics, and escalating indigenous-European and intertribal rivalries. Indigenous communities strategically navigated shifting geopolitical conditions, leveraging diplomacy, alliance-building, and cultural resilience. Epidemic devastation dramatically reshaped regional demographics, facilitating rapid European expansion and laying critical foundations for subsequent indigenous-colonial interactions in Northeastern North America.