It is said that Captain Gosnold spent several years in vain, after his return, in soliciting his friends and acquaintances to join him in settling this fertile land he had explored; and that at length he prevailed upon Captain John Smith, Mr. Edward Maria Wingfield, the Rev. Mr. Robert Hunt, and others, to join him.  This is the first appearance of the name of Captain John Smith in connection with Virginia.  Probably his life in London had been as idle as unprofitable, and his purse needed replenishing.  Here was a way open to the most honorable, exciting, and profitable employment.  That its mere profit would have attracted him we do not believe; but its danger, uncertainty, and chance of distinction would irresistibly appeal to him.  The distinct object of the projectors was to establish a colony in Virginia.  This proved too great an undertaking for private persons.  After many vain projects the scheme was commended to several of the nobility, gentry, and merchants, who came into it heartily, and the memorable expedition of 1606 was organized.

The patent under which this colonization was undertaken was obtained from King James by the solicitation of Richard Hakluyt and others.  Smith’s name does not appear in it, nor does that of Gosnold nor of Captain Newport.  Richard Hakluyt, then clerk prebendary of Westminster, had from the first taken great interest in the project.  He was chaplain of the English colony in Paris when Sir Francis Drake was fitting out his expedition to America, and was eager to further it.  By his diligent study he became the best English geographer of his time; he was the historiographer of the East India Company, and the best informed man in England concerning the races, climates, and productions of all parts of the globe.  It was at Hakluyt’s suggestion that two vessels were sent out from Plymouth in 1603 to verify Gosnold’s report of his new short route.  A further verification of the feasibility of this route was made by Captain George Weymouth, who was sent out in 1605 by the Earl of Southampton.

The letters-patent of King James, dated April 10, 1606, licensed the planting of two colonies in the territories of America commonly called Virginia.  The corporators named in the first colony were Sir Thos.  Gates, Sir George Somers, knights, and Richard Hakluyt and Edward Maria Wingfield, adventurers, of the city of London.  They were permitted to settle anywhere in territory between the 34th and 41st degrees of latitude.

The corporators named in the second colony were Thomas Hankam, Raleigh Gilbert, William Parker, and George Popham, representing Bristol, Exeter, and Plymouth, and the west counties, who were authorized to make a settlement anywhere between the 38th and 48th degrees of latitude.