This website is the result of an ongoing project funded by Edward West on Thomas West, Lord de la Warr. Thomas West, one of the governors of the Virginia colony, played a significant role in the establishment of Jamestown and the implementation of the laws that governed the colony.
This project, undertaken by Virginia Tech student researchers, highlights West’s importance to the scholarship of early English colonization efforts in the Chesapeake. Here, you’ll find a bibliography of published works that examine West’s life in Jamestown and beyond and a primary source list for future scholars to reference for the continued study of West.
This website also contains an in-depth timeline tracing Thomas West’s life and his legacy and a Storymap of his travels around Europe, the West Indies, and North America. In an effort to encourage a continued conversation about themes related to West’s experiences in Jamestown, the team has created adaptable lesson plans for high schoolers and undergraduates.
Images top to bottom: Virginia Tech Logo, courtesy VT Branding; Ruins in County Wicklow where West received knighthood, Courtesy Andreas Borchert; River Test in Wherwell, Hampshire, Seat of West Family, Courtesy Neil Howard; Portrait of Thomas West, Encyclopedia Virginia
