which european countries originally had settlements in virginia
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed proprietary attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert[2] in 1583, and the subsequent further south Roanoke Island (modern eastern North Carolina) by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 1580s.
Virginia Company The Virginia Company refers collectively to two joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April 1606[1][2][3] with the goal of establishing settlements on the coast of North America.[4] The companies were called the "Virginia Company of London" (or the London Company) and the "Virginia Company of Plymouth" (or the Plymouth Company); they operated with identical charters but with differing territories. An area of overlapping territory was created within which the two companies were not permitted to establish colonies within one hundred miles of each other. The Plymouth Company never fulfilled its charter, but its territory was claimed by England and became New England.