Before The Pilgrims: The English in North America from John Cabot to Jamestown

Overview

As the US celebrates the Founding Fathers and the 250th anniversary of independence, this day event looks at the complex history of the “forgotten founders”: the English and English-backed adventurers who first searched for and settled what became North America.

The first of a series of four seminars explores John Cabot’s voyages in the 1490s to what was the “new found land” and the subsequent (but doomed) efforts to build on his legacy over the next fifty years.

The second seminar investigates why and how interest was revived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, with leading merchants funding voyages to the supposed Northwest Passage (between the Atlantic and the Pacific) and to what Sir Francis Drake named Nova Albion.

The third seminar examines Roanoke, the first English settlement, which was organized by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 1580s. An initial group of Roanoke colonists returned after a year, bringing home remarkable watercolours of Algonquian people by the artist John White that are now in the British Museum. When she posed for the famous “Armada” portrait, Queen Elizabeth I was shown with her right hand resting on a globe, her fingers stretched possessively across the full expanse of North America. But the sense of triumph was brief: a second replacement group were never seen again, and they entered American legend as “the lost colonists”.

The fourth seminar focuses on Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, which was founded in 1607—13 years before the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America in the Mayflower. The colonists survived the “starving time”, created a self-sustaining economy, and established what has been hailed as the first freely elected parliament of a self-governing people in the western world. At the same time, they waged war on the Powhatan people, captured Matoaka (Pocahontas) and converted her to Christianity, and received the first enslaved people from Africa. 

Please note: this event will close to enrolments at 23:59 BST on 13 May 2026.

Programme details

9.45am
Registration at Rewley House reception  

10am
Father & Son—John and Sebastian Cabot and the Voyages to “New Found Lands”: 1490s-1550s 

11.15am
Tea and coffee break

11.45am
Slow Boats to Cathay—The Search for the Northwest Passage and Sir Francis Drake’s Nova Albion: 1560s-1580s

1pm
Lunch break 

2pm
Sir Walter Ralegh, Roanoke, and the Lost Colonists: 1580s-1600s 

3.15pm             
Tea and coffee break

3.45pm
Jamestown—The First Permanent English Settlement in North America: 1607-1620 

5pm
End of day  

Fees

Description Costs
Event Fee (includes tea/coffee) £120.00
Baguette lunch £7.50
Hot lunch £21.25

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit or are a full-time student in the UK you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees.

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Simon Targett

Tutor

Dr Simon Targett is a writer, historian, and award-winning journalist. A former Associate Editor of the Financial Times, he is a Departmental Tutor for Oxford Lifelong Learning, where he teaches Anglo-American and media history. He is co-author of New World, Inc.: How England’s Merchants Founded America and Launched the British Empire (2018). He has a PhD in history from Cambridge University.

Application

Please use the 'Book' button on this page. Alternatively, please contact us to obtain an application form.

Accommodation

If you wish to stay with us before and/or after the event, please contact our Residential Centre for availability and discounted rates.

Call +44 (0) 1865 270362 or email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk

Our accommodation in Wellington Square has been rated as 4-Star Campus Accommodation under Visit England. All bedrooms are modern, comfortably furnished with tea/coffee making facilities, Freeview television, private bath/shower rooms and free WiFi. For more details see our accommodation information.