Program Information

As three small ships navigated toward Jamestown in 1607, 17th-century scientists and instrument makers were finding new ways to measure the world. "The World of 1607" puts the founding of Jamestown in a global context while focusing on worldwide cultural developments during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Transcript

Lead: As three small ships navigated toward Jamestown in 1607, 17th century scientists and instrument makers were finding new ways to measure the world.

Intro: I’m Steve Clark with “The World of 1607”, Jamestown in a global context, sponsored by Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum near Williamsburg, Virginia.

Content: Seventeenth-century Europe was in pursuit of new ways to measure the universe in both large and small scale. Curator, Doctor Tom Davidson notes that scientists of the period were developing new and improved measurement tools.

“A few years before Jamestown was colonized the microscope was introduced. At almost the same time Jamestown was being established, the first telescope began to be made.”

Human sight, once limited to what could be seen by the naked eye, was now expanded to explore the miniscule and the great beyond.

Conclusion: To learn more visit Jamestown Settlement or log on to historyisfun.org

Virginia Standards