Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr

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Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Arrival of Thomas West in Jamestown 1610 in a historicizing representation

Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( July 9, 1577 - June 7, 1618 ) was the second governor of the Virginia colony and namesake of the US state of Delaware , the Delaware River and the Delaware Indian tribe (actually Lenni Lenape ) , and Delaware County .

Life

He was the son of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr (around 1556-1602) and his wife Anne Knollys (* 1555). In 1599 he took part in the English Army under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex in the Nine Years War in Ireland.

When his father died in 1602, he inherited his title of nobility. 1605 he graduated from the Queen's College of the University of Oxford as a Master of Arts from (MA).

Marriage and offspring

On November 25, 1596 he married Cecily Shirley († around 1662) in London. He had four children with her:

Governor of Virginia

In 1609 he joined the Council of the Virginia Company of London and was appointed Governor and Captain-General of the Colony of Virginia for life in February 1610. Together with 150 emigrants he sailed to the New World and reached Jamestown in June 1610 . There he met discouraged settlers who were just in the First English Powhatan War, were decimated by hunger and were planning to give up the colony and return to England . The supplies he brought with him were most welcome and he was able to persuade them to stay in Virginia.

When he became seriously ill in the spring of 1611, he returned to England, where he always campaigned for the preservation of the colony. In June 1611 his travelogue " The Relation of the Right Honorable the Lord De-la-Warre, Lord Governour ... of the colonie planted in Virginea to the Lords and others of the counsell of Virginea touching his unexpected returne home " was printed and published. He equipped three ships at his own expense, which repeatedly supplied the colony with supplies and took care of the appointment of his deputy as governor (Deputy-Governor). In March 1618 he set sail for another voyage to Virginia, but died during the crossing on June 7, 1618.

Literature and web links

predecessor Office successor
Thomas West Baron De La Warr
1602-1618
Henry West
Thomas Gates Governor of the Colony of Virginia
1610–1611
George Percy