Thomas Gates

Timeline

1. 1609–1610Bermuda Islands · Bermuda IslandsIn 1609 Gates's fleet aboard the Sea Venture encountered a hurricane; the flagship ran aground on Bermuda, and the crew was stranded on the island, establishing a temporary settlement before building small boats to continue to Jamestown. His experience became one possible source of inspiration for Shakespeare's The Tempest.
2. 1610–1611Jamestown · Virginia colonyWhen he arrived in May 1610 he found the colony on the verge of collapse from famine, disease, and Native American siege. Gates and Thomas Dale imposed strict 'Dale Law' martial law, executing deserters, concentrating labor, and at one point abandoning Jamestown; after supplies arrived they rebuilt the settlement, laying the foundation for the colony's reorganization after 1611.
3. 1611–1622London · LondonIn 1611 Gates handed the governorship over to Dale and returned to England, continuing to participate in Virginia Company and colonial planning affairs. Accounts of his Bermuda shipwreck and Jamestown governance circulated in London through reports by Strachey and others, influencing public judgment of colonial prospects. He was killed in the great Native American uprising when he sailed again for Virginia in 1622.