What is the significance of the Jamestown settlement?: Jamestown was the first successful colony set up by Great Britain in the New World. It's also the first place slaves were brought to in North America in the year 1619. Without Jamestown, there would be no precedent for successful colonies in America. What helped the settlement to survive?: Neither gold nor silver saved the Jamestown settlers but tobacco. Plantations of tobacco sprang up along the banks of the James River and the settlement of Jamestown was assured.
