France, England, and other countries made several attempts to colonize New England early in the 17th century, and those nations were often in contention for lands in the New World. French nobleman Pierre Dugua Sieur de Monts established a settlement on Saint Croix Island, Maine in June 1604 under the authority of the King of France. The small St. Croix River Island is located on the northern boundary of present-day Maine. Nearly half the settlers perished due to the harsh winter and scurvy, and the survivors moved north out of New England to Port-Royal of Nova Scotia (see symbol "R" on map to the right) in the spring of 1605.
King James I of England recognized the need for a permanent settlement in New England, and he granted competing royal charters to the Plymouth Company and the London Company. The Plymouth Company ships arrived at the mouth of the Kennebec River (then called the Sagadahoc River) in August 1607 where they established a settlement named Sagadahoc Colony, better known as Popham Colony (see symbol "Po" on map to right) to honor financial backer Sir John Popham. The colonists faced a harsh winter, the loss of supplies following a storehouse fire, and mixed relations with the indigenous tribes.
Colony leader Captain George Popham died, and Raleigh Gilbert decided to return to England to take up an inheritance left by the death of an older brother—at which point, all of the colonists decided to return to England. It was around August 1608 when they left on the ship Mary and John and a new ship built by the colony named Virginia of Sagadahoc. The 30-ton Virginia was the first sea-going ship ever built in North America.
Conflict over land rights continued through the early 17th century, with the French constructing Fort Pentagouet near present-day Castine, Maine in 1613. The fort protected a trading post and a fishing station and was considered the first longer-term settlement in New England. It changed hands multiple times throughout the 17th century among the English, French, and Dutch colonists.
