View source for Susan Constant

{{Short description|Ship of the English Virginia Company}}
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| Ship caption= Replica of ''Susan Constant'' (built 1989)
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| Ship country= England
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| Ship name= ''Susan Constant'' (or ''Sarah Constant'')
| Ship owner= [[Virginia Company of London]]
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| Ship in service= before 1607
| Ship out of service= after 1615
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| Ship tons burthen= 120
| Ship length= est. {{convert|116|ft|0|abbr=on}}
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'''''Susan Constant''''' (or '''''Sarah Constant''''') was the largest of three ships of the [[Virginia Company|English Virginia Company]] on the 1606–1607 voyage that resulted in the founding of [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] in the new [[Colony of Virginia]].  Captained by [[Christopher Newport]], she was joined by the ''[[Discovery (1602 ship)|Discovery]]'' and ''[[Godspeed (ship)|Godspeed]]''.

==History==
''Susan Constant'' was rated at 120 [[Tonnage|tons]]. Its keel length is estimated at {{convert|55.2|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}}. The overall length from tip of its bowsprit to stern is estimated at {{convert|116|ft}}.

On the 1606–1607 voyage, it carried 71 colonists, all male, including [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]].<ref>The Great Rogue by Noel Gerson</ref><ref name="historyisfun">[http://historyisfun.org/pdf/Jamestown-Ships/Ships_brochure_2011.pdf Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center: Jamestown Settlement Ships]</ref> On June 22, 1607, [[Christopher Newport]] sailed back for London with ''Susan Constant'' and ''Godspeed'' carrying a load of supposedly precious minerals, leaving behind the 104 colonists and ''Discovery'' (to be used in exploring the area).

''Susan Constant'', which had been a rental ship that had customarily been used as a freight transport, did not return to Virginia again. She later served as a merchant ship through at least 1615. Her fate is unknown.

==Name==
The alternative name '''''Sarah Constant''''' has been cited, and is shown as being the name noted on the earliest document,<ref name="jstor1">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1925278 JSTOR: “The Susan Constant and the Mayflower”, by Minnie G. Cook]</ref> leading to a belief that Samuel Purchas<ref name="jstor2">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1920592 JSTOR: “Sarah versus Susan”, by Gregory Robinson, Robin R. Goodison]</ref> had the name wrong in his ''Pilgrims'' book.<ref name="purchas">Samuel Purchas (1575?–1626): Purchas His Pilgrimes, In Five Books</ref> There is growing support for the name ''Sarah Constant''.<ref>[http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=124435&ran=165659 “Decades of work will see a ship’s story honored today” | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234004/http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=124435&ran=165659 |date=2007-09-26 }}</ref> The article that cites ''Sarah Constant'', presumably written by Sir [[Walter Raleigh]], is as follows:

{{quote|He told me of three barques on route to the New World, those whose names are, as he told me thereon, be consisted of ''Godspeed'', ''Discoverie'' or ''Discovery'', and one whose name split twice, I think was ''Sarah Constant''.}}

==Replica==
[[File:Susan Constant Stern.jpg|thumb|The stern of the replica ship ''Susan Constant'', located in [[Jamestown Settlement]]|225x225px]]

Replicas of ''Susan Constant'' and her sisters, ''Godspeed'' and ''Discovery'', are docked in the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] at [[Jamestown Settlement]] (formerly Jamestown Festival Park), adjacent to [[Historic Jamestown]].

==In popular culture==
''Susan Constant'' is depicted in the 1995 animated film ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'', where its captain was [[John Ratcliffe (governor)|Governor Ratcliffe]] (who actually captained ''Discovery''), instead of Christopher Newport.

In May 2007, the [[United States Postal Service]] issued the first 41-cent denomination first-class stamp. The stamp had an image of ''Susan Constant'', ''Godspeed'', and ''Discovery''. ''Susan Constant'' was also depicted on Virginia's coin of the [[50 State Quarters]], in celebration of the quincentennial of Jamestown.[[File:Virginia quarter, reverse side, 2000.jpg|thumb|''Susan Constant'', ''[[Godspeed (ship)|Godspeed]]'', and ''[[Discovery (1602 ship)|Discovery]]'', commemorated on the Virginia [[50 State Quarters|State Quarter]]|225x225px]]

The ship served as the inspiration for the ECS Constant in the 2023 videogame ''[[Starfield (video game)|Starfield]]'', a generational ship intended to found the colony New Jamestown.

==See also==
*[[Ship replica]] (including a list of ship replicas)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Susan Constant (ship)}}
*[[Brian Lavery|Lavery, Brian]]. (1988) ''The Colonial Merchantman Susan Constant 1605''. London: Conway Maritime Press.
*Price, David A. (2003) ''Love and Hate in Jamestown''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. (chapter 2)
*Spectre, Peter H.; Larkin, David. (1991) ''Wooden Ship: The Art, History, and Revival of Wooden Boatbuilding''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ("The Building of the ''Susan Constant''", pp.&nbsp;67–139)

{{Jamestown Colony}}

[[Category:Exploration ships of England]]
[[Category:Replica ships]]
[[Category:Naming controversies]]
[[Category:Ships of England]]
[[Category:Age of Sail individual ships]]
[[Category:English emigration]]
[[Category:17th century in the Colony of Virginia]]