Martin the Armenian
Encyclopedia
Martin the Armenian was a settler in the Jamestown Colony in Virginia
. He is the first known individual of Armenian
ancestry to have come to North America, arriving in either 1618 or 1619. Martin was invited to the colony to raise silk worms
. Other Armenians were also brought to the colony but they returned to Eastern Europe
and Caucasia. Armenians
were among the first Transcaucasians to come to America
. Later, to help with the raising of silkworms two more were invited to the colony. One of them, "George the Armenian" was offered 4,000 pounds of tobacco to persuade him to remain and continue his work.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He is the first known individual of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
ancestry to have come to North America, arriving in either 1618 or 1619. Martin was invited to the colony to raise silk worms
Bombyx mori
The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori . It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk...
. Other Armenians were also brought to the colony but they returned to Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and Caucasia. Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
were among the first Transcaucasians to come to America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Later, to help with the raising of silkworms two more were invited to the colony. One of them, "George the Armenian" was offered 4,000 pounds of tobacco to persuade him to remain and continue his work.