<P> The attendance was estimated at between 6,000 and 8,000 people . Sixteen large steam ships anchored offshore in the James River and were gaily decorated with streamers . Former US President John Tyler of nearby Sherwood Forest Plantation gave a 21⁄2 hour speech, and there were military displays, a grand ball and fireworks . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The 100th anniversary of the Surrender at Yorktown in 1781 had generated a new interest in the historical significance of the colonial sites of the Peninsula . Williamsburg, a sleepy but populated town of shops and homes, was still celebrating Civil War events . However, as the new century dawned, thoughts turned to the upcoming 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown . The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now known as Preservation Virginia) started the movement in 1900 by calling for a celebration honoring the establishment of the first permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown to be held on the 300th anniversary in 1907 . </P>

Who was responsible for sponsoring the english colony jamestown