Why did the first colonists come to Virginia?

Virginia was the first permanent English colony in the New World. The English established this colony to pursue financial gain. England was experiencing financial difficulties following many years of war with Spain, and they had used most of their local timber and thus needed fresh lumber. They hoped that establishing a colony in Virginia would provide them with lumber. They also believed they would find vast amounts of gold in the New World, because Spain had been so successful at mining precious metals in South America.

Unfortunately for England, Virginia offered little in the way of precious metals, and many settlers died while searching for gold rather than ensuring the colony's survival. However, the Virginia colonists were eventually successful at planting tobacco, a crop which was in high demand in Europe and thus proved very lucrative for the fledgling colony.