4.1 NOTES Jamestown Settlement
ENGLAND’S 1st PERMANENT COLONY
• Established in 1606 by the Virginia Company• 105 male colonists arrived in 1607• The town and river were named in honor of
King James I
GOALS
1) Search for the Northwest Passage2) Look for gold
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF LOCATING NEAR THE RIVER
• Positives-Easy to defend & receive supplies. Helped with transportation; resources of the river could be used
• Negatives-swampy, mosquito-infested, brackish water, subject to diseases (mostly malaria) & excess humidity
ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS
• Settlers refused to work without an incentive, i.e. they were more interested in hunting for gold than building shelters
• By the time the 1st winter arrived, 2/3 of the original colonists were dead (only 38 originals would survive the 1st year)
• Tough winter with scarce food (rats, shoe leather, horses, frogs, roots, insects, etc.)
JOHN SMITH BECOMES GOVERNOR (Sept. 1607)
• He tried to make sense of the chaos• Organized work parties• Built shelters, cleared land, planted crops and
built stockade fences/defenses• Gov. Smith convinced the Powhatan Indians to
trade corn to the colonists• His basic four word rule?• NO WORK NO FOOD
ADIOS JOHNNY!
• He only served as governor for short time because he was badly injured in a powder explosion
• Smith had to return to England for treatment
POST JOHN SMITH
• What happened?• Settlers returned to their old ways
STARVING TIME (Winter 1609-10)
• Indians stopped trading food• Settlers were too scared to leave the fort• Lots of disease and death, rat snacks, mice,
etc.
VA Company Repopulation Plan
• English orphans were kidnapped by company representatives
• Prisoners were offered amnesty if they would settle in America
• Women were brought over to be auctioned off as wives in exchange for tobacco
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF TOBACCO
• The crop was introduced to Europe by the Spanish and adapted to the Virginia soil by John Rolfe
• The stinky weed guaranteed the survival of Jamestown
• Slavery was introduced to supply the labor
DAILY LIFE IN VIRGINIA
• Headright system• Indentured servants