4L: Based on our reading from yesterday...

Jamestown or Massachusetts Bay? Why??

The American Colonies

EQ: What did British colonization look like in the Americas? What happened in Jamestown?

Let’s start with a map

How does this map look different than the eastern states today?

English settlement of North America

EQ: What did English settlement look like in the New World? (Southern colonies)

--Jamestown Colony (Virginia)

Geography

Jamestown Colony

Geography

Landscape

➢ Flat, marshy land

➢ Fertile soil

➢Long growing season

Waterways➢ Wide, slow moving

waterways

➢ Good for fishing/shipping

Problems

➢ Swampy land makes area full of mosquitoes

➢ Spreaders of disease

Climate

Summer

➢ Hot temperatures

➢ VERY Humid

➢ Highs into the mid-80’s Fahrenheit

Winter➢ Mild

➢ Average lows about 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit

* Sometimes snows

English Failure

• Last English attempt at colonization had been the Lost colony of Roanoke in 1587

• Had been a large financial loss for Sir Walter Raleigh

Joint Stock Companies❑ In an effort to avoid the large financial

losses that financers had suffered before, English investors formed Joint Stock Companies

Companies where shares are sold to investors, who expect a

profit in return.

What advantages does a Joint Stock Company offer over a single

investor?

Joint Stock Companies❖ The Virginia Company

approached King James I of England in 1606

❖ Requested charter that would allow

creation and settlement of two colonies along the N. American coast

Who Will Go to Virginia?The VA. Company will

promise things to encourage men to go to N.

America❑ Guaranteed same rights as Englishmen, as if they had stayed in England

❑ Creates belief that even in the Americas, they had the rights of Englishmen

Jamestown is Born• These ships arrive in Spring of 1607

– The first ships arrive at the mouth of the Chesapeake bay, but continue on after being attacked by Indians

• On May 24, 1607, about 100 colonists land at what would become Jamestown, on the James River

Jamestown: The First Settlers

Go to the following website:http://www.preservationvirginia.

org/rediscovery- Under “What have we found” click

“Jamestown’s History”- Scroll to the very bottom of the page and

click on “Lists” of the early settlers and their occupations

Jamestown: The First SettlersJot down responses on 5L. With a partner,

discuss the following things. (Be prepared to share)

1. Look at the occupations. What occupations will be helpful, what will not be? What is missing?

2. What are the colonists going to be able to accomplish? What will they not be able to accomplish?

3. Decide if you think the original Jamestown colony will be successful or not.

Jamestown Fort and Settlement Map

Jamestown Settlement: 1607▪ Colonists built a fortified

settlement▪ Immediately begin

hunting for Gold▪ “Gentlemen” colonists

refused to work for themselves▪ Spent little time hunting or

planting▪ By January 1608, only 38

colonists were still alive

John Smith▪ Member of the first

group of settlers▪ Listed as one of the

seven council members chosen to govern the colonies.

▪ Was captured by Natives in December of 1607, and taken to their Chief as a captive

Fact vs. Fiction

So, we all know that John Smith and Pocahontas fall in love and

live happily ever after right………….?

Smith’s True Contributions

▪ After release from the Powhatan, Smith took control of Jamestown

▪ Imposed military discipline▪ Organized settlers into work

gangs▪ Decreed “he that will not worke

shall not eate”▪ Helps the colonists survive

during first year

Near Demise of Jamestown

The Starving Time

1607104 Colonists Arrive

By Spring 1608- 38 Survive

1609300 more immigrants

By Spring 1610- 60 Survive

1610-1624

10,000 Immigrants

1624 Population- 1,000

Adult Life expectancy

40 years old

Infant Mortality

Rate(before 5)

80%

5L: Write 5 facts about the “Starving Time” in Jamestown.

1619: An Important Year For Jamestown

Three Important Changes

During 1619

Relationship with the NativesJamestown was settled right in the middle of the

land controlled by Indian leader Powhatan

▪ Chief of confederacy of approx. 30 tribes▪ Originally sent

food to colonists, assuming that if

they accepted the food, they were admitting their

dependence on him

▪ Mistaken- Colonists began to seize corn forcibly

▪Father of Pocahontas

▪Peace between colonists and

Natives sealed by marriage of

Pocahontas to Englishman John

Rolfe

Colonists mistakenly

called all the natives

Powhatan’s.

Relationship with the Natives

▪ Pocahontas had died in 1617▪ Severed the tie between the English and Natives

▪ Powhatan will die in 1618▪ His younger brother will take over as leader (dislikes

English Settlers)▪ Natives attack settlements, killing 347 settlers

within one day (1/4 of settlers)▪ Begins a five year war. ▪ Will end in 1623

Lasting Result of War with NativesThe Virginia Company is BROKE!

Royal inquest into attacks finds that ten times more colonists had died from starvation and disease

than at the hands of Indians

King James dissolves

VA Company in

1624

Virginia becomes a royal colony

in 1625

House of Burgesses is

allowed to continue to self-govern, but their actions are monitored by the

crown and its advisors

Tobacco: The Key to Survival▪ Settlers had been searching for

a marketable product▪ Will begin growing tobacco after

1610

▪ Huge Demand for Tobacco

made it profitable

▪ Native VA. Leaf was of poor quality, so didn’t sell

Tobacco: The Key to Survival

▪ John Rolfe will introduce seedlings from the Caribbean

▪ These seeds will grow crops of better quality, creating a demand for Virginia tobacco

Tobacco: The Key to Survival▪ Tobacco was

immediately planted everywhere in Jamestown- Even the Streets!

http://www.history.com/topics/jamestown/videos/the-value-of-tobacco

Value of Tobacco (clip)

Labor Force in Jamestown

▪ Increasing demand and drop in prices meant that Jamestown settlers needed to grow more and more tobacco.

▪ Began to rely on Indentured Servants meet demand

Indentured Servitude• An indentured servant was a worker who agreed

to a fixed term of labor (4-7 years) in exchange for free passage to Virginia– The master provided food, shelter, clothing

• Indentured Servants came by the thousands– Died in large numbers– Commonly mistreated– Will eventually rebel, causing planters in VA to stop

using Indentured servants for labor (Bacon’s Rebellion)

What happened to indentured servitude?

____L: What do you think happened? Why don’t we hear about Indentured servants in 1800 (only during the early colonial period)? Make a prediction! :)

Maryland

A Proprietary Colony▪ George Calvert (Lord

Baltimore) granted a royal charter in 1632

▪ Maryland is a proprietary colony, meaning it is owned by a person with the purpose of making money

▪ Calvert was Catholic, and intended Maryland to be a haven for Catholics

A Haven for Catholics• Calvert wanted Catholic colonists to enjoy economic and political power

•Wanted to divide land into manors, and distribute them among wealthy Catholics

•Also wanted to give most important govt. offices to Catholics

Problems in MD

• Following the death of Lord Baltimore, the majority of the colonists who arrived in MD were Protestants, who despised Catholics

• Protestants refused to live as tenants on Catholic estates, and claimed land of their own.

Meanwhile… Back in England

Civil War has

broken out

• The Catholic King has dissolved Parliament, and ruled on his own for 11 years

• King is executed in 1649, and England is taken over by the Puritan general Oliver Cromwell

King Charles I of England

What does this mean for Maryland?

•Protestants would take the opportunity to try to take over

power in Maryland

• To appease them, and not completely lose control, a

bicameral legislature was created. (Catholics have upper house,

Protestants lower house)

Religious Toleration• High degree of freedom of worship

permitted in order to prevent repeat of persecution of Catholics by Protestants.– High number of Protestants threatened

because of overwhelming rights given to Catholics.

• Toleration Act of 1649– Supported by the Catholics in MD.– Guaranteed toleration to all CHRISTIANS.– Decreed death to those who denied the

divinity of Jesus [like Jews, atheists, etc.].

Act for Religious Toleration- 1649– First law in America to call for freedom of

worship for all Christians. – Didn’t bring peace. The Protestant majority

will eventually take power, passing a law that prohibited Catholics from voting

The Lasting Maryland–Maryland eventually resembled

Virginia•Raised tobacco and imported as many indentured servants as possible (headright system)

–Maryland settlers had a more peaceful relationship with natives•Fought more internally