Early English Settlements

Chapter 3, Lesson 2

England in America►England and Spain had been heading toward

war for years.►King Philip II of Spain (Ruled from 1556-

1598), strongly defended the Catholic faith and wanted it returned to England. Did not consider Elizabeth (Protestant) to

be the rightful ruler of England.►Attacks on Spanish ships and ports by

English Adventurer (read: Pirate) such as Sir Francis Drake angered Philip. Felt that Drake should be punished for his

raids. Drake was instead honored with

knighthood.

England in America►Philip would send the Spanish Armada to

conquer England.► In 1588 he sent an Armada, or war fleet, of

132 ships to England. It had 30,000 troops, and more than

2,000 guns.►The Spanish Armada was the mightiest Navy

in the world at that time.

England in America►The Smaller English ships quickly

gained the upper hand. ►The defeat of Spain meant they no

longer controlled the seas.►Now the way is clear for England to

start colonizing North America.

King Philip II

Sir Francis Drake

King James I

The Lost Colony of Roanoke►The English had been trying since before

their victory against the Spanish to try and establish a settlement on the other side of the Atlantic. Humphrey Gilbert claimed

Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth in 1583.

Sailed along the coast searching for site but would die at sea.

►Sir Walter Raleigh was given the right to claim land in North America. His scouts return with a promising report

of Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke► In 1585, Raleigh would send about 100 men

to settle Roanoke Island. John White would explore and draw the

area they were in After barely surviving a difficult winter

they decide to return to England.► In 1587, Raleigh tried again.

Sent 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children to Roanoke.

White would return with this group with his daughter and would lead them.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke►White’s daughter gave birth shortly after

arriving on the island. Her daughter, Virginia Dare, was the first

English child born in North America.►They begin to build a colony but are in short

supply of materials resulting in White returning to England for them as well as new settlers. Although he hoped to be back in a few

months, the war with Spain delayed his return for 3 years.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke.►When he finally returned, the colony was

gone. The only clue left behind was the word

“Croatoan” carved on a gate post and tree.

He believed they may have been on Croatoan Island 50 miles south.

Bad weather would not permit him to investigate.

The Colonist were never seen again.

Humphrey Gilbert

Sir Walter Raleigh

Croatoan

Jamestown Settlement►Roanoke was Raleigh’s last attempt to

establish a colony. This failure discouraged many others from

attempting to establish a colony.►In 1606, several merchants sought

charters. Charter – The right to organize a

settlement in an area. In this case from King James I.

The Virginia Company►The Virginia Company of London received a

charter in the area commonly known as Virginia.

►This company was a Joint-Stock Company. You bought a stock, or part ownership, of

that company in return for a share of its future profits.

► In December 1606, It sent 144 settlers in 3 ships to build this new colony. 40 of them died on the voyage to the colony. The goal was to look for gold and establish trade

in fish and furs.

The Virginia Company► In April 1607, the ships entered Chesapeake

Bay and sailed up a river flowing into the bay. This river would be named the James and

the town, Jamestown, to honor their king.► Jamestown was built on a peninsula to

better protect it from attacks but had some sever drawbacks. Swampy land had mosquitoes that carried

disease. It also did not provide good farm land.

The Virginia Company►The colonist were also not used to difficult

labor.►The London investors wanted to seek a

return quickly so they focused primarily on looking for gold and silver. They should have been growing food. Disease and hunger took it’s toll as well.

► In 1608, when ships arrived with supplies and more settlers, only 38 of them remained.

Jamestown Colony Virginia Company Logo

Captain John Smith►The biggest obstacle the colonists faced was

the governing of Jamestown.►The colony survived its first two years

thanks to Captain John Smith. He was an experienced soldier and

explorer. Forced the settlers to work and managed

to get corn from the Native Americans led by Chief Powhatan.

► In 1609, 400 new settlers would arrive. John Smith returned to England two

months later. Without his leadership, the colony began

to fail.

Captain John Smith ►Without his strong leadership, the

colony was unable to feed so many people. The winter of 1609-1610 became known

as, “the starving time.” Fighting also broke out with the Native

Americans.►When more settlers arrived in the

spring only 60 settlers were left.

Captain John Smith

Chief Powhatan

Farming the Land►The Virginia Company never found gold, but

they did find another way to make money for investors.

► John Rolfe learned to grow tobacco using seeds from the west indies. First sold in England in 1614. Planters along the James river would soon

be raising this crop, making Virginia prosper and grow.

►Relations also improved with the Native Americans when Rolfe married Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan’s daughter.

Farming the Land► In 1614, they were allowed to rent plots of

land. Most of what was grown on those plots

were their own. Private ownership encouraged them to

work harder to grow crops to sell.►Private land ownership was expanded in

1618. Colonist who paid their way to America

would receive 100 Acres of land. To bring more colonists, the company

gave 50 acres to those who paid their own way.

You would also receive 50 acres for every family member over 15 years old and for each servant.

Farming the Land►This system convinced thousands to

move to Virginia.

John Rolfe and Pocahontas

Representative Government►At first nearly all of the Jamestown settlers

were men. Working for the Virginia Company under

strict rules.►As they grew they complained about taking

orders from the company in London. This resulted in the company allowing the

colonists to have some say in their government.

►Ten towns sent two representatives called burgesses to an assembly. They were given the right to make local laws for

the colony and met for the first time on July 30, 1619 in a church as the House of Burgesses in Jamestown.

New Arrivals in Jamestown► In 1619, The Virginia Company sent 90

women to Jamestown. Wanted to help the colony flourish by

establishing families. In order to marry one of these women you

had to pay 120 pounds of tobacco. Men greatly outnumbered the women.

►A Dutch ship would also bring a group of servants (twenty Africans) to labor in fields. May not have been slaves.

New Arrivals in Jamestown►Until 1640, some African laborers in

Jamestown were free and even owned property.

►William Tucker – First African born in the American colonies was a free man. In the following years though, the Africans

who came would be sold as slaves First recognized by Virginia law in the

1660s.► In the early 1620s, suffered financial

hardship. It had invested so much into the colony

but saw little return in profit. Also suffered an attack by the Native

Americans.

New Arrivals in Jamestown►This resulted in King James canceling the

charter and converting Jamestown into the first royal colony for England in America in 1624.