Jamestown

• A charter was granted to the Virginia Company of London(a joint-stock company) to build a colony in Virginia.

• The investors hoped to make a profit from the colony.

• The colonists had a desire for riches and adventure.

Jamestown 1607It took 5 months to arrive from England aboard 3 ships. 36 men died out of 144 on the way over. They settled 30 miles up the James River close enough to easily bring supplies, but far away from Spanish ships that sailed along the Atlantic coast.

• Jamestown was built on a swamp. • Many colonists died from drinking impure water or diseases carried

by mosquitoes. 38 out of 144 survived after the first year.

Problems for the Colonists

• They planted wheat immediately, but were more interested in looking for gold.

• Most had never farmed, fished, or hunted.• The Native Americans resented their arrival,

and refused to trade food with them.• By the winter, they were facing starvation.

Jamestown• Captain John Smith forced the colonists to plant crops and build• He established friendly relations and trade with the Natives• He was wounded in a gunpowder accident, and had to return to England

The Starving Time-Winter of 1610

The winter of 1609-1610 went into the records as the "Starving Time." There was death almost every day. When they ate all the animals, including horses, cats and dogs, then mice were eaten. They crawled through the woods in search of roots and berries. After that, men, women and children became cannibals eating their own dead. Some men and women who were starving crept into the woods in their last hours, dug shallow holes, covered themselves with leaves, and died. Out of 500 only 60 people survived that winter.

Lord De La Warr

• He caught the 35 remaining colonists leaving as he was coming up the James River, and ordered them back to Jamestown.

• He established strict rules and every colonist had to farm, or would be imprisoned or killed

• John Rolfe married a native the colonists had captured named Pocahontas. Their marriage helped to keep peace for 8 years

Trade in Tobacco• John Rolfe produced a mild-tasting tobacco in 1614 that he sent to

England, and it was an instant success!• Tobacco saved Jamestown from failure

Apprentices and Indentured Servants

• In 1618, 100 apprentices(people who learn a trade from skilled workers) arrived in Jamestown

• Indentured Servants arrived as well. They worked without pay for up to 7 years in return for passage to the colony, food, clothing, and shelter

• After this time period, Indentured Servants would receive their own 50 acres of land to farm

The First Africans Arrive

• In 1619, about 20 Africans arrived in Jamestown from the West Indies

• They were initially treated as Indentured Servants, but eventually the colonists treated them as slaves

House of Burgesses• The colonists wanted a say in how they were governed, so in 1619 , in

each of the 11 Jamestown settlements, the colonists chose 2 men called Burgesses to represent them

• This group of elected officials was called the House of Burgesses