Jamestown and Colonial Virginia

By Mr. Lin

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Virginia Before the English• American Indians Lived in

Virginia

• They can be broken down into three language groups.

– Algonquian

– Iroquoian

– SiouanImage Courtesy of http://www.americanindians.com/chippewa-funeral.jpg

Image Courtesy of http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/HISTORY/indian.gif

Image Courtesy of http://www.fortroberdeau.org/photos/images/people/Indians/Indian03.jpg

Image Courtesy of http://mal.sbo.hampton.k12.va.us/fourth/socstudies/indianwebquest/Sioux/m1.jpg

Algonquian Indians• Location

– Lived along the Coastal Plains.

• Tribes– Included many tribes– Included the Powhatan Indians– Chief Powhatan had conquered

most of the Algonquian tribes by the time the English arrived.

– Chief Powhatan’s daughter was Pocahontas

• Life:– Fished– Hunted

Image Courtesy of http://www.wm.edu/niahd/journals/display_image.php?id=997

Algonquian (Powhatan) Indian

Siouan Indians• Location:

– Mainly in the Piedmont region.

• Tribes: – Made up of many tribes.– Included the Monacan

Tribe.

• Life:– Gathered food– Hunted and fished in the

rivers.Image Courtesy of http://mal.sbo.hampton.k12.va.us/fourth/socstudies/indianwebquest/Sioux/m4.jpg

Iroquoian Indians

• Location– Some in Coastal Plains– Most lived near the

Appalachian Plateau

• Tribes– Many tribes– Most famous were the

Cherokee Indians

• Life– A lot of farming

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First English Settlers

• King James I gave a company a charter (or right) to set up a settlement Virginia.

– This company was called the Virginia Company of London

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Godspeed, Susan Constance, and Discovery

• These three ships landed at Jamestown to settle a new English colony.

• Settlers included:– Adventurers: Soldiers, sailors,

and men in search of adventure.

– Noblemen: wealthy men in search of land and gold.

– Indentured Servants: People who could not pay their way across the ocean, so agreed to work as a servant for an agreed amount of time.

Settling Jamestown• Settling Jamestown

was not easy– Many noblemen were

not used to working.– They simply wanted to

find gold!

• Instead, the settlers were under attack from Powhatan Indians and the threat of starvation.

Image Courtesy of http://www.wm.edu/niahd/journals/display_image.php?id=13302

Starving Time (1609-1610)• Supplies were eaten up,

or destroyed by rats. Other supplies simply spoiled.

• More and more people came, but there were little supplies.

• Indian attacks became more frequent.

• In the end, only 60 out of near 400 settlers were still alive!

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Starving Time

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“Our men were destroyed by cruel diseases . . . But for the most part they died of mere famine.”

- George Percy

“He who will not work shall not eat.”

- Capt. John Smith

Government• By 1618, the Virginia

Company of London decided to have some settlers act like representatives to the governor.– House of Burgesses:

This was the name of their meeting place.

• With the governor, the House of Burgesses could discuss and make some laws. Image Courtesy of

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/houseofburgesses2.jpg