The Arrival of Women and Africans at Jamestown

The Arrival of Additional Women at Jamestown

• In the year 1620, Jamestown became a more diverse (different) settlement.

• In 1620, the Virginia Company of London sent additional women to the colony.

• The arrival of these additional women made it possible for more settlers to establish families and a permanent settlement at Jamestown.

The Arrival of Women at Jamestown

• Women played many important roles once they arrived at Jamestown. Women did chores and were responsible for educating the children.

• The women were sent to Jamestown to marry the men who were already there!

Indentured Servants

• Indentured servants – a person who worked for another person for a period of time to pay back money that is owed.

• Many settlers came to Jamestown as indentured servants. They agreed to work for the person who paid for their passage to the New World. Most indentured servants worked for a period of seven (7) years.

Africans Arrive at Jamestown:The Beginning of Slavery in America

• As plantations in the Tidewater region expanded, more hands were needed to work the land!

• Africans were brought to Virginia as a source of labor.

Africans Arrive at Jamestown:The Beginning of Slavery in America

• Portuguese sailors captured African men and women from what is present day Angola. The status of these early African men and women as either servants or slaves in Virginia is unknown.

• Africans arrived in Jamestown against their will in 1619.

• The arrival of Africans made it possible to expand the tobacco economy.

Hardships Faced By the Settlers

• The English settlers found life in Jamestown harder than they had expected.

• The site that they chose to live on was marshy and lacked safe drinking water.

Hardships Faced By the Settlers

• The settlers lacked some skills necessary to provide for themselves.

• Many settlers died of starvation and disease.

Changes That Resulted in theSurvival of the Colony

The changes that resulted in the survival of the Jamestown settlement were:

– Arrival of supply ships.– Captain John Smith’s “No Work – No Food”

policy. *Forced work program.– The strong leadership of Captain John

Smith.– Emphasis on agriculture. *Growing their own

crops.