Study Guide for Chapter 4 Jamestown

Study Guide for Jamestown Test # 2 Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

3 reasons England wanted to start colonies, land settled far from the country that ruled it

1. To gain wealth – riches like gold and silver

2. To get more power – by claiming land

3. To get raw materials (natural resources) and open new markets for trade Think lumber!

So we say Jamestown was an economic venture. (Think economic$!) It was about making money.

But the king could not pay for the exploration. The stockholders of the VA Company of London financed (paid for) it. They hoped to share in the profit$ of the company.

King James gave a charter to the VA Company of London. A charter is a written list of rights (permission) given by a ruler (king).

Ask yourself - What did the charter given by King James do? 1. gave the VA Company the right to establish a settlement in North America 2. extended (gave) English rights to the settlers

3 ships went to Jamestown - Susan Constant Discovery Godspeed

Captain: Christopher Newport

Jamestown was founded (started) in 1607, named for King James, and built on a peninsula in the James River in Virginia. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America.

3 reasons that the colonists picked the site at Jamestown:

1. It would be easy to defend from the Spanish because it was Inland. (Think - Did the Spanish ever find them?)

2. The water was deep enough to dock their boats. (True)

3. The colonists thought it had a good supply of fresh water (Did it?) Hardships and Survival

The colonists (people who live in a colony) in Jamestown faced many hardships (problems):

1. the site was marshy and lacked safe drinking water

2. most settlers lacked skills to provide for themselves

3. many settlers died of starvation and disease

3 things that helped them survive:

1. Supply ships arrived

2. The forced work program and strong leadership of Captain John Smith

3. A growing emphasis on agriculture (farming)

The Importance of John Smith

 initiated trading with the native people  started a forced work program “If you don’t’ work you don’t eat!”  provided strong leadership Relationship with the native peoples changed over time.

1. At first, John Smith traded (bartered) with the native peoples. He traded metal items like tools and pots for food. Did the native people have metal?

2. Powhatan and his people taught the settlers survival skills like farming. The colonists learned to grow corn and tobacco.

3. His daughter, Pocohontas, helped keep peace between the colonists and native Americans because she married an Englishman named John Rolfe.

4. The Powhatan came to realize that the English settlement would grow, and the colonists were seen as invaders who would take over their land.

John Rolfe, an Englishman, married Pocohontas. This marriage brought peace for a while. John Rolfe also introduced a new kind of tobacco to the colony. People in England liked it a lot. The colonists started growing it to send back to England.

Did the English ever find gold and riches? No, the economy of Virginia depended on agriculture as the primary (main) source of wealth. Tobacco was the most profitable (think profit$) product. It was sold in England as a cash crop (a crop grown to sell for money, not to be used by the farmer). Think ca$h crop! Tobacco is labor intensive (it takes a lot of people to work on the plantation to grow it). The Africans brought to the Virginia colony were enslaved (made into slaves) and forced to work on the plantations, large farming communities. We say the colony was dependent on slave labor. This situation lasted a long time.

3 big changes in the colony about 1619

1. Government House of Burgesses was formed – the first elected legislative body in English America - giving settlers the opportunity to control their own government (make their own rules).

It was made up of the following people:

 He governor (appointed by the king)  the council (appointed by the VA Co of London)  burgesses who were elected (only free adult men who owned land).

By the 1640’s, the House of Burgesses met separately from the Council and was called the General Assembly. Today’s Virginia General Assembly dates back to the establishment (start) of the House of Burgesses.

2. Women arrived They came on a boat called the Brideship. This made it possible for more settlers to establish families and make Jamestown more permanent.

3. Slaves Portuguese sailors captured African men and women from Angola and brought them to Virginia either as slaves or indentured servants. They came against their will. Their arrival made it possible to expand (grow) the tobacco economy because they worked on the tobacco plantations.