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Home , London Company, Proprietary colony, Southern Colonies

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Williamsburg SECTION 1 The Southern TEKS 1C, 2A, 2B, 10A, 11A, 11C, Colonies 12B, 23A, 25A

What You Will Learn… If YOU were there…

Main Ideas A year ago, in 1609, you moved to the colony of . Life here 1. Jamestown was the first has been hard. During the winter many people died of cold or sick- permanent English settlement ness. Food is always scarce. Now it is spring, and a ship has come Jamestown in America. J 1607 from bringing supplies. In a week it will sail home. Some a 2. Daily life in Virginia was chal- m Marsh lenging to the colonists. e of your neighbors are giving up and returning to England. They ask s 3. Religious freedom and eco- R nomic opportunities were you to come, too. iv e motives for founding other r

southern colonies, including Would you take the ship back to England? , the , and Topography and Early American Settlements . Smith's Fort 4. Farming and slavery were important to the economies BUILDING BACKGROUND Several European nations took part in of the southern colonies. Middle School – American History the race to claim lands in the . Their next step was to establish colonies in the lands that they claimed. The first English colonies were The Big Idea started in the late 1500s but failed. Even in successful colonies, colonists Despite a difficult beginning, faced hardships and challenges. MapQuest.com/HRW the southern colonies soon ah06se-c02000003aa Approved:11/11/04 flourished. F1 Proof – 9/30/04 Settlement in Jamestown Key Terms and People In 1605 a company of English merchants asked King James I for the Jamestown, p. 72 right to found, or establish, a settlement. In 1606 the king granted , p. 73 , p. 73 the request of the company to settle in a region called Virginia. indentured servants, p. 74 Bacon’s Rebellion, p. 74 Founding a New Colony Toleration Act of 1649, p. 75 The investors in the new settlement formed a joint-stock company Olaudah Equiano, p. 77 called the Company. This allowed the group to share the slave codes, p. 77 cost and risk of establishing the colony. On April 26, 1607, the first 105 colonists sent by the London Company arrived in America. On May 14, about 40 miles up the in Virginia, the colonists founded Jamestown, the first permanent English settle- Use the graphic organizer online to ment in . take notes on the founding of the A lack of preparation cost a lot of the colonists their lives. Most southern colonies. of the men who came to Jamestown were adventurers with no farming experience or useful skills such as carpentry. Jamestown was surrounded by marshes full of disease-carrying mosquitoes. By the time winter arrived, two-thirds of the original colonists had died.

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Jamestown Colony Williamsburg

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Ri v y er fish for food. But the Jamestown water, so near the ATLANTIC sea, was salty. OCEAN Jamestown J 1607 Roanoke a m Marsh e Jamestown was located with defense in s R mind. Enemy Spanish ships would have to iv pass through a narrow channel to reach e r Jamestown, making the ships easy marks geography

Topography and Early American Settlements for the settlers’ cannons. skills INTERPRETING MAPS Smith's Fort 1. Human-Environment Interaction What were the advantages and disadvantages of locating Jamestown on a river?

Middle School – American History 2. Human-Environment Interaction What do you think would have been a commonly used method of transporta- HRW Middle School – American History tion for people in this region? Locate it map for Chesapeake ah06se-c02map003ca F Proof – 9/30/04 MapQuest.com/HRW ah06se-c02000003aa Approved: 11/11/04 Approved:11/11/04 Confederacy War in Virginia F1 Proof – 9/30/04 Jamestown fared better under John Smith, married Pocahontas, daughter who took control of the colony and built a of the Powhatan leader, in 1614. Their mar- fort in 1608. He forced the settlers to work riage helped the colonists form more peaceful harder and to build better housing by creat- relations with the Powhatan. However, Poca- VIDEO ing rules that rewarded harder workers with hontas died three years later in England, Save Our History: Secrets of food. The colonists received help from the where she was visiting with Rolfe. Jamestown powerful Powhatan Confederacy of Native In 1622, colonists killed a Powhatan Americans after Smith made an agreement leader. The Powhatan responded by attack- with them. The Powhatan brought food to ing the Virginia settlers later that year. Fight- help the colonists and taught them how to ing between the colonists and the Powhatan grow corn. continued for the next 20 years. Because In 1609 some 400 more settlers arrived the London Company could not protect its in Jamestown. That winter, disease and fam- colonists, the English Crown canceled the ine once again hit the colony. The colonists company’s charter in 1624. Virginia became Academic called this period the . By the a royal colony and existed under the Vocabulary spring of 1610, only 60 colonists were still authority of a chosen by the king. authority alive. Jamestown failed to make a profit until power, right to rule colonist John Rolfe introduced a new type of Reading Check Finding Main Ideas What that sold well in England. problems did the Jamestown colonists face?

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Daily Life in Virginia Labor in Virginia In early Virginia, people lived on scattered Colonists in Virginia suffered very high death farms rather than in towns. Tobacco farm- rates, which led to labor shortages. The majori- ers established large farms called plantations. ty of workers were indentured servants . These Tobacco was so valuable that it was some- servants signed a contract to work for four to times used as money. seven years for those who paid for their jour- ney to America. System Expansion of Slavery These plantations were made possible in part by the headright system, which was started Not all laborers in Virginia came from by the London Company. Under this system, Europe. A Dutch ship brought the first colonists who paid their own way to Virginia Africans to Virginia in 1619. Some Africans received 50 acres of land. A colonist could were servants; others had been enslaved. Some Academic earn another 50 acres for every additional African servants became successful farmers Vocabulary person brought from England. Rich colonists when their contracts ended. factors The demand for workers was soon greater causes who brought servants or relatives to Virginia gained large amounts of land. than the supply of people willing to work as indentured servants. Over time, the cost of slaves fell. These factors led some colonists Primary Source to turn to slave labor. By the mid- most Africans in Virginia were being kept in life- letter long slavery. A Note from Virginia In this 1619 letter, the secretary of the Virginia colony, Bacon’s Rebellion John Pory, encouraged people to move to Virginia. As plantations grew, the economy of James- town began to expand. Soon, colonial offi- cials began to ask for more taxes. During the “As touching the quality of this country, mid-1600s poor colonists protested the higher three things there be, which in few years may taxes. They were also upset about the gover- bring this colony to perfection; the English nor’s policies toward Native Americans. They thought the colony was not well protected plow, vineyards, & cattle . . . All our riches against attack. In 1676 a group of former for the present do consist in tobacco, wherein indentured servants led by Nathaniel Bacon one man by his own labor has in one year, attacked some friendly American Indians. raised to himself to the value of 200 pounds Bacon opposed the governor’s policies pro- sterling; and another by the means of six moting trade with American Indians. He also thought the colonists should be able to take servants has cleared at one crop a thousand the Indians’ land. When the governor tried to pound English. These be true, yet indeed rare stop him, Bacon and his followers attacked and examples, yet possible to be done by others.” burned Jamestown in an uprising known as —from The Power of Words, edited by T. H. Breen Bacon’s Rebellion. At one point, Bacon controlled much of the colony. He died of fever, however, and

ANALYSIS the rebellion soon ended. skill ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES How does this letter indicate the importance of Reading Check Analyzing What factors led tobacco in Virginia? to the increased use of slave labor in Virginia?

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Southern Wealth Colonists overcame tough begin- nings to create large and wealthy settlements like this one in Virginia. Churches were often the first major buildings in a growing town. How does the large church in the picture show Virginia’s wealth?

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Other Southern Colonies This meant that the colony’s proprietors, or As Jamestown was developing in Virginia, owners, controlled the government. new groups of colonists began planning their In 1634 a group of 200 English Catholics move to America. Many English Catholics came to Maryland. Included in the group were came to America to escape religious persecu- wealthy landowners, servants, craftspeople, tion. English Catholics had long been against and farmers. Settlers in Maryland benefited England’s separation from the Roman Cath- from the lessons learned by the Jamestown olic Church. For this reason they were not colonists. They spent their time raising corn, allowed by the Church of England to worship cattle, and hogs so that they would have freely. English leaders also feared that English enough to eat. Before long, many colonists Catholics would ally with Catholic countries also began growing tobacco for profit. such as France and Spain in conflicts. Although Catholics founded Maryland, a growing number of Protestants began mov- Maryland ing there in the 1640s. Soon, religious conflicts In the 1620s George Calvert, the first Lord arose between Catholics and Protestants in the Baltimore, asked King Charles I for a char- colony. To reduce tensions, Lord Baltimore ter establishing a new colony in America for presented a bill to the colonial assembly that Catholics. In 1632 Charles issued the charter became known as the Toleration Act of 1649. to Calvert’s son, Cecilius, who took over the This bill made it a crime to restrict the reli- planning of the colony. Cecilius, known as gious rights of Christians. This was the first the second Lord Baltimore, named the colony law supporting religious tolerance passed in Maryland in honor of England’s queen, Henri- the English colonies. etta Maria. It was located just north of Virginia The Toleration Act did not stop all religious in the area. Calvert intended conflict. However, it did show that the govern- for the colony to be a refuge for English ment wanted to offer some religious freedom Catholics. It would also be a . and to protect the rights of minority groups.

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MARYLAND The Southern Colonies

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Southern Slave Populations Colonies in the Colonies 250 VIRGINIA 200 150 36˚N HRW American History Georgia & the Carolinas Locator 100 ah06sec02loc005ea F2 proof 9/29/04 50 Approved: 11/11/04 0

Population (in thousands) Population 76˚W 1650 1700 1750 Charles Town was founded in 1670. ’s large land 34˚N SOUTH CAROLINA grants encouraged plantation own- Total ers to bring in thousands of slaves. Population, 78˚W 80% 1750 GEORGIA Charles Town tried to prevent slavery Slaves in Georgia. But slaves soon provided the 20% 80˚W labor for the colony’s many rice plantations.32˚N Savannah Crown then purchased North and South Car- SPANISH N ANALYSIS olina in 1729, making them royal colonies. FLORIDA W E skill INTERPRETING CHARTS In 1732 King George II granted a charter S About how many slaves lived in the English to James Oglethorpe and other trustees to colonies in 1700 and in 1750? found Georgia. The king hoped that Georgia would shield Britain’s other colonies from The Carolinas and Georgia . Oglethorpe wanted the new Colonies were also established south of Vir- colony to be a place where debtors, who had ginia. In 1663 the English king, Charles II, been jailed for their debts in England, could gave much of the land between Virginia make a new start. In 1733 Oglethorpe and 120 and Spanish Florida to eight of his supporters. colonists, mostly from England, founded the At first Carolina was a single colony. How- city of Savannah. ever, the settlements were far apart, and it Oglethorpe did not want Georgia to have was hard to govern them. In 1712 the colony largeBackground plantations Location Mapowned of Charleston by a &few Savannah wealthy •Do you want to show the MDseparated bdry as shown into here? North and South Carolina. ah06se_c02map005ba individuals. He wantedAmerican many History small Reprint farm- •Do you want a grid label for 38° added?Most of the colonists in North Carolina MapQuest.com/HRW ers. To reach this goal, Oglethorpe1st Proof - 10/05/07 outlawed were farmers who had moved south from slavery and limited the size of land grants. Virginia. Colonists primarily from Europe Soon, however, the settlers grew unhappy settled South Carolina. Those who paid their with Oglethorpe’s strict rules. In 1752 the own way received large grants of land, and British government made Georgia a royal col- some brought enslaved Africans with them. ony with new laws. Coastal Georgia was soon By 1730 about 20,000 enslaved Africans filled with large rice plantations worked by were living in the colony, compared to some thousands of slaves. 10,000 white settlers. South Carolina’s proprietors managed Reading Check Finding Main Ideas What the colony poorly, and in 1719 the pro­pri­ were some of the reasons colonists came to the etary government was overthrown. The southern colonies?

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MARYLAND Economies of the colonies. One former slave named Olaudah Southern Colonies Equiano recorded his experiences. The economies of the southern colonies “Tortures, murder, and every other imaginable depended on agriculture. They also exported barbarity . . . are practiced upon the poor slaves materials for building ships, such as wood with impunity [no punishment]. I hope the FOCUS ON and tar. Some colonies traded with local slave-trade will be abolished.” Reading VIRGINIA What is the Indians for deerskins to sell. —Olaudah Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African source of this The colonies had many small farms quote? Is it a 36˚N and some large plantations. Farms did well Most of the southern colonies passed primary or slave codes, or laws to control slaves. Colonies secondary NORTH CAROLINA because the South enjoyed a warm climate source? Do you and a long growing season. Many farms grew with large numbers of slaves had the strictest think it is a valid cash crops that were sold for profit. Tobacco, slave codes. For example, South Carolina’s source? 76˚W rice, and indigo—a plant used to make blue slaveholders feared that slaves would revolt. As a result, South Carolina’s code said slaves 34˚N dye—were the most important cash crops. SOUTH CAROLINA The southern colonies’ cash crops could not hold meetings or own weapons. 78˚W required a great deal of difficult work to grow Some colonies did not allow slaveholders to GEORGIA and harvest. This meant a large workforce free their slaves. Charles Town was needed. By the 1700s enslaved Afri- cans, rather than indentured servants, had Reading Check Summarizing What role did 80˚W 32˚N slavery play in the southern plantation economy? Savannah become the main source of labor. African slaves brought with them knowledge that How was it regulated? SPANISH N helped turn the wild environment into FLORIDA W E profitable farms. Many had previous expe- S rience raising cattle and knew the method S ummary and preview In this section for clearing brush using fire. you read about life in the southern colo- Slavery was a viciously brutal condi- nies. In the next section you will learn tion for many inhabitants of the southern about the colonies.

Section 1 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People Critical Thinking 1. a. Describe What happened in 1607 and why is it 5. Summarizing Review your notes on the southern colo- important? How did John Smith improve condi- nies. Then add a new column to your chart that summa- tions in Jamestown? rizes the successes and/or failures of each colony and Background Location Map of Charleston & Savannah the effect the environment had on colonists there. •Do you want to show the MD bdry as shown here? ah06se_c02map005ba b. Explain What events led to a conflict between the American History Reprint Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Confederacy? •Do you want a grid label for 38° added? MapQuest.com/HRW Colony Year Why Successes/ Effects of 1st Proof - 10/05/07 2. a. Recall Why were indentured servants necessary Founded Failures Environment in Virginia? Why did the number of slaves increase? b. Evaluate What do you think was the most seri- ous problem faced by settlers in Virginia? Why? 3. a. Describe Why were the colonies of Maryland, Caro- lina, and Georgia founded? Describe their locations. Focus on Writing b. Analyze Why did more enslaved Africans live in South Carolina than did white settlers? 6. Gathering Some Ideas Take notes on the early col- c. Predict How might the colony of Georgia have onies of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Geor- been different if Oglethorpe’s plan had succeeded? gia. Be sure to note what advantages they offered 4. a. Recall What was the purpose of slave codes? to settlers and what difficulties settlers faced. Start b. Analyze Why were slaves in high demand in the to think about the people who would be most likely southern colonies? to settle in the southern colonies.

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