20 minutes: pages 72-77 with Questions/Chart

Jamestown, Virginia, and the Southern Colonies

First settlers [Cultural roots]

First Settlers [Cultural Roots] The first settlers in Jamestown were largely poor Englishmen looking to get rich, or rich Englishmen looking to get even richer. Most of them had no skills that could cover the basics of survival, and life was very difficult for many of them. First Settlers [Cultural Roots]

Death

John SmitH (nice beard Stache!)

John Smith arrived in late 1607 to help turn around the colony. He helped impose more order and productivity by encouraging people to work hard with rewards of food. John Smith also met with the local Native American tribe (Powhatan), who taught him how to grow corn.

Pocahontas

Pocahontas was the daughter of the chief of the Powhatan tribe. Her father wanted to intimidate the English, but also build a bond with them, so the tribe pretended to be angry at John Smith. After pretending they were about to kill him, Pocahontas (age 10) rushed in at the last minute to save his life Pocahontas

The Starving Time

John Smith got injured in Jamestown and left to get medical treatment in England. After he left and gave control of Jamestown back to its citizens, the winter came. Without his leadership, 4 out of 5 colonists died, either from the cold, starvation, or disease. This is known as the starving time. The Starving Time

John Rolfe

When John Rolfe arrived in 1610, colonists in Jamestown were having a really rough time. Only about 60 were still alive Luckily for them, he was a very hard worker, and had a secret weapon with him: TOBACCO He also befriended and married Pocahontas, who he would later take back to England with him. This relationship would help relations with the Powhatan. John Rolfe

Tobacco = Success

The SOuth: Geography

Virginia and the other southern colonies have a warm climate in comparison to other colonial regions. Warm climate + fertile soil = Long growing season The South: Geography

The South: Economy

Plantation farming based on cash crops and fueled by slavery The South: Economy

Headright System

Indentured Servants vs. Slaves

Indentured Servants vS. Slaves For the first 12 years of its existence, most of the workers in Virginia were indentured servants, who would agree to work for a period of 4 to 7 years in exchange for passage across the Atlantic. INDENTURED SERVANTS ARE NOT SLAVES When the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619, they quickly became the primary labor force in the Southern Colonies because their term of service was much longer. Indentured Servants vS. Slaves

Representative government

People were very spread out in Virginia because of the Headright System. This meant that there wasn’t a lot of interaction going on to discuss local government. People in Virginia preferred representative government so that governing could be done by people who weren’t focused on running a plantation or other business. These elected citizens would make governing decisions on behalf of everyone else. The South: Government

Bacon’s Rebellion Or, The Day the Pigs Fought Back

Bacon’s REbellion

After some time, Pocahontas died and the relationship between the Powhatan and Virginians became distant. General policy in Jamestown was to respect the lands of the Natives and to trade with them, keeping positive relations. Taxes also increased as Jamestown became bigger and more successful. Bacon’s Rebellion

These policies angered former indentured servants, who couldn’t afford to both pay the taxes and buy land to farm on. They wanted to claim Native American lands outside of Jamestown. Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion by pretending to lead a hunting party against the Powhatan. Guards left Jamestown and then Bacon and his men rushed into the city and took over the city hall. They maintained control of the city until Nathaniel Bacon caught a cold and died a few weeks into the rebellion. More Bacon

Slave Codes

Laws to keep control of slaves and prevent rebellions were very strict. Laws prevented slaves from holding weapons, having unsupervised meetings, and learning to read were very common. These were designed to help maintain order of slaves. Many landowners were afraid of rebellion because there were actually far more slaves than there were plantation owners in the South. Slave Codes

Maryland: Black Sheep

Maryland: The Black Sheep Maryland was similar to the other Southern Colonies in many ways – plantations, slaves, cash crops and representative government was common. What set Maryland apart was that it was founded by a devout Catholic who wanted a refuge for English Catholics outside of England. Maryland’s citizens even went so far as to pass a law providing religious freedom to everyone (as long as you were Christian). It was called the Toleration Act of 1649. Maryland: The Black Sheep

Finish the questions (pages 72-77) Read next section 3.2 when finished on pages 78-84