BR: D14 What motivations did the English have to come to the New World?

Ch. 3.1: Early English Settlements U.S. History I Ch. 3.1: Early English Settlements

First: Roanoke Island The first attempt was made at Roanoke Island. A small island off of North Carolina, which was settled by John White, a map maker and artists. It was settled by 100 people in 1587. White ended up leaving and returning to England for supplies, but he could only return 3 years later, because of war with Spain. VID or VID When he returned, everyone was gone, the colony deserted, with one mysterious word carved into a tree: Croatoan. There was an island about 50 miles away by this name, but no evidence of them turned up there. This is STILL one of the greatest mysteries here in America. No one really knows what happened. What do you think? Virginia Dare, White’s granddaughter, was the first English child born in the New World

The Virginia Company The Virginia Company was a group of merchants, who saw the potential for profit in the New World. They got a charter (or permission) from their government to “Make habitation…into that part of America, commonly called Virginia.” Just like Merit has a charter, to prep you guys for college! It was what is known as a joint-stock company, which meant that investors owned part ownership in the company. Thus, if the company went bankrupt, you could control your risk by only investing as much as you were comfortable with. Of course, if it did well, than you’d also get that same percentage of the profits too! VID In 1606, 144 settlers and three ships set sail for North America. 40 didn’t survive the voyage. Next April, 1607, they arrived in the Chesapeake Bay, and went up the river, which they named James, and the town Jamestown, after their king, King James.

Challenges Ahead The company was looking for three things: gold, furs from trade, as well as fish that could be dried and salted to last a long time. When the settlers arrived in the Chesapeake Bay in 1607, that was their focus, not farming (first mistake) VID So, they built their fort on a peninsula, or area of land surrounded by three sides with water, to be easily defended. But the land around was swampy, it wasn’t good farmland. And it carried diseases, and many got sick from the mosquitoes. By 1608, when more ships and settlers arrived, only 1/3rd of those who first came were still alive 😱. They did survive in large part because of Captain John Smith, who stayed till 1609. He forced them to work, prep for the winter, and he made friends with the Powhatan Indians. After he left however, the settlers didn’t prepare well for the winter, and despite another 400 settlers arriving in 1609, by the spring of 1610, only 60 were still alive. VID

John Rolfe, Farming & Conflict After “the starving time” winter of 1609-1610, things gradually improve. The settlers focus on farming, and by 1614, things are looking better. Settlers rented land and grew crops, and over the next several years became self-sufficient. The crop that truly saves the colony is Tobacco. A settler, John Rolfe, brings tobacco seeds from the Caribbean, and plants them with success in Jamestown, with the first crop being sold to England in 1614. It is a big hit. VID Rolfe also marries Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, and this improves relations between the whites and the natives…for a little while. The next several decades saw fighting between the English and the Powhatan in the Anglo-Powhatan Wars: VID

Government The settlers in the town quickly realized that they were quite far away from England and the Virginia Company, so they ought to make decisions for themselves. By 1619 they had 10 smaller towns in the colony, and each town sent two representatives (whom they called burgesses) to an assembly in a church in Jamestown. This was the first Representative Government in the English New World, called the House of Burgesses (sound familiar?) VID Women arrived en masse (latin phrase meaning in large numbers) in 1619, and it cost 120 lbs of tobacco to marry one of these company women. Sound like property, huh? Speaking of slavery, a Dutch Ship selling black slaves arrived in 1619 as well, though there were several free black men already there. More and more black slaves would arrive in the years to follow. Meanwhile, the Virginia Co. lost control of the colony in 1624, having their charter revoked, and this made Jamestown the first English royal colony in the New World.

Activity: Colony Advertisement Pretend that you are an investor in a joint stock company; it could be the Virginia Company, or another similar fictitious company. You have just been granted a charter by the King of England to go and settle the new world! So, how do you convince suckers….I mean, people to sign up? Create a deceptive ad that sounds too good to be true, of course! Get together in pairs, see the handout, and begin creating an advertisement that shows just how awesome* your colony is. We will be presenting these next period, so do your best! We’ll be having a contest to see whose poster is the most convincing…may the best one win! See: Colony Ad Outline