England Settles the Americas The Significance of Jamestown 1607

Roanoke (The Lost Colony) Sir Walter Raleigh was given permission to establish a colony in the Americas in He named the area Virginia after Queen Elizabeth who was called the “virgin queen”.

Roanoke- continued Sir Walter Raleigh set up the colony on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina The colonists were starving so they were sent back to England

Roanoke- continued Sir Walter Raleigh sent another group to Roanoke The land was a terrible place to settle. It was swampy and filled with inhospitable indians

Roanoke- continued Sir Walter Raleigh tried to send ships with supplies to the colony but they were delayed by the fighting between Spain and England When the supply ships arrived in 1588, the colonists were gone. All that was found were the words “croatoan” carved on a tree.

Jamestown(1607): The first permanent English Settlement in the Americas King James I gave the Virginia Company of London the right to colonize Southern Virginia. (All of North America was referred to as Virginia at this time) Their goal was to pursue economic gain in the Americas by finding treasure. Jamestown clip

Jamestown- continued The colonists landed in Chesapeake Bay in They built the James Fort (eventually called Jamestown) This was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Jamestown is referred to as the birthplace of America.

Problems at Jamestown Disease, hunger, conflict with the Native Americans, and internal fighting were issues faced by the Jamestown colonists Jamestown was located in a swamp. The colonists of Jamestown were privileged men who did not like to do physical labor. The colonists arrived too late to plant crops. Within a few months, half of the colonists were dead.

Jamestown & Pocahontas Captain John Smith was one of the settlers of Jamestown Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas was going to kill Capt. Smith Pocahontas supposedly saved his life.

Jamestown & Pocahontas Capt. Smith helped save the Jamestown colony. He became almost a dictator of the colony. He was successful in trading with the Indians. With the help of the Indians, he showed the settlers how to plant local crops.

Jamestown & Tobacco Capt. John Smith eventually leaves the colony The settlers turn on the Indians and take Pocahontas hostage Pocahontas eventually marries colonist John Rolfe

Jamestown & Tobacco The marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas led to peaceful relations between the Indians and the colonists of Jamestown In 1615, Pocahontas went to England with Rolfe and was a big hit She died from smallpox in England Rolfe helped make Jamestown a success by growing tobacco death at Jamestown

Jamestown Government At first, Jamestown was run like a military dictatorship. Colonists would receive the death penalty for stealing corn. In 1619, the new governor of Virginia created the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses was an assembly made up of the governor and elected male settlers. It marked the beginning of representative government in the colonies.