1. Colonization and Conflict: Colonists and Powhatans
Virginia Studies 3g
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by
g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the Powhatan people, including the contributions of the Powhatans to the survival of the settlers.
SW 11/13/2003

2. Jamestown Colony
The first permanent English colony in America was founded on May 14, 1607.
The colony almost failed because the settlers only wanted to find gold and did not prepare shelter or start farms.
Jamestown did become a success largely due to help from Pocahontas and the Powhatans Indians.

3. Need for a Strong Leader
The colony needed a strong leader to take charge.
Captain John Smith took over as leader of the colony in 1608.

4. Saving the Colony
Captain John Smith had one simple rule which helped restore order “He that will not work, will not eat.”
He also initiated trading relationships with the Powhatan Indian tribes lead by Chief Powhatan.
However, due to an injury he left the colony to return to England in 1609.

5. Chief Powhatan
The leader of the Powhatan Confederacy, a group of 30 Algonquian Indian tribes.
Powhatan was initially friendly to the English colonists.
Mutual trade developed between the Powhatans and the colonists .

6. John Smith: Captive
John Smith led groups in exploring the region. And to trade with the Indians.
In 1608, John Smith was captured by the Powhatan Indians.

7. Saved by an Indian Princess
Chief Powhatan was about to kill John Smith but Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas saved his life by placing her head over his body to protect him.

8. Pocahontas Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan.
As a child she often visited the Jamestown Colony.
She persuaded Chief Powhatan to provide food to the starving colonists.

9. In return the colonists gave them:
The Powhatans traded:
Leather
Food
Furs
In return the colonists gave them:
Metal Tools
Pots and Pans
Guns

10. The Powhatans introduced Two Crops to the Colonists:
Corn
Tobacco

11. Colonists and Powhatans: Growing Conflict
The Colonists began stealing and attempting to intimidate the Indians.
The Powhatans realized the English settlement would continue to grow and saw the colonists as invaders that would take over their land.

12. Pocahontas: Captive
In 1613 the English kidnapped Pocahontas but Chief Powhatan refused to pay the ransom for her return.
While living with the English, she adopted many of their ways and took the English name of Rebecca.

13. Pochantas and John Rolfe
In 1614 she married John Rolfe, a tobacco planter. This began an eight-year period of peace between the Indians and colonists.
In 1615, Pocahontas and John Rolfe’s only child, Thomas was born.
John Rolfe

14. Pocahontas Visits England
In 1616, Pocahontas and her family visited England where she was treated as a celebrity .
Pocahontas met the king and queen of England.
Pocahontas died from Smallpox in England in 1617.

15. End of the Conflicts
Mutual fears continued to cause relations between the colonists and Indians to disintegrate once again.
In 1622 an attack by the Indians killed 350 English settlers.
Evenually diseases, such as smallpox, killed hundreds of Indians and ended the conflicts with the colonists.

16. An American Legend: John Smith and Pocahontas

17. United Streaming (www.unitedstreaming.com)
From Colonies to Constitution: The American Colonies:
Virginia, 1607: The First English Colony at Jamestown
New World Colonized:
Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, and Tobacco