A History of Jamestown

The founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony, in Virginia in 1607 – 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts – sparked a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. The government, language, customs, beliefs and aspirations of these early Virginians are all part of the United States’ heritage today.

The colony was sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, a group of investors who hoped to profit from the venture. Chartered in 1606 by King James I, the company also supported English national goals of counterbalancing the expansion of other European nations abroad, seeking a northwest passage to the Orient, and converting the Virginia Indians to the Anglican religion.

TheSusan Constant,GodspeedandDiscovery, carrying 105 passengers, one of whom died during the voyage, departed from England in December 1606 and reached the Virginia coast in late April 1607. The expedition was led by Captain Christopher Newport. On May 13, aftertwo weeks of exploration, the ships arrived at a site on the James Riverselected for its deep water anchorage andgood defensive position. The passengers came ashore the next day, andwork began on the settlement. Initially, the colony was governed by a council of seven, with one member serving as president.

Serious problems soon emerged in the small English outpost, which was located in the midst of a chiefdom of about 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Indians ruled by the powerful leader Powhatan. Relations with the Powhatan Indians were tenuous, although trading opportunities were established. An unfamiliar climate, as well as brackish water supply and lack of food, conditions possibly aggravated by a prolonged drought, led to disease and death. Many of the original colonists were upper-class Englishmen, and the colony lacked sufficient laborers and skilled farmers.

The first two English women arrived at Jamestown in 1608, and more came in subsequent years. Men outnumbered women, however, for most of the 17th century. Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader in September 1608 – the fourth in a succession of council presidents – and established a “no work, no food” policy. Smith had been instrumental in trading with the Powhatan Indians for food. However, in the fall of 1609 he was injured by burning gunpowder and left for England. Smith never returned to Virginia, but promoted colonization of North America until his death in 1631 and published numerous accounts of the Virginia colony, providing invaluable material for historians.

Smith’s departure was followed by the “starving time,” a period of warfare between the colonists and Indians and the deaths of many English men and women from starvation and disease. Just when the colonists decided to abandon Jamestown in Spring 1610, settlers with supplies arrived from England, eager to find wealth in Virginia. This group of new settlers arrived under the second charter issued by King James I.

In order to make a profit for the Virginia Company, settlers tried a number of small industries, including glassmaking, wood production, and pitch and tar and potash manufacture. However, until the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop about 1613 by colonist John Rolfe, who later married Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas, none of the colonists’ efforts to establish profitable enterprises were successful. Tobacco cultivation required large amounts of land and labor and stimulated the rapid growth of the Virginia colony. Settlers moved onto the lands occupied by the Powhatan Indians, and increased numbers of indentured servants came to Virginia.

The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived in 1619. They were from the kingdom of Ndongo in Angola, West Central Africa, and had been captured during war with the Portuguese. While these first Africans may have been treated as indentured servants, the customary practice of owning Africans as slaves for life appeared by mid-century. The number of African slaves increased significantly in the second half of the 17th century, replacing indentured servants as the primary source of labor.

Directions: In your notebooks answer the following questions in complete sentences.

Who sponsored the colony and why?
Who led the expedition and when did they arrive?
What problems did the settlers face? Provide multiple examples
What policy did John Smith create what happened when he left Jamestown?
What crop did the settlers cultivate that led to the expansion of their colony?

Colonization and the Revolutionary War Roanoke: The Lost Colony

During the 1580s, the English made several unsuccessful attempts to establish a colony in America. Then, in July 1587, a group of English men and women landed on Roanoke Island off the coast of what is now North Carolina. Their leader was John White. Later that year, White sailed back to England for supplies. But John White was delayed in England. He could not return until 1590. He came back with five ships and more English men and women who wanted to live in the colony.

By the time John White’s ships returned, the colony had vanished.[1] All of the houses were taken down. The settlers left no trace of their whereabouts[2] – except for one small clue. The word “CROATOAN” was carved into a post of the fort.

John White walked around the ruins[3], trying to figure it all out. Before he left for England, his daughter had given birth to a baby named Virginia – the first European baby in the New World. What had happened to his daughter and grandchild? He walked pensively[4] along the shore. Before he left he had buried some personal items in a chest in the dirt. Someone had found the chest and taken all of its contents. John White noticed that the colonists’ little boats, once used for fishing and exploring, were also gone.

What could Croatoan possibly mean? Croatoan was a nearby island with its own group of Native Americans. What could have happened? Even today, no one knows the answers to these questions. The colony was abandoned and no more English settlers arrived until 1607, when Jamestown was established.

Name: ______Date: ______

1. Why did John White leave the colony at Roanoke in 1587?

He went to investigate Croatoan.
He returned to England for supplies.
He left to look for his daughter and granddaughter.
He went to go found the Jamestown Colony.

2. Why does the author describe things that White found missing at Roanoke?

To argue that John White had landed in the wrong place
to describe how terrible the weather was at Roanoke
to warn the reader against trying to start a colony
to show how mysteriously the colonists had disappeared

3. Why is Roanoke called the Lost Colony?

England lost the colony when the settlers declared their independence.
When John White returned from England, he was unable to find any of the colonists.
The colonists had suffered a tough winter and had lost many people to disease.
When John White returned, he found the colonists wandering around lost.

6. What items did John White find missing at Roanoke?

______

7. The author states that the Roanoke colony was abandoned and no more English settlers arrived until 1607 when the Jamestown colony was established. Why might have English settlers waited a number of years to return to the colony?

______

Creating a Newscast

Directions: In your group explain what the Mayflower Compact and Fundamental Orders of Congress are and how they provided self-government in the early American colonies. Your newscast should provide a brief summary of each document and include excerpts from the document that support the idea of self-rule.

The Mayflower Compact (pg. 74)

Summary:

______

Excerpt that shows the idea of self-rule:

Support your Excerpt:

______

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (pg. 75)

Summary:

______

Excerpt that shows the idea of self-rule:

Support your Excerpt:

______

[1]vanished – suddenly disappeared

2. whereabouts – the place where a person or thing is

[3]ruins – something left after destruction, decay, or downfall

[4]pensively – thoughtfully