jamestown. in 1606, the virginia company of london was formed by a group of merchants. in 1607,...
TRANSCRIPT
Jamestown
In 1606, the Virginia Company of London was formed by a group of merchants.
In 1607, three English ships carrying about 120 colonists reached the eastern coast of Virginia.
They were looking for a place that would be easy to defend. They chose to unload their ships on a peninsula in the river. They called this place Jamestown in honor of King James.
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John Smith was one of the settlers.He said Jamestown “was a very fit place for erecting a great city.” But he was wrong.
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The land was low and swampy. The air was full of disease carrying mosquitoes.The river water was not healthy to drink and it made people sick.Almost as soon as they got there, many settlers began to die.
The Starving TimeSome settlers came expecting to find gold. So instead of planting crops and building houses, these men spent their day searching for gold.
Some thought they found gold.Then everyone dug for gold and didn’t do anything else.What they had found was not gold.
Soon, men began dying from starvation and disease.By the end of the first year at Jamestown, only 38 of the settlers were still alive.
John Smith was elected leader of the colony.
He issued and order: “He that will not work, shall not eat.”
With John Smith’s leadership, the colonists built houses and dug wells for fresh water.They planted crops and fished in the river.
John Smith also began trading with Chief Powhatan’s people.
Corn from the Powhatan people helped keep the colonist alive.
Chief Powhatan had a young daughter, Pocahontas, that visited Jamestown often.
Historians are not sure if this next part is true.
At a later time, John Smith wrote that when he first met with Chief Powhatan, he was taken prisoner (pic on page 160).
He wrote that he was about to be executed when 12-year-old Pocahontas saved his life.
She persuaded her father to let Smith go.
Day 2
Brief Review:
• In 1607, about 120 people came to Jamestown from England on 3 English ships to start a colony.
• John Smith said Jamestown “was a very fit place for erecting a great city.” But he was wrong.
• Jamestown was named in honor of King James.
•The land was low and swampy. The air was full of disease carrying mosquitoes. The river water was not healthy to drink and it made people sick. Almost as soon as they got there, many settlers began to die.
•The Starving Time
• John Smith was elected as leader of the colony.• “He that will not work, shall not eat.”
• Powhatan Indians• Pocahontas
John Rolfe
In 1612, John Rolfe raised a crop of tobacco in the fertile Virginia soil.
Tobacco soon became Virginia’s first cash crop. A cash crop is one that can be harvested and sold for money.
King James of England did not approve of tobacco.He called smoking “hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs”.We know today how right King James was, but back then it did not stop people in Virginia from raising tobacco.
Tobacco exports to England rose rapidly.
Farms were growing quickly and the farmers needed more workers.
Thousands of indentured servants began to arrive from England in Jamestown.
An indentured servant is someone that has agreed to work for someone else for a certain amount of time in exchange for the coast of the ocean voyage to North America.
The indentured servants hoped to buy land of there own when they gained their freedom.
Many of them didn’t live that long.
Between 1619 and 1622, many of the newly arrived servants died from disease, overwork, and mistreatment by their masters.
In 1619, another group of newcomers came to Jamestown.
A Dutch ship arrived with 20 Africans who were sold as indentured servants and later released.
Some of them were able to establish their own tobacco plantations.
In spite of the many hardships the colonist faced in Jamestown, the colony continued to grow steadily.
John Rolfe and Pocahontas were married in 1614. This marriage helped maintain peace between the English and the Powhatan people.
The Virginia Company of London continued to try to attract more settlers to their colony.
With this goal in mind, leaders of the company declared that settlers should have “such a form of government… as may be to the greatest benefit and comfort of the people.”
On July 30, 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses met for the first time.
The House of Burgesses was the first law-making assembly in an English colony.
Members were chosen to represent each district.
The House of Burgesses helped establish the tradition of self-government in the English colonies.
What type land was Jamestown founded on?
On swampy land.
The colonist were lazy and only wanted to search for ________.
Gold.
They ran out of food. This period was known as ____________.
The Starving Time
What happened to more than half of the colonists during the 1st winter?
They died.
Why did the colonist get so sick? Disease carrying mosquitoes & unhealthy, dirty water.
Who helped provide them with food and supplies?
Powhatan people
Who was the leader that helped Jamestown survive?
John Smith
What became Virginia’s cash crop? Tobacco.
Who arrived to join the men on the colony?
Women
Who was free land given to? New settlers
What was formed that gave the settlers a say in government? House of Burgesses
Brainstorm
A joint-stock company that started the colony of Jamestown
Took charge and put an end to laziness by declaring “he that will not work, shall not eat.”
His strong leadership helped the colony to survive.
Daughter of the Powhatan Chief.
The Indians captured John Smith and were going to kill him, but Pocahontas pleaded for his life.
Introduced tobacco to Jamestown.
Married Pocahontas.
