1. What were the characteristics of the Virginia colony?
The colony of Virginia
What were the characteristics of the Virginia colony?

2. The Roanoke Disaster
Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to start a colony at Roanoke on the Outer Banks of North Carolina
1585 – Starving settlers abandoned the first colony and returned to England
Two years later a second colony was started in the same location
Sir Walter Raleigh

3. 1590 – a supply expedition from England found only the abandoned buildings from the settlement To this day, what happened to the settlers in unknown – it is thought that they either joined the Indians or were defeated and killed by them

4. Establishing a Colony A colony was a business and was run like one
To establish a colony, the businessmen first needed a charter – certificate of permission from the King
They took the charter and formed a joint-stock company – a company funded and run by a group of investors who share the company’s profits and losses

5. Jamestown The Virginia Company was formed in 1606
with the goal of establishing a colony in Jamestown, Virginia
The colony was established in 1607 with about 100 settlers
The colony was named in Jamestown in honor of King James I

6. Near Failure of Jamestown
The colony nearly failed for several reasons:
The settlers were not used to doing the hard work required to start a colony – many came to get rich quick and spent their time looking for gold instead of doing the daily tasks for survival
The site was in swampland full of disease bearing mosquitos
Leadership was poor – settlers spent time squabbling rather than worrying about their survival

7. Taking control of Jamestown
In 1608, John Smith took power over the colony and forced the colonists to farm
He persuaded the nearby Powhatan people to provide food, saving the colony
John Smith

8. The fear of the Powhatan people
the Powhatan people became alarmed when about 600 new settlers arrived in 1609
In response, they began killing the colonists’ livestock and destroying their farms
Food became scarce again – of the 600 new colonists, only about 60 survived

9. Virginia becomes a royal colony
Because it was not profitable, the Virginia Company lost the charter to Virginia in 1624
Virginia became a royal colony which had a governor appointed by the King
In 1619, Virginia had a legislature known as the House of Burgesses – this is one of the first instances of limited self-government for the new colonies

10. Growing Tobacco Tobacco saved the early Virginia colony from failure
Tobacco is indigenous to North America and was shipped back to England in 1614 where it quickly became popular
The crop led to the expansion of Virginia

11. Tobacco Workers
To produce large amounts of tobacco, planters needed laborers. There were 3 main types of laborers:
New Landowners – Each person who came to the colony from England got 50 acres of land (the headright system).
Indentured Servants – Settlers from England who wanted to come to the colonies but could not pay for the voyage. Usually owed 7 years of work in exchange for passage, food, and shelter.
African Slaves – Arrived in small numbers at first. Usually were not freed after 7 years.

12. Wealthy planters vs. all other settlers
The English’s harsh treatment of the Native Americans stemmed from their dealings with the Irish at home
Despite this tradition, the King’s governor refused to raise an army to protect the settlers from the Native Americans
1676, Nathaniel Bacon raised a private army to fight the Indians
When the governor tried to stop him, Bacon attacked Jamestown and burned it to the ground
The rebellion ended when Bacon died of disease

13. Impact of Bacon’s Rebellion
It proved that the frontier settlers were frustrated that the government was concerned only with the interests of wealthy planters
The poorer colonists would not tolerate such a government.