The Cultural Landscape of Virginia A cultural landscape is whenever people settle in an area, they change the landscape to reflect the customs, beliefs, and architecture of their culture.  Some examples include: Barns, homes, churches English: Richmond American Indian: Roanoke

The Colony and Diversity English: Tidewater Coastal Plain/ Piedmont Africans: Tidewater Coastal Plain/ Piedmont Scots-Irish: Shenandoah Valley Germans: Shenandoah Valley First Americans: Scattered all over the Virginia Colony and west Migration of the colonists and living in new areas caused people to adapt old customs to their new environment.

The Cumberland Gap

The Diversity of the Colony

Daily Life in Colonial VA People of the Virginia Colony depended on: Natural resources Human resources Capital resources to produce the goods and services they needed.

What did the colonists do for jobs? Most white Virginians made their living from the land as small farmers. A few wealthy farmers owned large farms called plantations.

African Americans Most enslaved African Americans worked tobacco, other crops, and livestock. Enslaved African Americans had no rights. Many free African Americans owned their own businesses and property but were denied most rights.

Food Food choices were limited. Meals were made of local produce and meats.

Housing Most people lived in one-room houses with dirt floors. Some people (farmers) lived in large houses called plantations.

Clothing Households made their own clothes. Most clothing was made of cotton, wool, and/or leather.

Tobacco and Slavery in Early Virginia A cash crop is grown and used for money or income instead of use by the growers. A large farm owned by a wealthy landowner and is like a small town is called a plantation. The economy of Virginia depended on agriculture for its primary source of wealth. Slavery lasted about 200 years.

Plantations

Tobacco and the Virginia Colony John Rolfe brought over a tasty tobacco seed to plant and saved the colony. The successful planting of tobacco depended on a steady and inexpensive source of labor. The source of labor was slavery. The first slaves were brought to the colony in Virginia from Africa through the Middle Passage.

The Middle Passage

The Colonial Economy Money was extremely scarce in the Virginia Colony. Paper bills and coins were very rare and there were no banks in the colony! Very few people had paper money or coins to buy goods and services. What could they colonists do to purchase items?

First, you need to know these terms! Debt: a good or service owed to another Credit: buying a good or service now and paying for it later Barter: trading/exchanging of goods and services without the use of money Savings: money put away to spend at a later time Money: a medium of exchange (currency: paper bills and coins)

The Capital of the Virginia Colony Jamestown was the first capital of the Virginia Colony. It was moved because: The drinking water was contaminated with seepage of salt water. The dirty living conditions caused diseases. Fire destroyed wooden buildings in Jamestown.

The Capital Moves Williamsburg becomes the second capital of the Virginia Colony in 1699. It was moved in 1780 because: The population of the colony was moving west. Richmond was a more central location. Moving to Richmond increased the distance from the sea and possible attack by the English.

The Capital Moves

Jamestown Location Changes

Original Maps

Jamestown Fort