Jamestown The First Successful English Colony

The Mystery of Roanoke Roanoke was the first attempt at an English Settlement. John White was their leader. He brought 117 settlers to an island right off the coast of North Carolina

What happened next? The colonists ran low on supplies. John White went back to England to get the supplies. He promised to return in a few months. When John White got back to England, he discovered that they were in a war with Spain. John White had to volunteer his boat to help fight the war. He was not able to return to Roanoke for three years.

Three years later… John White returned to Roanoke, and no one was there. The only clue that was left was the word “CROATOAN” carved on a tree. What happened to the 117 settlers is a mystery to this day.

Now, onto Jamestown More than 20 years passed before England again tried to establish a colony in North America. In 1606, the Virginia Company got a charter from the king to start a colony.

A Charter was a legal document Signed by the King That allowed you to start a colony in a very specific place. Hey, Ya’ll go start your colony right over there. I want to keep my eye on you!

A bad start for the people of Jamestown The 105 Colonists arrived in present day Virginia in Jamestown was named after the King of England during this time period, King James I.

A bad start for the people of Jamestown First, colonists realized that their charter was in the middle of a giant swamp. Many people were stung by Mosquitoes and died of malaria. To make matters worse, the Virginia Company had chosen 13 stupid men to govern Jamestown. (I bet they were the first ones eaten) Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman

Still more problems Also, many of the settlers spent their time digging for gold instead of planting crops. Captain John Smith began enforcing strict rules. You don’t work, you don’t eat. Smith also traveled to nearby Native tribes to get food. When natives wouldn’t give him any, Smith violently forced them to.

Finally, the Money rolls in Even after John Rolfe married Pocahontas, and made peaceful relations with the Natives again, the settlers still starved for several years. Even though they were starving, the people of Jamestown did find a way to make money. They grew Tobacco. Now they were starving but they were rich.

Do you know what Representative Government is? This means that you elect people… And those people vote for you.

We elect people into congress, and they vote on laws for us. We also vote in the president, and he represents us too.

Representative Government in Jamestown Wanting to attract more people to Jamestown, the King allowed the people of Jamestown to elect their own representatives to govern the colony. They called it the House of Burgesses. This is important because it is the beginning of representative government in the United States.

The First Slaves The first African slaves come by By the late 1600s, Virginia had set up laws allowing white colonists to enslave Africans.