Where in Virginia did Europeans settle? Who were the European settlers and where did they come from? In what parts of Virginia did they settle? Why did they go there to make their new homes?

In the 1600s and 1700s, they came from three special places in Europe. Europeans settled all over Virginia.

Buckingham Palace, home of England’s queen England’s crown jewels

The English came from England in Europe. Today, England is part of the United Kingdom. England’s flag

Each dot on this map of England shows a place where a settler came from. Historians have read the 400- year-old records of Jamestown to find where the settlers came from.

The English came across the Atlantic Ocean to settle at Jamestown, in the Tidewater region. They arrived in May of ATLANTIC OCEAN ENGLAND VIRGINIA

The English came to Jamestown on three ships, the Godspeed, the Discovery, and the Susan Constant.

The English started the town of Jamestown, on the James River, in Virginia’s Tidewater region. Jamestown Tidewater Jamestown settler with musket

The English settled at the mouth of the James River because it was rich in natural resources. animals to hunt for foodfish to catch for food forests for timber to build shellfish in the ocean to eat

The English settled at the mouth of the James River because it had a good harbor. harbor

The English settled at the mouth of the James River, because the area was easy to defend. At first, they thought they would have to defend against Spanish attack, but they soon found that the Indians were far more dangerous. the fort

This is the seal of the Virginia Company of London. The Virginia Company started Jamestown to make money for its investors. This is an original picture of John Smith. He was the governor of Jamestown who made the rule: if you don’t work, you don’t eat. Everybody started doing his fair share of the work, then!

The English built a triangle-shaped fort at Jamestown, to defend themselves from Indian attacks. These fragments of pottery were dug up at Jamestown. They were actually used by the English settlers in the 1600s … almost 400 years ago!

The English built their houses and this church from wood and mud. They made roofs of grass and reeds, like this house in England.

The piper plays as a dancer does the Scottish “Highland Fling.” The moor in Scotland

The Scots-Irish came originally from Scotland, but they had lived in Ireland for many years. A castle in Ireland Scotland Ireland England

The Scots loved the protection of the beautiful mountains in their homeland, Scotland. The Scots-Irish had come to love the beautiful, green pastures and protected mountain valleys of Ireland, too. They wanted to live in a place that reminded them of their homeland. Scotland’s flag

The Scots-Irish came to Virginia from Pennsylvania, into the Great Valley, along an old wagon road. a covered wagon, like the Scots-Irish might have used for their trip The Great Valley

They settled in the Shenandoah Valley and other valleys in Virginia’s Ridge and Valley region.

In the Shenandoah Valley, they felt at home. It was green and beautiful, and it looked like their homeland. They wanted rich land to grow crops.

The Scots-Irish settled in the Shenandoah Valley because the land was so rich and fertile for farming. But another group of people also came to the Shenandoah Valley because of the rich farm land.

a village in a mountain valley in Germany a castle in Germany, on a hill above a village

The Germans came from Germany in Europe. They spoke the German language. Flag of Germany

A model of settlers with their covered wagon The Germans also came to Virginia’s Shenandoa h Valley from Pennsylvani a, over wagon roads. Pennsylvania Shenandoah Valley winter in the Shenandoah Valley

The Germans liked to farm in their mountain valleys, because the soil was rich and crops grew well. Also, the mountains protected them from bad weather. This is a farm in Germany.

So of course the Germans loved the rich farm land and the protection of the mountains in the Shenandoah Valley too. a hay field in Germany a hay field in the Shenandoah Valley

So we see that the Scots-Irish and the Germans settled in the Shenandoah Valley in the early 1700s because of the rich farm land and the protection of the mountains. This is how they plowed their fields in the old days. a farm in the Shenandoah Valley

And we remember that the English settled at the mouth of the James River because it had a good natural harbor, it had good natural resources, and it was an easy place to defend. Thank you for watching my show. May you always settle in a wonderful place! Mrs. Wooding