The First Successful English Colony

Jamestown Begins Joint stock companies started – a business in which investors combine their money in order to make a profit London Company (founded Jamestown) Plymouth Company (Plymouth…duh…) Once a joint stock company got a charter, they could establish a colony –a written contract from a government that gave the companies permission to create a colony

Jamestown First permanent English settlement with more than 100 colonists Began with problem –Bad location- swampy –Disease- malaria- carrying mosquitoes –Spent more time mining for gold than building a settlement or planting crops Climate –Summer- hot and humid –Winter- bitter cold

Jamestown Only 38 of the original 100 were still alive John Smith takes over in January –Made physical improvements built a protective wall around the colony –Got colonists working “He that will not work shall not eat.” –Improved relations with Powhatan Indians Got them to trade corn with the settlers –Injured in an explosion and had to leave in 1609 –That same year about 500 more settlers arrived

Who WAS Pocahontas? Pocahontas was a real person. This is NOT her!!

Pocahontas 1616 This was painted when Pocahontas was 21years old She was married to John Rolfe She had been baptized and changed her name to Rebecca She died a short time later at the age of 22 She is dressed as any wealthy Englishwoman would have dressed.

Pocahontas This is an engraving by another artist in Around the picture it says her Indian name (Matoaka), her Christian name (Rebecca) and it says that she is a princess and the daughter of chief Powhatan of Virginia. She lived like a celebrity in London and was granted an audience with the Queen.

Who was the REAL John Smith? This ISN’T him

John Smith The real Captain John Smith was a soldier and adventurer and not a nice man. He had traveled the world in his military service. He drew the first map of Virginia and took control of the Jamestown colony, saving it from failure.

John Smith’s Map of Virginia

Did Pocahontas save John Smith’s life? There is no evidence, other than John Smith’s stories that she did. Smith was known to tell a similar story often before he even went to Virginia This is Smith’s own drawing of the “event”.

Growing tensions with Indians –Indians stopped trading food –Increased attacks on the settlers Colonists afraid to leave fort Starving Time –Colonists ate rats, mice, snakes –Only 60 survived in 1610 –The next spring they were saved again Supply ships brought food, more settlers, and soldiers a new governor who imposed more discipline Jamestown

John Rolfe arrives with a crop that will make Jamestown rich –a high grade version of tobacco –tobacco became a cash crop a crop grown in order to be sold for money instead of personal use (food, clothes, shelter, etc.) Became widespread and popular Jamestown

Jamestown Booms Colony became more of a business than a colony –Colonists seen as employees –Colonists wanted their share of the profit Virginia Company eventually let settlers own land –This caused them to work even harder on harvesting tobacco First African American slaves came Population more than tripled in 2 years More workers were needed but not many people could afford the passage Indentured servitude was also a way to increase the amount of workers –a person who sold his or her labor in exchange for passage to America –after they paid the money back they were free to own their own land

First Representative Government Representative Government- a government where voters elect people to make the laws Colonists started to get annoyed at how much control the governor had They were placed under VERY strict laws –They were still being treated like employees The Virginia Company decided that representatives called burgesses would meet once a year to give the colonists more representation Virginia House of Burgesses- first representative government in the American colonies

Native Americas Attack Jamestown Do you think the Native Americans had a good reason for the attack? What would it possibly be? Do you think this drawing is from the colonist point of view or the Native Americans point of view? Do you think it is accurate?