1. THE FIRST PERMANENT ENGLISH SETTLEMENT
JAMESTOWN
THE FIRST PERMANENT ENGLISH SETTLEMENT

2. When was Jamestown settled?
1607

3. The king!
James I

4. Who financed the settlement of Jamestown?
Virginia Company

5. Virginia Company received a Charter (Charter = a land grant from the king or parliament)
The company wanted investors to give money so that the company could buy resources. Money from investors is called capital.
The investors and company leaders wanted to find natural resources like furs and timber to ship back to Britain and make lots of profit.
They also were hoping to find gold and gems!

6. What did England expect an American settlement to furnish?
raw materials
What did England expect an American settlement to furnish?

7. What did England hope to find in America?
gold & silver

8. What did the charter guarantee to the English colonists?
English rights
What did the charter guarantee to the English colonists?

9. Magna Carta –1215 A.D. Rule of Law! Right to a trial by Jury!!
Beginnings of Parliament--Representative Government!
Limited Government!
Protection of Rights!
The legend of Robin Hood developed during that time.
Rule of Law! 9

10. 4 reasons they chose a peninsula:
It was easy to defend.
The water was deep enough for ships to dock.
They thought they had a good supply of fresh water.
The river provided food and a pathway for exploration.

11. Bad choice!
swampy
unsafe water
mosquitoes

12. gentlemen who lacked the necessary ______.
Most were...
gentlemen who lacked the necessary ______.
skills

13. First strong leader
John Smith

14. John Smith’s most important rule:
“He that will not work, shall not eat!”

15. Jamestown Saved by John Smith John Smith (1580-1631)
He ensured the survival of Jamestown by instilling discipline into the colonists and providing leadership.
He led expeditions along the coast and befriended Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief of the Native Americans along the Virginia tidewater.

16. John Smith maintained a good relationship with the Powhatans so the colonists were able to …
trade.

17. Reflections The Geography and Climate
A Business Venture
(Like an adventure to try and make money.)
What kind of geographic features did the first colonists in Virginia encounter?
Where do people settle? Why?
3. The London Company (Virginia Company) was owned by people that had money to invest (capital). John Smith was part of the company. What did Smith do to help the colony survive?

18. Winter of 1609
“Starving Time”

19. “Starving Time”
Before long, these first settlers ran out of food. Some people died of starvation.
During “Starving Time” ( ), the Native Americans (Powhatans) refused to trade food with the settlers and attacked them.
Many became sick and died from drinking polluted river water.

20. John Rolfe John Rolfe arrived in Jamestown in 1609.
Tobacco was used by the Native Americans and quickly became popular in Europe.
John Rolfe was able to obtain tobacco seeds that grew into sweet tobacco plants. This variety of tobacco was in great demand in England.
John Rolfe also married Pocahontas.

21. Tobacco was sold in England as Jamestown’s _______ _______.
cash crop

22. The economy of the Virginia colony now depended on ______________ as a primary source of wealth.
agriculture

23. Who planted a new kind of tobacco?
John Rolfe
Who planted a new kind of tobacco?

24. What is a “cash crop” and why does growing it need so many laborers?
2. What examples of cash crops can you identify?

25. Work for Passage! Indentured Servants
A legal agreement, contract, that binds one person to work for another is an indenture.
Indentured servants were people that wanted to come to the English colonies but did not have money for the passage across the Atlantic.
The person who paid for the indentured servant was to provide food and shelter.
Time of contract varied from 2-7 years
In this drawing, which people seem to be the indentured servants?
Work for
Passage!

26. Headright System A headright is a parcel of land that equals 50 acres.
In order to bring more workers to the Jamestown Colony for the purpose of growing tobacco, the headright system developed.
The Jamestown colonists were each given 2 headrights (100 acres) of land.
Each immigrant who paid their own passage across the Atlantic were given one headright of land.
If a colonist paid for the passage of someone else, that paying colonist would receive one additional headright of land.
If a landowner in Virginia paid for the passage of 20 indentured servants, how much new land would that landowner get?

27. What was a headright?
How did the Headright System help the Virginia Colony develop economically?
What is an indentured servant?