England’s Southern Colonies:

Chapter 2 Section 3

The 13 Colonies: New England

Colonies

Middle Colonies

Southern Colonies

I) VIRGINIA

1) Deciding to Settle:

• Wealthy businessmen and devout Protestants led by Sir Walter Raleigh

• American colonies would help with England’s problems:– Growing population• Send poor people to work in America

– Poverty from a stagnant economy• Gold, Silver, and raising plantation crops

2) Roanoke Colony:

• The group obtained a charter (a certificate of permission) from the king

• Formed a joint-stock company (a group of investors who share the company’s profits and loses)

• Twice tried to colonize Roanoke island.– Poor soil– First group returns home– Second group vanishes

3) The Virginia Company:

• The English’s second attempt• Choose the Chesapeake Bay– Many good rivers– Good harbors– Fertile land

4) Jamestown:

A) The colonists founded Jamestown (1607):• Swamps defended the town from attack– But also contained mosquitoes with malaria

• Many colonists died from sickness• Or were too weak to farm the land, and died of

hunger• Between 1607-1622, 10,000 people moved to

Jamestown– In 1622 only 2,000 remained alive

Jamestown:

Jamestown:

4) Jamestown:

B) Chief Powhatan:• About 24,000 Indians were under the rule of

the powerful Chief Powhatan– Tried to contain the Jamestown colonists rather

than attack them– Powhatan traded with the colonists for metal

weapons.

Pocahontas Saves the Day:

4) Jamestown:

C) War:• In 1609 war broke out• In 1613 the colonists captured Pocahontas, Chief

Powhatan’s favorite daughter• Pocahontas converted to Christianity and married

John Rolfe• Powhatan reluctantly makes peace• When Powhatan dies in 1618, his brother

Opechancanough takes over– Hates the colonists

John Rolfe and Pocahontas:

4) Jamestown:

D) Tobacco:• Colonists were allowed to own the land as private

property– Worked harder– Need a cash crop to sell in England

• John Rolfe taught them how to grow tobacco• Soon the colony became the leading supplier to

Europe• With the promise of wealth and land Virginia began

to grow

Tobacco:

4) Jamestown:

E) The House of Burgesses:• In 1619, T.H.B. became the first representative body

in colonial America• T.H.B. could make laws and raise taxes• Landowners over 17 could vote • In 1624 the English Government took over Virginia

and made it a royal colony– Royal colonies belonged to the Crown– Proprietary colonies belonged to powerful individuals or

companies.

The House of Burgesses:

4) Jamestown:

F) Survival:• Tobacco• The promise of land• Slavery becomes legal in 1660• The Virginia Company allows women to go• In 1624 the English Government (King James I)

took over Virginia and made it a royal colony

Quiz Time:

What challenges did the Jamestown

colonists have to overcome to survive?

5) Bacon’s Rebellion:

• As more settlers arrived colonists had to move inland to farm (1675)

• Led by Nathaniel Bacon the settlers moved west and slaughtered Indians

• The governor of Virginia, William Berkeley, forbade the colonists from moving west– Bacon and his men marched to Jamestown,

Berkeley ran away and they burned the city– Bacon died suddenly and the rebellion stops

Bacon’s Rebellion:

II) OTHER COLONIES:

1) Maryland:

• 1632: Charles I established a second royal colony, Maryland

• King Charles gave the colony to Lord Baltimore– Made it a safe haven for Catholics– More Protestant outnumbered the Catholics and

armed conflicts broke out.

2) The Carolinas:

• 1670: Charles Town and the colony of Carolina were established – To honor Charles II

• Was run by a group of wealthy aristocrats called the Lord Proprietor– Proprietary colony = ruled by powerful people

• 1691: splits into North and South Carolina• 1729: the colonists rejected rule by the Lord

Proprietors and became a royal colony again

3) Georgia:

• 1732: Began as a proprietary colony led by James Oglethorpe– To protect South Carolina against Spanish Florida– As a new start for people in debt in England

• Oglethorpe set strict rules– No drinking, no slaves– Colonists had to own their own land, so they couldn’t

have large plantations• Colonists complained• In 1752 Georgia became a royal colony

James Oglethorpe:

Homework:

Chapter 2 Section 3: #1,2,4,6