Jamestown and the planting of VirginiaThe 1st Permanent English Colony in the New World

1607

Goals of Jamestown (Target Answer)

1. The colony was sponsored by the Virginia Company of London to make a profit

2. Company supported English goals of counterbalancing the expansion of other European nations abroad,

3. Seeking a northwest passage to the Orient,

4. Converting the Virginia Indians to the Anglican religion. 

The 1st Settlers 108 settlers sail from London and land in

Virginia May 14, 1607 All men and many of them “gentleman”

unaccustomed to work 1st permanent English settlement in New

World.

Replicas of the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery,

Susan Constant Susan Constant Year Commissioned: 1991 Sparred Length: 116’ Length on Deck: 82’ Beam (width): 24’10” Draft: 11’9” Mainmast Height: 95’ Sail Area: 3,902 sq. ft. Burden Tonnage: 120 tons

Godspeed Godspeed Year Commissioned: 2006 Sparred Length: 88’ Length on Deck: 65’ 5” Beam (width): 17’ Draft: 7’ Mainmast Height: 71’6” Sail Area: 2,420 sq. ft. Burden Tonnage: 40 tons

Discovery Discovery Year Commissioned: 2007 Sparred Length: 66’ Length on Deck: 50’10” Beam (width): 14’ Draft: 6’6” Mainmast Height: 59’ Sail Area: 1,160 sq. ft. Burden Tonnage: 20 tons

Colonists Construct a Fort

The Jamestown Fort By June 15, 1607

the settlers had constructed a fort shaped in the form of a triangle and made of wooden posts which were placed in the ground, upright and side by side.

Problems from the Start Located in the midst of a chiefdom of about 14,000

Algonquian-speaking Indians ruled by the powerful leader Powhatan. (Target Answer)

Relations with the Powhatan Indians were tenuous, An unfamiliar climate, as well as brackish water supply and

lack of food, conditions possibly aggravated by a prolonged drought, led to disease and death. 

Many of the original colonists were upper-class Englishmen, and the colony lacked sufficient laborers and skilled farmers.

Captain John Smith (Target Answer) His leadership kept the

colony from dissolving. Instituted “no work, no

eat” policy Injured by gunpowder burn

in accident, and returned to England October 1609 for treatment.

His departure was followed by a “starving time” winter 1609. Only 60 of 219 survive.

Starvin’ Time Winter of 1609 Smith’s departure was followed by the

“starving time,” a period of warfare between the colonists and Indians and the deaths of many English men and women from starvation and disease. 

Just when the colonists decided to abandon Jamestown in Spring 1610, settlers with supplies arrived from England, eager to find wealth in Virginia. 

Convergence of Cultures

Trade Between the Two Cultures Trade for food with

the Powhatans enabled the colonists to survive during the early years of the settlement’s history.

English trade goods consisted of: copper, blue-glass beads, various iron tools, and even toys.

Pocahontas (Target Answer) Daughter of Powhatan Helped the Jamestown

people. Her marriage to John

Rolfe brought relative peace and prosperity to the colony.

Married April 1614, died in England in March 21, 1617.

Key Developments in JamestownThree Key Ideas Take Hold

1.“Headright system” of land allotment.

Get 50 acres of land per head Dream of landed independence in the New

World coming true. Other colonies adopt the pattern

2. Representative Government 1619 onwards a General Assembly of the

colony or House of Burgess meets. Representatives of the settlers met to discuss

affairs of the people. Idea of representation and some machinery

for the consent of the people established in America.

Indentured Servants Individuals would bind themselves to service for

a certain number of years in exchange for passage to new world.

Typically 5 years Be provided room and board Might be given a “stake” at end of service. About 40% complete term of service Women Harassed Never came in sufficient numbers

Pair Share Read the primary source letter of an

indentured servant Discuss with your shoulder partner why you

would not want to be an “Indentured Servant.”

3. Arrival of Africans to Jamestown. A Dutch slave trader exchanged his cargo of

Africans for food in 1619. The Africans became indentured servants, similar in

legal position to many poor Englishmen who traded several years labor in exchange for passage to America.

The popular conception of a race-based slave system did not fully develop until the 1680's.

This was the labor source needed to sustain an agriculturally based economy.

The Tale of Two Paths1st Colony in America diverges down two

roads: 1. Representative Institutions and Freedom 2. Use of slave labor and the lack of

freedom. Exit Question. “What is the irony in the

fact that the Colony of Virginia travels these two divergent paths simultaneously?”