Roanoke and Roanoke and JamestownJamestown

England’s Early Settlement of Virginia

Elizabeth IElizabeth I Reigned 1558 –

1603

Wanted colonies to compete with Spain (mercantilism)

◦ Spread Protestant faith

◦ Provide raw material◦ Be a market for

English goods

Roanoke Island (Lost Colony)Roanoke Island (Lost Colony)Sir Walter Raleigh

asked Queen Elizabeth of England if he could lead a group of people to begin a colony in the North America.

Queen Elizabeth gave Raleigh a chartercharter (a document that allowed colonists to live on land owned by their country.)

Roanoke 1580s – The Roanoke 1580s – The Lost ColonyLost Colony

Poorly planned and Poorly planned and suppliedsupplied◦ Failed Failed due to hunger and

bad relations with the Native Americans.

◦All but 15 men went back to England on a ship.

John White returned in August 1590 to find no colonists on Roanoke Island.

On one of the trees was written CROATOAN.

James IJames I Reigned 1603-1625

Wanted colonies that would economically help England

Wanted to get rid of people who don’t want to follow the Church of England

Jamestown -1607Jamestown -1607In 1606, King James I

gave permission to the Virginia Company of London to try a colony.◦ Joint-stock company◦ First to settle

Jamestown

JamestownJamestown was named after the King James I and VirginiaVirginia was named after Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England.

JamestownJamestown On May 14, 1607, the settlers began building the first English permanent settlement on the James River in Virginia.

Colony led byColony led by John SmithJohn Smith◦No precious

metals found Click Here to see a Virtual tour of Jamestown

Hardship in JamestownHardship in JamestownGentlemen do not want

to work.◦ John SmithJohn Smith – “He who will

not work, shall not eat”

John Smith returns to England in 1609◦Leads to poor colonial

leadership

Not educated in how to plant food in Virginia.◦ The Starving TimeThe Starving Time – 1609

Native American attacks

Disease

Jamestown ThrivesJamestown ThrivesJohn Rolfe – arrives in Jamestown

in 1610

Experimented with planting Caribbean tobacco seeds in fertile Virginia soil.

The cash crop was the savior of the colony of Jamestown and Virginia

Free Enterprise◦ Business not interfered with by

government◦ Colonists farmed the land for profit◦ Private land ownershipPrivate land ownership expandedexpanded

House of BurgessesHouse of BurgessesStart of Representative GovernmentStart of Representative Government

1619 – Virginia Virginia Company allows Company allows creation of a creation of a representative representative bodybody◦Gave people a voice in

their government◦Ten towns sent 2

representatives called burgesses to an assembly

◦ July 30 – House of House of BurgessesBurgesses met at a church in Jamestown

New Arrivals change JamestownNew Arrivals change Jamestown

“20 & odd Negroes, which the governor & cape merchant bought…at the best & easiest rate they could”◦Written by John Rolfe

in 1619

Jamestown – 11stst English settlement to English settlement to use African slavesuse African slaves

A Review of Jamestown A Review of Jamestown (Virginia) 1607(Virginia) 1607Created by Virginia

Company of London ◦ Joint Stock Company Joint Stock Company ◦created colony to make

profit for investors

Many hardships faced

John Rolfe’s tobacco plant created wealth

Created House of House of Burgesses in 1619Burgesses in 1619◦ First representative First representative

body in American body in American coloniescolonies

John Smith