The Virginia Colony

Section 1Chapter 3The Virginia ColonyFocus QuestionWhy were people in England interested in founding Jamestown, and when was the colony established?How did the Jamestown colonists interact with local American Indians?How did the English plantation system begin?What role did indentured servants and enslaved Africans have in Virginias economy?Settlement in JamestownTo gain the money needed to start a colony in Virginia a London company started a joint-stock company, one in which many investor put their money in to spread the cost and gain profitOn April 26, 1607 the ships landed on the Virginia costThey sailed up the James River 40 miles and settled their first settlement naming it Jamestown after king James ISettlement in JamestownThe colonists were not skilled at farming or carpentry and were not useful to the colonyJohn Smith, the leader of the settlement understood the dangers of the colonyThe colonists also found that the river water was too salty to drinkBy winter over two-thirds of the colonists had diedWhen Smith took over in 1608, he forced the colonists to work the land and improve housing

The Powhatan ConfederacyThe Powhatan Confederacy helped the colonists a great dealThe Powhatan brought food to the colonists and taught them how to grow cornThe alliance was not always friendly as the colonists would sometimes take food by forceThe Powhatan ConfederacyIn 1609, John Smith was injured and went back to EnglandWithout a strong leader the colony struggled again and by the spring of 1610, they were down to 60 people

The Powhatan ConfederacyJohn Rolfe solved the problem of a failing economic colony when he introduced West Indian tobacco to the Virginia environmentQuickly exporting tobacco landed huge profitsAnother big change that allowed the colony to survive was when the London Company changed its policy and began to allow private ownership of land

War in VirginiaJohn Rolfe married Pocahontas, Wahunsonacocks daughter in 1614This improved relations between the Powhatan and the EnglishWhen Pocahontas died in 1617 and Wahunsonacock died a year later the relations strainedThings got even worse as more colonists pushed to farm tobacco on Powhatan land

War in VirginiaIn 1622 after the colonists killed the Powhatan leader, the Powhatan attacked and killed 350 colonists including John RolfeThe Colonists responded by burning villages and warring with the Powhatan for 20 yearsThe war showed that the London Company could not help Virginia and in 1624 the English Crown canceled the London Companys charter and put it under the royal authority of a governor

Daily Life in VirginiaEarly in Virginia history people Lived on scattered small farms but once tobacco became the main crop, farmers began to raise it on large farms called plantationsThese plantations were made possible by the use of headrightin this system if a person could pay their own way to Virginia they would get 50 acres and they would also get an addition 50 acres for every extra person they could bring (rich people brought a lot of people)Life was difficult though for families

Labor in VirginiaBecause death rates were so high, labor was short in VirginiaThe majority of the workers were indentured servants people who signed a contract to work for four to seven years for the people who paid for their ship fareMany indentured servants died before their contract was upThe first Africans came to America on a Dutch ship in 1619 (some were indentured servants and some were slaves)Labor in VirginiaMost of the early labor was indentured servants because slaves were more expensiveEventually less people wanted to travel to America and slavery became the main source of laborPlanters (wealthy farmers with large plantations) built this very successful plantations at the cost of human life and liberty

Bacons RebellionDuring the mid-1600s many colonists grew upset with conditions in the colony either by the governors strict control over the colony or the lack to available farmlandNathaniel Bacon, a wealthy frontier planter, led a group of former indentured servants to attack and burn JamestownThis became known as Bacons RebellionBacons RebellionBacon had control of much of the colony at one point but after he died of fever the rebellion was put down and the survivors were hangedThis incident made it difficult to repair relations with American Indians and made many planters look more to slavery

Focus QuestionWhy were people in England interested in founding Jamestown, and when was the colony established?How did the Jamestown colonists interact with local American Indians?How did the English plantation system begin?What role did indentured servants and enslaved Africans have in Virginias economy?