Unit One Geography &Colonization Early Settlements: Roanoke/Jamestown/Plymouth

1. Unit One Geography &ColonizationEarly Settlements: Roanoke/Jamestown/Plymouth Roanoke: • In the 1500’s, England was envious of Spanish wealth • Queen Elizabeth I gave Sir Walter Raleigh permission to sponsor England’s first American colony. • Raleigh, a soldier & adventurer established a colony in 1585 on Roanoke Island. • Named it Virginia after the unmarried virgin queen • Conflict with local tribes & lack of food forced the colonists to return to England. • In 1587, Raleigh tries to establish Roanoke again. • John White was made governor of Roanoke Island • White’s daughter Eleanor gave birth to Virginia-the 1st English child born in No. America. • White went back to England for supplies and did not see Roanoke for 3 years until 1590. • When he went back, houses taken down and carved in a tree in all capital letters was the word CROATOAN, there was no sign of distress. • No one knows what happened to this “lost colony.” • Some believe that the starving colonists joined a local tribe, while others believed they were killed....???

2. Unit One Geography &ColonizationEarly Settlements: Roanoke/Jamestown/Plymouth Jamestown • 1607 100 colonists, sent by the Va. Company of London sailed into the Chesapeake Bay. • Travelled up the James River, named settlement Jamestown in honor of their king, James I. Became the 1st permanent settlement in North America. • The Colonists became ill from disease carried by water or insects. • Colonists searched for gold instead of building homes. There was no gold. • Climate a hardship, hot humid summers and bitterly cold winters. • BY 1608, only 38 colonists remained alive. • John Smith, a soldier & adventurer took control. Smith brought order to the colony. Smith returned to England, colony fell back into chaos. • Colonists had a starving time, ate rodents & snakes. • Lord De La Warr, a new governor imposed discipline, more attention paid to farming. • The local Powhatan tribe trade corn to the colonists but relations between the two were tense.

3. Unit One Geography &ColonizationEarly Settlements: Roanoke/Jamestown/Plymouth • 1614 John Rolfe marries the Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas and relations improved. • No gold, but another product brought the colonists great wealth- tobacco. • Rolfe sent a shipment to England and it became popular in England ensured the colony’s survival. • The success of the tobacco changed the colony, colonists demanded a share of the profits, company allowed them to own land. • To attract settlers, Va. Co offered a head right. A 50 acre land grand for anyone who could pay their way to the colony. • Those who could not pay their own way became indentured servants, men & women who agreed to work without pay for a landlord if the landlord paid the passage to America. • Settlers became frustrated with the lack of self-government so the Va. Co. decided that burgesses or elected representatives would meet once a year. • In 1619, the first representative assembly House of Burgesses was created. • HOB could pass local laws & raise taxes.

4. Unit One Geography &ColonizationEarly Settlements: Roanoke/Jamestown/Plymouth Plymouth • 1500’s King Henry VIII of England broke his country’s ties w/ the Catholic Church & established the Church of England. Those who disagreed w/ England’s official church were called dissenters. • One group were called the Separatists. They wanted to completely separate from the church of England, thought it was too much like the Catholic Church. • King James persecuted the Separatists for rejecting England’s official church. • To escape persecution the Separatists fled to Holland, a country known for its tolerance. • Eventually the Separatists approached the Va. Co. & gained permission to settle in America. • Because they travelled far to gain religious freedom, they later became known as Pilgrims. A pilgrim is a person who goes on a religious journey. • November of 1620, the Pilgrims travel on a ship called the Mayflower and arrive off Cape Cod on the Massachusetts coast. (they were blown off course) • They called their settlement Plymouth.

5. Unit One Geography &ColonizationEarly Settlements: Roanoke/Jamestown/Plymouth Plymouth continued.. • Because the Pilgrims landed beyond the limits of the Va. Co., their charter did not apply. • The men on aboard signed the Mayflower Compact. It helped establish the practice of self government and majority rule. • The settlers endured a “starving time,” half the group died during the first winter. • Native Americans who had spoken English, helped the settlers. • Squanto, a NA taught the Pilgrims how to plant native crops. • In the fall of 1621, the Plymouth settlers celebrated a good harvest by holding a 3-day feast, called Thanksgiving. • Thanksgiving came to represent the peace that existed at that time between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.