Jamestown:
The First Settlement
Contents:
Introduction………………….p 2
Chapter 1: History of Jamestown
History of
Settlement…………….p 2
John Rolfe………....…………..p 3-4
Chapter 2: After Settlement
Challenges……………………..p 4-5
Success………………………......p 6
Geography………………......……..p 6
Conclusion…………………….p 7
Fun Facts, Quotes…………….…..p 7-8
Glossary……..…………………….p 9
Introduction:
Did you know that only men and
boys created the first American settlement, Jamestown? Only men and boys were
able to go because when it was created in 1607 women did not have as many
rights as men did. Some men who heavily influenced Jamestown were John Smith
and John Rolfe. They both helped people use the land to their advantage, which
helped make Jamestown a success, but there were also challenges for the
settlement such as sickness, fighting, and starvation. Ultimately, what would
become of the colony was up to these few men.
Chapter 1:
History of Jamestown:
Some European countries, including England,
were in competition to increase their wealth and power by expanding their
kingdoms to America. The first permanent English settlement in America was Jamestown.
On April 06, 1607, 104 men and boys sailed to Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. They
arrived on May
13, 1607.
By 1608 Jamestown was struggling, so John Smith, who later
became the president of Jamestown, stepped in to help the colonists with the
work that they still had to complete. Some colonists thought that Smith was too
strict, but he lead his colony to success.
With John Smith as their leader, colonists were able to use the
resources of the Chesapeake Bay area for food, shelter, and trade to create a
thriving Jamestown colony. One colonist
who lived during this time and helped in its success was John Rolfe.
John Rolfe:
By the
spring of 1610, survivors of the Sea Venture made two smaller boats named the
Patience and the Deliverance. They finally reached the Chesapeake Bay after 10
days of sailing. After arriving, Rolfe
and the rest of the Sea Venture passengers found the people of Jamestown
struggling to stay alive. Colonists had unsuccessfully tried to lumber, make pitch, and glass making, and had financial issues. Later,
knowing that Jamestown was having problems with money and producing goods,
Rolfe experimented with growing tobacco.
Until that point tobacco had been controlled
by European markets by the Spanish. “Rolfe found tobacco seeds in
Trinidad” said Ralph Hamor the Secretary
of Virginia .
In addition to tobacco Rolfe is also
famous for bringing peace between the English men and the Indian because of his
relationship with Pocahontas. In 1613, Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief
Powhatan, was captured to be traded for English prisoners and weapons that
Chief Powhatan held. The exchange never took place. Later, Pocahontas learned
English and became a Christian. Then she converted her name
Pocahontas into a Christian name,
Rebecca. Rolfe wanted to
marry a heathen such as Pocahontas.
In order to marry Pocahontas, Rolfe had to ask Governor Dale for his
permission.. So Rolfe put together a long, detailed letter to Governor Dale
approving of Rolfe’s wish. So in April 1614, Rolfe and Pocahontas (other wise
known as Rebecca) got married. As a result in marrying Pocahontas it brought
peace in between the Indians and the English.
In 1615, Rolfe and Pocahontas had a baby boy
named Thomas. After having a baby, Rolfe and Pocahontas traveled to England in
1616. Sadly, a little while after traveling to England and getting settled,
Pocahontas died in Gravesend, England in March 1617 at the age of 21.. Rolfe
moved back to Virginia and left his son
in the care of a guardian in England. Then Thomas was later adopted.
Rolfe later moved on a became a
counselor in the House of Burgesses
and married Jane Pierce, a daughter of a colonist. He was still working with
tobacco. By the end of the year of 1617, tobacco exported 20,000 pounds to
England. As time moved on, the shipments of tobacco increased by a lot. In
1622, the third of the colony was killed in the indian war uprising of that
year, it was also known of how Rolfe died.
Chapter 2:
Challenges
In the early 17th century, people didn’t
have the fancy gadgets and the technology that we have now. They had to use the resources that were given
to them to help them produce food and other things to help them stay alive. So
the colonists faced challenges. Right from the beginning, where they anchored
their boat to build Jamestown, it was swampy and would later caused Malaria and Dysentery.
Jamestown also suffered because
of poor leadership by men who were unfit for life in the wilderness. Many took
advantage of the opportunity to go to America
with the idea of making a lot of money. However, in order to make money,
they needed to build shelters and collect food, which they refused to do. Also,
they always bickered with each other which didn’t solve any problems but just
made them worse. Another challenge that they faced was that Jamestown was built
on the hunting grounds of the Algonquin Indians.
In the winter of 1607, only 38
out of the 104 settlers were still alive and the food shortages were making the
situation even worse. In 1609, the Algonquin tribe helped with providing the
food, but John Smith never traded them back and started burning down their
villages and when they would not trade. he would steal their food. Smith
terrified the tribe. Powhatan soon noticed and then sent a group of warriors to
kill him.
WIth John Smith out of the
picture, Powhatan took the opportunity to get revenge on the Americans. He told
his people to stop trading with the Americans. Because John Smith was not their
leader anymore, Jamestown soon became what it had started off as. a struggling
colony.
In the winter of 1609 and 1610
became known as the “Starving Times.”
The colonists had to eat dogs and cats. Some people even dug up the corpses of
human beings but later they would be executed for doing so.
In 1610, Thomas Gates finally (after a
shipwreck) arrived to bring the remaining about 60 out of the 500 settlers back
to England. The Indian Tribe celebrated wildly.
Success
Even though there were
challenges there always had to be successes. There was a downside to where they
picked a spot to start Jamestown but there was also a good side as well. The
spot they picked provided good cover from potential ambush and when Jamestown was struggling, John Smith stepped in and
helped plant corn and other foods. Smiths’ excursions
were extremely successful and he brought back a lot of corn and beans.
John Rolfe’s crops of tobacco
showed a promising profit which then settlers started growing their own tobacco
crops but reserved some crops for growing corn.
Tobacco became the cash crop of the Jamestown settlement.
In 1614, Thomas Dale, the
Governor, began using his power to transfer some of the land to private
ownership. Through the “Headright System” settlers were offered 50 acres of
land. Through the “Head of Families” who came from the new worlds were offered
50 acres of land for each person the brought. With their own lands, settlers
began to build houses, tend to their land, and grow crops. As a result, it
brought and inspiration of a successful colony.
Geography
We know that
Jamestown was created near the Chesapeake Bay, but do you know what Chesapeake
means? Chesapeake means Great Shellfish Bay. When the settlers came to the
Chesapeake Bay, they were amazed at how many oysters there were. The winters in
Jamestown were bitter cold, windy and long,. while the summers were hot, humid,
and buggy. Also, there were many forests in Jamestown with fresh water streams
running through them. The many forests, in Virginia, made logging a popular job
and finding the wood to make houses was easy. But it was also marshy in some
places around the Chesapeake Bay. The deep water of the Chesapeake allowed
ships to dock near the shore. Finally, there was also beautiful or fair
meadows. The forests also made hunting easier.
The Particular Geography of the Chesapeake area helped the colonists
have resources for food, shelter, and trade.
However, as we know the geography also lead to the end of the colony in
1610 after the “Starving Time.” The land
did not provide the colonists with enough food and eventually enough of them
died and the remaining were forced to return to England, ending the Jamestown
colony.
Conclusion:
Can you imagine being a
colonist dropped in a tiny disease filled swamp community without the modern
conveniences you were used to? As you
may have, the people Jamestown in the end failed. The colonists faced fighting with Indian
tribes, starvation because they could not live off the land toward the end, and
disease. However, there were years of
success. Men like John Smith and John
Rolph led and helped with trade. In the
end, Jamestown was a practice in colonization and without it there would not be
America.
Fun Facts:
❖
The settlers that built
Jamestown, built it 60 miles off of shore where they anchored their boat"
❖
John Rolfe
married 3 times and had 3 children named Thomas, Bermuda, and Elizabeth Rolfe
❖
The same colonist who introduced tobacco, John
Rolfe, later married the Powhatan princess Pocahontas.
❖
Jamestown remained the capital of the Virginia
Colony until 1699 when the capital was moved to Williamsburg.
❖
The first African slaves arrived in Virginia in
1619 aboard a Dutch ship called the White
Lion. They were sold to the colonists as indentured servants in exchange
for food and supplies.
❖
Jamestown was established around 13 years before
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
❖
The first legislature of elected representatives
met in the Jamestown Church on July 30, 1619.
Quotes:
❖
"A more
damned crew hell never vomited."
- Virginia Company treasurer George Sandys on the quality of the
settlers at Jamestown in 1623
❖
"For
feature, countenance, and proportion, (Pocahontas) much exceeded any of the
rest of his people, but for wit and spirit, the only nonpareil of his
country."
- John Smith describing Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas
❖
"Here!
Shoot me, foregod, fair mark shoot!"
- Virginia Governor William Berkeley as he confronted Nathaniel Bacon
and his band of 500 rebels, June 22nd, 1676
❖
"Deeply
stained with dirt; soiled dirty, foul. [...] Having dark or deadly purposes,
malignant; pertaining to or involving death, deadly; baneful, disastrous,
sinister. [...] Foul, iniquitous, atrocious, wicked."
❖
- The meaning
of "Black" in the 16th century, according to the Oxford English
Dictionary
❖
"My
Master Atkins hath sold me for £150 sterling like a damned slave."
- White indentured servant Thomas Best on Virginia's unusual labor
practices, 1623
❖
“He that will not work shall not eat.”
-
Said by John smith.
He would use this quote to threaten people to work
Glossary:
Ambush- A surprise
attack by people lying in wait in a concealed position.
Christianity- The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of
Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.
Dysentery- Infection of the intestines resulting in severe diarrhea
with the presence of blood and mucus in the feces.
Excursions- A short journey or trip, especially one engaged in as a
leisure activity.
Heathen- A person who does not belong to a widely held religion
(especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those
who do.
House of
Burgesses- The lower house of the
colonial Virginia legislature.
Lumper- A Laborer who unloads cargo.
Starving
Times- The Starving Time refers to
the winter of 1609–1610 when about three-quarters of the English colonists in
Virginia died of starvation or starvation-related diseases.
Tobacco- A preparation of the nicotine-rich leaves of an American
plant, which are cured by a process of drying and fermentation for smoking or
chewing.
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