Jamestown: England's First Permanent Colony

England's First Permanent Colony in North America

• Jamestown, established in 1606, was England's first permanent North American colony.
• The Virginia Company chartered by King James I sent 144 men and boys to establish the colony near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
• Jamestown faced an initial struggle due to poor location—swampy land with salty water.
• Many colonists lacked the skills or desire for hard labor, focusing instead on finding gold.
• Uncooperative leadership among the council members caused significant problems.
• Starvation and disease took a heavy toll on the early colonists.
• Captain John Smith's leadership—requiring daily work—was crucial in saving the colony from collapse.
• Additional settlers and supplies gradually improved conditions, but the colony still faced periodic hardship.
• The "Starving Time" followed Captain John Smith's departure and the colony's near collapse.
• Surviving colonists, including John Rolfe, helped rebuild after nearly abandoning it.

Relations between the Powhatan and the Colonists

• Jamestown was situated in Powhatan territory, an alliance of about thirty tribes.
• Chief Wahunsonacock (also known as Chief Powhatan) led the Powhatan Confederacy, a powerful group.
• Captain John Smith's efforts to avoid conflict and establish trade were initially successful.
• Relations between the colonists and Powhatan were mostly peaceful at first, enabling early trade for the struggling colony.

Pocahontas, originally named Matoaka, was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the leader of the Powhatan Confederacy, which encompassed multiple tribes in the Virginia region. Her legacy is often surrounded by controversy, especially concerning the famed incident where she reportedly saved Captain John Smith from execution, which some historians doubt. Her marriage to John Rolfe, an English tobacco planter, was significant as it established a period of peace between the Powhatan people and the English settlers, often referred to as the "Peace of Pocahontas." Tragically, Pocahontas passed away in 1617 while in England, where she had traveled with Rolfe.

The Legacy of the Colony

• John Rolfe introduced tobacco, which became a successful cash crop and led to further colonization.
• The need for more land to cultivate tobacco led to conflict with the Powhatan.
• The lucrative tobacco industry generated wealth and security for the colony.
• Tobacco cultivation required significant labor. This led to both indentured servants from England and eventually African slavery.
• The first Africans arrived in 1619 and were initially treated similarly to indentured servants.
• As colony needs and trade practices evolved, slavery replaced indentured servitude as a key labor practice.
• Jamestown established the first representative government in the Americas with the House of Burgesses in 1619.
• The elected representatives —burgesses—formed the colony's first legislature.
• The House of Burgesses influenced colonial policy. and provided a platform for discussion and unity.
• Jamestown served as the capital of Virginia until 1699.

Lesson 2

• Different approaches to colonization by Spain, France, and England were employed.

• Each approached colonization for different reasons and goals.

• Colonialism differed from country to country in its approach to governing, economics, and cultural interaction with Native Americans

• Different characteristics of colonialism included conquest, trade, farming, and conversion in the Spanish empire, trade, expansion, alliances and fur trading for the French, and land ownership and labor for the English.

• Spain's approach focused on conquest, resource extraction (gold and silver), and conversion to Catholicism

• Spain used encomiendas where Native Americans were forced to work.

• Spain sought to expand and defend their territory through various settlement and military strategies

• France focused on fur trade and friendly relations with certain Native American groups.

Lesson 3

• Puritan settlers in New England sought religious freedom.

• The Pilgrims, a group of Separatists, fled persecution in England and sought religious freedom in the New World in 1620.

• The Mayflower Compact, signed by male Pilgrims, was a foundational document for self-government in colonial America.

• The Pilgrims faced hardships during their first winter.

• Squanto, a Pawtuxet man from the Wampanoag people, aided the Pilgrims in survival.

• Thanksgiving, a celebration of survival and good harvest, marked a specific positive relationship between the Wampanoag and Pilgrims.

• Puritans, who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, also sought religious freedom, but not religious tolerance.

• The Massachusetts Bay Colony's economy often relied on slave labor.

• Puritans developed strict codes of conduct.

• Puritan leaders attempted to enforce strict moral standards.

• Puritan children had specific expectations for work and education based on gender.

• Some Puritans challenged the strict rules, leading to exile.

• Puritans' relationships with Native Americans included both peaceful cooperation and conflict.

• King Philip's War, a bloody conflict between colonists and Native Americans, marked the end of Native American resistance to colonization.