An English Settlement at Jamestown PDF

p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 42 Page 1 of 7 An English Settlement at...

p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 42 Page 1 of 7 An English Settlement at Jamestown MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW Terms & Names The first permanent English English colonies in Virginia John Smith headright system settlement in North America developed into the present joint-stock indentured was founded at Jamestown, states of the southern companies servant Virginia, in 1607. United States. Jamestown royal colony Powhatan Nathaniel Bacon One American's Story John Smith craved adventure. In 1600, at age 20, Smith trekked across Europe and helped Hungary fight a war against the Turks. For his heroic battle efforts, the Hungarians offered a knighthood to Smith, who inscribed his coat of arms with the phrase Vincere est vivere—“to conquer is to live.” In 1606, the daring and often arrogant adventurer approached the mem- bers of the Virginia Company, a group of merchants who were interested in founding an English colony in North America. Smith later recalled the oppor- tunities that he saw open to him and other potential colonists. A PERSONAL VOICE JOHN SMITH “ What man who is poor or who has only his merit to advance his fortunes can desire more contentment than to walk over and plant the land he has obtained by risking his life?... Here nature and liberty... [give] us freely that which we lack or have to pay dearly for in England.... What pleasure can be greater than to grow tired from... planting vines, fruits, or vegetables?” —The General History of Virginia ▼ John Smith, With the help of Smith’s leadership and, later, the production of the profitable shown here in crop of tobacco, England’s small North American settlement survived. a 19th-century copy of a 1616 portrait, was a self-proclaimed soldier of fortune, English Settlers Struggle in North America a sea captain, England’s first attempts to carve out a colony of its own in North America nearly and a poet. collapsed because of disease and starvation. THE BUSINESS OF COLONIZATION Unlike Spanish colonies, which were fund- ed by Spanish rulers, English colonies were originally funded and maintained by joint-stock companies. Stock companies allowed several investors to pool their wealth in support of a colony that would, hopefully, yield a profit. Once they had obtained a charter, or official permit, a stock company accepted responsibility for 42 CHAPTER 2 p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 43 Page 2 of 7 maintaining the colony, in return for which they would be entitled to receive back most of the profit that the colony HISTORICAL S P O TLIG H T might yield. In 1606, King James I of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company. The company hoped to found a colony along the eastern shores of North America in terri- tory explored earlier by Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh had named the territory Virginia after Elizabeth I (1533–1603), “the virgin queen.” The Virginia Company had lured finan- cial supporters by asking for a relatively small investment. Stockholders would be entitled to receive four-fifths of all gold and silver found by the colonists. The king would receive the remaining fifth. The Virginia Company’s three ships—Susan Constant, THE MYSTERY OF ROANOKE Discovery, and Godspeed—with nearly 150 passengers and England’s first attempt to plant a crew members aboard, reached the shores of Virginia in colony in North America at what April of 1607. They slipped into a broad coastal river and is now Roanoke Island remains sailed inland until they reached a small peninsula. There, shrouded in mystery. After one failed attempt in 1585, Sir Walter the colonists claimed the land as theirs. They named the Raleigh (pictured above) dis- settlement Jamestown and the river the James, in honor patched a second expedition in of their king. 1587. Its captain, John White, sailed back to England for sup- A DISASTROUS START John Smith sensed trouble from plies. Upon his return to Roanoke the beginning. As he wrote later, “There was no talk, no in 1590, White found the settle- hope, no work, but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load ment empty, the colonists van- gold.” Smith warned of disaster, but few listened to the arro- ished. The word “CROATOAN” (a gant captain, who had made few friends on the voyage over. Native American tribe) was carved into a tree. Historians Disease from contaminated river water struck first. believe that the colonists starved Hunger soon followed. The colonists, many of whom were or were either attacked by or unaccustomed to a life of labor, had refused to clear fields, joined with local Native American plant crops, or even gather shellfish from the river’s edge. tribes. One settler later described the terrifying predicament. A PERSONAL VOICE “ Thus we lived for the space of five months in this miserable distress... our men night and day groaning in every corner of the fort, most pitiful to hear. If there were any conscience in men, it would make their hearts to bleed to hear the pitiful mur- murings and outcries of our sick men for relief, every night and day for the space of six weeks: some departing out of the World, many times three or four in a night; in the morning their bodies being trailed out of their cabins like dogs, to be buried.” —A Jamestown colonist quoted in A New World On a cold winter day in 1607, standing among the 38 colonists who remained alive, John Smith took control of the settlement. “You see that power A. Answer Disease, the now rests wholly with me,” he announced. “You must now obey this law,... he unwillingness of that will not work shall not eat.” Smith held the colony together by forcing the many colonists colonists to farm. He also persuaded the nearby Powhatan people to provide to work, and the food. Unfortunately, later that winter, a stray spark ignited a gunpowder bag hostile actions by the Smith was wearing and set him on fire. Badly burned, Smith headed back to Powhatan. England, leaving Jamestown to fend for itself. In the spring of 1609, about 600 new colonists arrived with hopes of starting a MAIN IDEA new life in the colony. The Powhatan, by now alarmed at the growing number of Summarizing settlers, began to kill the colonists’ livestock and destroy their farms. By the follow- A What factors ing winter, conditions in Jamestown had deteriorated to the point of famine. In contributed to the near failure of what became known as the “starving time,” the colonists ate roots, rats, snakes, and Jamestown? even boiled shoe leather. Of those 600 new colonists, only about 60 survived. A The American Colonies Emerge 43 p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 44 Page 3 of 7 Rediscovering Fort James Erosion turned the Jamestown Peninsula into an island and, for many years, the site of the original Fort James was assumed to be under water. However, in 1996, archaeolo- gists from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities discovered artifacts on what they concluded was the original site of the fort. Since then, archaeologists have discovered armor, weapons, even games used by the first colonists. Archaeologists and historians are constantly learning more and more about this long-buried treasure of American history. ▼ 16th-century helmet and breastplate. Site of Jamestown DELAWARE WASHINGTON, D.C. MARYL AND Chesap V I R G I N I A N r ive eake Bay sR Richmond W E me Ja S 75°W ▼ Jamestown 37°N 0 15 30 miles An archaeologist kneels beside holes left from the ATLANTI C original palisade fence of Fort James. Note that the 0 15 30 kilometers Norfolk OCEAN palisades were less than one foot in width. Rounded bulwarks, or watch towers, The walls of the triangular- mounted with cannon were located at shaped fort measured 420 feet each corner of the fort. The range of each on the river side and 300 feet cannon was approximately one mile. on the other two sides. A barracks or “bawn” stood along the wall. Colonists’ houses were built The main gate, located about ten feet from the fort’s on the long side, faced ▼ walls. Houses measured six- the James River. This illustration re-creates what historians and teen by forty feet and several archaeologists now believe Fort James looked colonists lived in each. like early in its history. 44 CHAPTER 2 p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 45 Page 4 of 7 JAMESTOWN BEGINS TO FLOURISH The surviving colonists decided to abandon the seemingly doomed set- ANOTHER tlement. However, as they sailed down the James River, they were met by a second English ship whose passengers P E R S P EC T I V E convinced the fleeing colonists to turn around. Under the watchful eye of new leaders, who did not hesitate to flog FANTASIES OF THE “NEW WORLD” or even hang colonists found neglecting their work, By the early 1600s, many Jamestown stabilized and the colony began to expand far- Englishmen, weary of wars and liv- ther inland along the James River. However, equally ing in overcrowded cities, listened important in the colony’s growth was the development of eagerly to early reports about a highly profitable crop: tobacco. Virginia. Playwrights, poets, and B. Answer adventurers, most of whom had Tobacco “BROWN GOLD” AND INDENTURED SERVANTS never seen the “New World,” became very Europeans had become aware of tobacco soon after turned those reports into fantasies popular in Europe and Columbus’s first return from the West Indies. In 1612, the of a “promised land,” a place of proved to be a Jamestown colonist John Rolfe experimented by cross fair climate, friendly natives, rich highly profitable harvests, and bright futures. breeding tobacco from Brazil with a harsh strain of the cash crop. A play produced in London in weed that local Native Americans had grown for years. 1605 described Virginia as a place MAIN IDEA Rolfe’s experiment resulted in a high-quality tobacco where native children wore rubies strain for which the citizens of England soon clamored. and diamonds in their coats and Analyzing By the late 1620s, colonists exported more than 1.5 mil- caps. In 1606, the English poet Events B Why was Michael Drayton called Virginia lion pounds of “brown gold” to England each year. B tobacco so “that delicious land” because of its In order to grow tobacco, the Virginia Company need- rich soil and fantastic harvests. important to the Jamestown ed a key ingredient that was missing from the colony— By 1607, the Virginia Company colony? field laborers. In an effort to lure settlers to Jamestown, the officers translated those fantasies Virginia Company introduced the headright system in into advertisements. During the “starving time,” Jamestown 1618. Under this system, anyone who paid for their own colonists must have bitterly or another’s passage to Virginia received 50 acres of land. recalled the promises made in Immigration to the colony jumped. those advertisements. The headright system yielded huge land grants for anyone who was wealthy enough to transport large numbers of people to Virginia. The ▼ C. Answer This poster, dated The headright Company used the term “plantation” 1609, reflects an system allowed for the group of people who settled the attempt to attract settlers to pur- land grant, but eventually, the term was settlers to the chase their own used to refer to the land itself. To work early Virginia land. Indentured colony. servants worked their plantations, many owners import- for a landowner ed indentured servants from for a limited England. In exchange for passage to period of time, North America, and food and shelter usually four to seven years. upon arrival, an indentured servant agreed to a limited term of servitude— MAIN IDEA usually four to seven years. Indentured Contrasting servants were usually from the lower C How did the classes of English society. C conditions of indentured THE FIRST AFRICAN LABORERS servitude differ Another group of laborers—Africans— from those of the first arrived in Virginia aboard a Dutch headright system? merchant ship in 1619. Records suggest that the Jamestown colonists treated the group of about 20 Africans as indentured servants. After a few years, most of the Africans received land and freedom. Meanwhile, other Africans continued to arrive in the colony in small numbers, but it would be several decades before the English colonists in North America began the systematic use of Africans as slave labor. The American Colonies Emerge 45 p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 46 Page 5 of 7 ▼ In this 18th-century engraving, a Virginia planter oversees slaves packing tobacco leaves for shipment to England. One reason for this was economics. In Virginia, where tobacco served as cur- rency in the early 1600s, an indentured servant could be purchased for 1,000 pounds of tobacco, while a slave might cost double or triple that amount. MAIN IDEA However, by the late 1600s, a decline in the indentured servant population cou- Summarizing pled with an increase in the colonies’ overall wealth spurred the colonists to begin D What factors led to the importing slaves in huge numbers. While the life of indentured servants was dif- importation of ficult, slaves endured far worse conditions. Servants could eventually become full African slaves members of society, but slaves were condemned to a life of harsh labor. D to Virginia? D. Answer As the number The Settlers Clash with Native Americans of indentured servants in the As the English settlers expanded their settlement, their uneasy relations with colony declined, the Native Americans worsened. The colonists’ desire for more land led to war- colonists need- ed laborers fare with the original inhabitants of Virginia. to work their THE ENGLISH PATTERN OF CONQUEST Unlike the Spanish, whose colonists tobacco plantations. An intermarried with Native Americans, the English followed the pattern used when increase in they conquered the Irish during the 1500s and 1600s. England’s Laws of Conquest wealth enabled declared, in part, “Every Irishman shall be forbidden to wear English apparel or them to pay for weapons upon pain of death.” The same law also banned marriages between the more expensive African slaves. English and the Irish. The English brought this pattern of colonization with them to North America. Viewing the Native Americans as being “like the wild Irish,” the English settlers had no desire to live among or intermarry with the Native Americans they defeated. THE SETTLERS BATTLE NATIVE AMERICANS As the English settlers recovered in the years following the starving time, they never forgot the Powhatan’s hostility 46 CHAPTER 2 p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 47 Page 6 of 7 during the starving time. In retaliation, the leaders of Jamestown demanded tributes of corn and labor from the local native peo- ples. Soldiers pressed these demands by setting Powhatan villages on fire and kidnapping hostages, especially children. One of the kidnapped children, Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, MAIN IDEA married John Rolfe in 1614. This lay the groundwork for a half- Analyzing hearted peace. However, the peace would not last, as colonists Causes continued to move further into Native American territory and E Why were seize more land to grow tobacco. E the colonists in By 1622, English settlers had worn out the patience of conflict with the Powhatan? Chief Opechancanough, Chief Powhatan’s brother and succes- sor. In a well-planned attack, Powhatan raiding parties struck at E. Answer Still angry colonial villages up and down the James River, killing more than because of the 340 colonists. The attack forced the Virginia Company to send in Powhatan’s more troops and supplies, leaving it nearly bankrupt. In 1624, James I, treatment of ▼ disgusted by the turmoil in Virginia, revoked the company’s charter and them during the Pocahontas as Starving Time, made Virginia a royal colony—one under direct control of the king. England she appeared the settlers sent more troops and settlers to strengthen the colony and to conquer the during her visit began demand- Powhatan. By 1644, nearly 10,000 English men and women lived in Virginia, to England in ing tribute. Plus, while the Powhatan population continued to fall. 1616–1617 colonists kept moving further and further into Powhatan terri- Economic Differences Split Virginia tory. By the 1670s, many of the free white men in Virginia were former indentured servants who, although they had completed their servitude, had little money to buy land. Because they did not own land, they could not vote and therefore enjoyed almost no rights in colonial society. These poor colonists lived mainly on the western outskirts of Virginia, where they constantly fought with Native Americans for land. HOSTILITIES DEVELOP During the 1660s and 1670s, Virginia’s poor settlers Vocabulary felt oppressed and frustrated by the policies of the colony’s governor, Sir William levy: to impose Berkeley. More and more, Berkeley levied or imposed high taxes, which were paid or collect mostly by the poorer settlers who lived along Virginia’s western frontier. Moreover, the money collected by these taxes was used not for the public good but for the personal profit of the “Grandees,” or “planters,” the wealthy planta- tion farmers who had settled along the eastern shores of Virginia. Many of these planters occupied positions in the government, positions that they used to pro- tect their own interests. As hostilities began to develop between the settlers along Virginia’s western frontier and the Native Americans who lived there, the settlers demanded to know why money collected in taxes and fines was not being used to build forts for their protection. In 1675, a bloody clash between Virginia’s frontier settlers and local natives revealed an underlying tension between the colony’s poor whites and its wealthy landowners and sparked a pitched battle between the two classes. In June of 1675, a dispute between the Doeg tribe and a Virginia frontier farmer grew into a blood- bath. A group of frontier settlers who were pursuing Doeg warriors murdered four- teen friendly Susquehannock and then executed five chiefs during a peace confer- ence. Fighting soon broke out between Native Americans and frontier colonists. The colonists pleaded to Governor Berkeley for military support, but the governor, acting on behalf of the wealthy planters, refused to finance a war to benefit the colony’s poor frontier settlers. BACON’S REBELLION Berkeley’s refusal did not sit well with a twenty-nine- year-old planter named Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon, a tall, dark-haired, hot- tempered son of a wealthy Englishman, detested Native Americans. He called The American Colonies Emerge 47 p0042-48aspe-0102s2 10/16/02 3:48 PM Page 48 Page 7 of 7 them “wolves” who preyed upon “our harmless and inno- MAIN IDEA HISTORICAL cent lambs.” In 1676, Bacon broke from his old friend Analyzing Berkeley and raised an army to fight Native Americans on S P O TLIG H T the Virginia frontier. F Issues F Why was Governor Berkeley quickly declared Bacon’s army— Nathaniel Bacon HOUSE OF BURGESSES one-third of which was made up of landless settlers and frustrated with The House of Burgesses served Governor debtors—illegal. Hearing this news, Bacon marched on Berkeley? as the first representative body in Jamestown in September of 1676 to confront colonial lead- colonial America. The House first F. Answer ers about a number of grievances, including the frontier Bacon, like met in Jamestown on July 30, 1619, and included two citizens, colonists’ lack of representation in the House of Burgesses— many settlers, or burgesses, from each of Virginia’s colonial legislature. Virginia’s “rabble,” as many was frustrated Virginia’s eleven districts. planters called the frontier settlers, resented being taxed because The House claimed the authority Berkeley had and governed without their consent. Ironically, 100 years levied taxes on to raise taxes and make laws. later in 1776, both wealthy and poor colonists would voice poor settlers However, the English governor had this same complaint against Great Britain at the beginning and failed to use the right to veto any legislation the of the American Revolution. the money he House passed. While the House gained from represented a limited constituen- The march turned violent. The rebels set fire to the those taxes to cy—since only white male town as Berkeley and numerous planters fled by ship. build forts and landowners could vote—it con- However, Bacon had little time to enjoy his victory. He died protect settlers tributed to the development of rep- from hostile resentative government in English of illness a month after storming Jamestown. Upon Bacon’s Native America. A century and a half death, Berkeley returned to Jamestown and easily subdued Americans. after its founding, the House of the leaderless rebels. Burgesses would supply delegates Bacon’s Rebellion, as it came to be known, did succeed to the Continental Congress—the in drawing King Charles’s attention to Berkeley’s govern- revolutionary body that orchestrat- ment, and Charles’s commissioners, or investigators, were ed the break from Great Britain. highly critical of Berkeley’s policies. The old governor was recalled to England to explain himself but died before meeting with the king. Although it spurred the planter class to cling more tightly to power, Bacon’s Rebellion exposed the growing power of the colony’s former indentured servants. Meanwhile, farther to the north, another group of English colonists, who had journeyed to North America for religious reasons, were steering their own course into the future. 1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance. John Smith Jamestown headright system royal colony joint-stock companies Powhatan indentured servant Nathaniel Bacon MAIN IDEA CRITICAL THINKING 2. TAKING NOTES 3. RECOGNIZING EFFECTS 4. ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES Create a time line of the major The success of tobacco farming in The following lines appear in developments in the colonization of Virginia had wide-ranging effects. Michael Drayton’s 1606 poem, Virginia, using a form such as the Describe its impact on each of “To the Virginian Voyage”: one below. these groups: the Jamestown event event colonists, indentured servants, “ When as the luscious smell the Powhatan, the planters. of that delicious land one three Think About: Above the sea that flows the headright system and The clear wind throws, indentured servitude event event Your hearts to swell” two four the colonists’ need for more land the conflict between rich and What do these lines tell you about Which event do you think was the poor colonists the expectations many colonists had most critical turning point? Why? before they arrived in Virginia? 48 CHAPTER 2