The Jamestown Colony - Englands First Successful Colony in North - - PDF document

The Jamestown Colony

• England’s First Successful Colony in North

America -

Vocabulary: Charter: Joint-Stock Company

a legal document that gives permission do something, usually to explore, settle, and govern land

(example: the company was chartered in 1850)

: a group of investors who were given authority by the King to setup colonies in North America. The investors made money on what was found in the new world.

The Virginia Company: a joint-stock company created by King James I of England to colonize Virginia

Joint-Stock Companies (The Virginia Company)

1.) Each group has 9 pictures. 2.) These 9 pictures go in order to tell the story

• f the Jamestown colony.

3.) Arrange the pictures so they are in the correct order, from earliest to latest.

Now…the story of Jamestown!

Jamestown

1.)

In 1607, the Virginia Company colonizes Jamestown on a swampy area along the James River

2.)

Jamestown is built in a swampy, coastal area for easy transportation

3.)

Jamestown is founded to make profits mining gold. None is found, tobacco is the main crop

fe

4.) Scarce food forced colonists to create a trade alliance with

the Powhatan tribe

5.) Not getting all the food needed to survive from the Powhatan, colonists demanded food from neighboring tribes.

6.) Natives responded to colonists kidnappings and murder

7.) The Powhatan, worried the colonists would do something to hurt them, decided to “starve them out.”

8.) Colonists died from drinking diseased water, starvation, and cannibalism

9.)

Only 60 out of 500 colonists survived the “starving time.”

10.) Strong leadership, martial law, and aggressive takeovers

• f native land save Jamestown from destruction.

• The fifteenth day of June, we had built and finished our fort, which

was triangle-wise, having three bulwarks at every corner like a half- moon, and four or five pieces of artillery mounted in them. We had made ourselves sufficiently strong for these savages. We had also sown most of our corn on two mountains. It sprang a man’s height from the ground. This country is a fruitful soil, bearing many goodly and fruitful trees.... Monday, the two and twentieth of June, in the morning, Captain Newport in the admiral departed from James Port for England. Captain Newport, being gone for England, leaving us (one hundred and four persons) very bare and scanty of victuals, furthermore in wars and in danger of the savages. We hoped after a supply, which Captain Newport promised within twenty weeks. But if the beginners of this action do carefully further us, the country being so fruitful, it would be as great a profit to the realm of England, as the Indies to the King of Spain.

• About the tenth of September there was about 46 of our men

dead, at which time Captain Wingfield, having ordered the affairs in such sort that he was generally hated of all, in which respect with one consent he was deposed from his presidency, and Captain Ratcliffe according to his course was elected. Our provision now being within twenty days spent, the Indians brought us great store both of corn and bread ready made. And also there came such abundance of fowls into the rivers as greatly refreshed our weak estates, whereupon many of our weak men were presently able to go abroad. As yet we had no houses to cover us. Our tents were rotten and our cabins worse than nought. Our best commoditie was iron, which we made into little chisels.

• As at this time were most of our chiefest men either sick or

discontented, the rest being in such despair as they would rather starve and rot with idleness than be persuaded to do anything for their own relief, without constraint. Our victuals being now within eighteen days spent, and the Indians’ trade decreasing, I was sent to the mouth of the river to Kecoughtan, an Indian town, to trade for corn, and try the river for fish.

• Now all of us at Jamestown beginning to feel that sharp prick of

hunger, which no man truly describe but he hath tasted the bitterness thereof. A world of miseries ensued, as the sequel will express unto you, in so much that some to satisfy their hunger have robbed the store, for the which I caused them to be

• executed. Then, having fed upon horses and other beasts as

long as they lasted, we were glad to make shift with vermin, as dogs, cats, rats, and mice. All was fish that came to net to satisfy cruel hunger, as to eat boots, shoes, or any other leather some could come by. And those being spent and devoured, some were enforced to search the woods and to feed upon serpents and snakes, and to dig the earth for wild and unknown roots, where many of our men were cut off and slain by the savages.

• Our men were destroyed with cruel diseases as swellings,

fluxes, burning fevers, and by wars, and some departed suddenly, but for the most part they died of meer famine. There were never Englishmen left in a foreign country in such misery as we were in this new discovered Virginia.....Our food was but a small can of barley sod in water to five men a day; our drink cold water taken out of the river, which was at a flood very salty, at a low tide full of slime and filth, which was the destruction of many of our

• men. Thus, we lived for the space of five months in this

miserable distress, not having five able men to man our bulwarks upon any occasion. Finally, help arrived and saved us…but anyone there in those grim times thought for sure we were done.

• Every man and woman shall attend church services twice a

day on each work day upon hearing the tolling of the bell. Non attendance will result in losing his or her day’s rations for the first offense, being whipped for the second offense and being condemned to the gallies [probably refers to some type of coastal sea service] for six months for the third offense.

• Every man and woman shall attend church service on Sunday

morning and afternoon. Non attendance will result in loss of provisions and allowance for a whole week on the first offense. For the second offense, he or she shall lose their allowance and be whipped. For the third offense, he or she shall suffer death.

• Anyone who takes an oath untruthfully or gives false testimony

about another person shall be punished with death.

• No man, unless appointed by a lawful authority,

shall barter or trade with the Indians, upon pain of death.

• No man shall take away anything by force from any

Indian coming to trade or in any other situation, on pain of death.

• No man shall take, lose, or willfully break a spade,

shovel, hatchet, axe, or other tool, upon pain of whipping.