The English Establish 13 Colonies 69

11

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Early Colonies HaveMixed SuccessEarly Colonies HaveMixed Success

TERMS & NAMESjoint-stock company

charter

Jamestown

John Smith

indentured servant

House of Burgesses

Bacon’s Rebellion

The English Plan ColoniesAs you read in Chapter 2, religious and political rivalries increasedbetween England and Spain in the late 1500s. Spain had many coloniesin the Americas, but England had none. England began directing itsresources toward establishing colonies after its defeat of the SpanishArmada in 1588.

Two early English colonies failed, butJamestown survived—partly throughindividual effort and hard work.

Jamestown’s survival led to moreEnglish colonies and a lasting Englishinfluence in the United States.

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYJohn White was a talented artist. He traveled with the first English

expedition to Roanoke, an island off North Carolina, in 1585. While

there, he painted scenes of Native American villages. White sailed back

to England in 1586 and then returned to Roanoke as governor the next

year, bringing with him more than 100 settlers. White’s daughter Elinor

gave birth to a baby girl, Virginia Dare, during their stay. John White

described the event.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

On August 18 a daughter was born to Elinor, . . . wife of Ananias Dare. . . .The child was christened on the following Sunday and was named Virginiabecause she was the first Christian born in Virginia.

John White, The New World

In 1587, White was forced to sail back to England a second time to

get needed supplies. He left the colonists, including his granddaughter,

Virginia, in Roanoke. Delayed by the Spanish Armada (a fleet of ships

that attempted to invade England in 1588), White did not return to

Roanoke until 1590.

To his shock and grief, he found no trace of the colonists or his

granddaughter, all of whom had disappeared. The only clues to their

whereabouts were the letters CRO carved in a tree and the word

Croatoan carved in a doorpost. White never discovered the fate of his

family and the other colonists. In this section, you will learn why

English settlers such as White came to America despite such hardships.

You’ll also learn how they lived and what they believed.

Drawing by John White of an oldman of the Pomeiock tribe.

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Richard Hakluyt (HAK•LOOT), an English geographer, urged Englandto start a colony. Hakluyt thought that colonies would provide a marketfor English exports. They also would serve as a source of raw materials. Byhaving colonies, England hoped to increase its trade and build up its goldsupply. This is the economic theory of mercantilism (see page 52). In mer-cantilism, the state controls trade and attempts to transfer wealth fromcolonies to the parent country. Hakluyt also thought that English colonieswould help to plant the Protestant faith in the Americas.

The earliest English colonists had many reasons for going toAmerica. The lack of economic opportunity in England forced many toseek their fortunes abroad. Stories of gold mines lured some to leaveEngland. Others left to escape religious persecution.

Two Early Colonies FailSir Walter Raleigh was a soldier, statesman, and adventurer who servedunder Queen Elizabeth I of England. She gave him permission to spon-sor the colony at Roanoke. He named England’s first colony Virginiaafter the unmarried, or virgin, queen. Financed by Raleigh, the colonybegan in 1585 on Roanoke Island. The colonists relied on the NativeAmericans for food. But when the Native Americans realized that thesettlers wanted their land, they cut off the colonists’ food supply. Thosewho survived returned to England in 1586.

In 1587, artist John White convinced Raleigh to try again to establishthe Roanoke colony, with the disastrous results described in OneAmerican’s Story (page 69). To this day, no one knows for sure what hap-pened. Some historians think that the colonists mingled with the neigh-boring Native Americans. Others believe that they moved to ChesapeakeBay and were killed by Native Americans defending their land.

In 1607, the Plymouth Company sponsored theSagadahoc colony at the mouth of the Kennebec Riverin Maine. Some of the settlers were English convicts.One colonist wrote of George Popham, the governor,“He stocked or planted [the colony] out of all the jailsof England.” Within the first year, arguments amongcolonists, a harsh winter, fights with Native Americans,and food shortages forced most of the colonists toreturn to England.

Financing a ColonyRaleigh had financed the colony at Roanoke. When thecolony failed, he lost his investment. The Englishlearned from Raleigh’s financial loss at Roanoke thatone person could not finance a colony. To raise money,they turned to the joint-stock company. Joint-stockcompanies were backed by investors, people who putmoney into a project to earn profits. Each investorreceived pieces of ownership of the company called

THE LUMBEE AND THE LOST COLONISTS

The Lumbee tribe lives mainlyin North Carolina. Some of the Lumbee believe they aredescendants of the lostcolonists of Roanoke. Amongthe evidence cited is the factthat 41of the 95 last names ofthe Lumbee were last names ofthe colonists.

Other Lumbee don’t believethat they are descended fromEnglish ancestors. The Lumbeeare trying to win federal recog-nition as a Native Americantribe. English ancestry mightweaken their claim for federalfinancial support.

A. SummarizingWhy did Englishcolonists settle inAmerica?A. Answer Theywere looking foreconomic oppor-tunity and relig-ious freedom.

Vocabularyfinanced: paid for;raised funds for

70 CHAPTER 3

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shares of stock. In this way, the investors split any profitsand divided any losses.

Merchants organized the Virginia Company of Londonand the Virginia Company of Plymouth. King James I ofEngland granted charters to both companies in 1606. Acharter was a written contract, issued by a government, giv-ing the holder the right to establish a colony.

Jamestown Is Founded in 1607In 1607, the Virginia Company of London financed anexpedition to Chesapeake Bay that included more than 100colonists. They sailed up the James River until they found aspot to settle. They named the first permanent English settlement Jamestown in honor of King James.

From the start, the Jamestown colonists endured terrible hardships.The site of the colony was swampy and full of malaria-carrying mosqui-toes. This disease made the colonists sick with fever. Many also becameill from drinking the river water. To make matters worse, the LondonCompany had incorrectly told the settlers that the colony would be richin gold. They spent their days searching for gold rather than buildinghouses and growing food.

The climate was also a hardship. The colonists soon learned that thesummers were hot and humid and thewinters bitter cold. As one colonistrecalled, “There were never English-men left in a foreign country in suchmisery as we were in this newly dis-covered Virginia.”

Jamestown GrowsBy January 1608, only 38 colonistsremained alive. Later that year, JohnSmith, a soldier and adventurer,took control. To make sure thecolonists worked, Smith announced,“He that will not work shall not eat.”Smith’s methods worked. Heordered an existing wall extendedaround Jamestown. He also per-suaded the Powhatan tribe to tradetheir corn to the colonists. In 1609,Smith was injured in a gunpowderexplosion and returned to England.That same year, 800 more Englishsettlers arrived in Jamestown.

0

0

100 Miles

200 Kilometers

35°N

30°N

40°N

45°N

65°W

70°W

75°W

80°W

A T L A N T I CO C E A N

Hudson

R.

Sagadahoc R.

(Kenn ebec)

Potomac R .

Ro anoke R.

James R.

MassachusettsBay

ChesapeakeBay

Jamestown, 1607

Sagadahoc, 1607

Roanoke I., 1585, 1587

71

Early English Settlements, 1585–1607

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Maps1. Location Which colony was located northeast of

Jamestown? How many miles northeast was it?2. Human-Environment Interaction Why did the

colonists settle near the coast?

BackgroundHistorians used to believe thatthe colony’s origi-nal site had beenflooded by theJames River.Recent archaeo-logical digs, how-ever, havediscovered thesite on higherground.

B. PossibleAnswerBanishment or asystem of penal-ties and finesmight haveworked.

B. SolvingProblems If youhad been JohnSmith, howwould you haveforced thecolonists to work?

This is a computerreconstruction ofthe face of MistressForrest, believed tobe the first Englishwoman to come toJamestown.Skillbuilder Answers1. Sagadahoc.Approximately 500 miles.2. The ocean pro-vided a source offood and a means of transportation.

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Because of growing tensions between the settlers and NativeAmericans, the Powhatan stopped trading food and attacked the set-tlers. The settlers did not dare leave the fort. During the “starving time,”the colonists ate rats, mice, and snakes. Only 60 of the colonists werestill alive when two ships arrived in 1610. Lord De La Warr, the newgovernor, imposed discipline, and the “starving time” ended.

In 1612, John Rolfe developed a high-grade tobacco that the colonistslearned to grow. It quickly became very popular in England. The successof tobacco growing changed Jamestown in many ways. The VirginiaCompany thought of the colonists as employees. The colonists, however,wanted a share of the profits.

The company responded by letting settlers own land. Settlers workedharder when the land was their own. The company offered a 50-acre landgrant for each man, woman, or child who could pay his or her way to thecolony. In 1619, the first African Americans arrived in Jamestown. The

population of Virginia jumped from about 600 in 1619to more than 2,000 in 1621.

Even more laborers were needed. Those who couldnot afford passage to America were encouraged tobecome indentured servants. These men and womensold their labor to the person who paid their passage tothe colony. After working for a number of years, theywere free to farm or take up a trade of their own.

The colonists soon became annoyed at the strict ruleof the governor, who represented the VirginiaCompany’s interests back in London. To provide formore local control, the company decided that burgesses,or elected representatives, of the colonists would meetonce a year in an assembly. The House of Burgesses,created in 1619, became the first representative assem-bly in the American colonies.

Conflicts with the PowhatanCultural differences put the Powhatan and the Englishon a collision course. At first, the Powhatan traded foodwith the colonists. Then, as more colonists arrived andwanted land, relations grew worse. In an effort toimprove relations between the English colonists and thePowhatan, John Rolfe married Chief Powhatan’sdaughter, Pocahontas, in 1614.

For a time, there was an uneasy peace. The colonistslearned from the Powhatan how to grow corn, catchfish, and capture wild fowl. However, the expandingtobacco plantations took over more and more Powhatanland. In 1622, in response to land grabs by the colonists,the Powhatan killed hundreds of Jamestown’s residents.

72 CHAPTER 3

POCAHONTAS

1595?–1617

Pocahontas met John Smith whenshe was about 12 years old. Smithtaught her English and admiredher spirit. She admired Smith’sbravery and saved his life twice.After Smith returned to England,she married the colonist JohnRolfe in 1614. Shown below is a portrait of Pocahontas, done in 1616.

Two years later, the Rolfes wentto England to raise money for theJamestown colony. While gettingready to sail home, Pocahontasdied of smallpox.

How did Pocahontas showthat Native Americans andwhite settlers might live in peace?

C. AnalyzingCauses What wasthe main reasonfor the variousarrangements theVirginia Companycame up with tobring people toAmerica?C. Answer Thecompany neededpeople to helpgrow tobacco.

D. Answer Bothgroups wantedthe same land.

D. Finding MainIdeas What wasthe central dis-pute between thePowhatan andthe settlers?

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Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676As you have seen, many of the Englishcolonists who came to Virginia during the1600s fought with the Native Americans. Theyalso battled one another. By the 1670s, one-fourth of the free white men were formerindentured servants. These colonists, who didnot own land, resented the wealthy easternlandowners. The poor settlers lived mostly onVirginia’s western frontier, where they battledthe Native Americans for land.

Nathaniel Bacon and a group of landlessfrontier settlers opposed Governor WilliamBerkeley. They complained about high taxesand Governor Berkeley’s favoritism towardlarge plantation owners. Bacon demanded thatBerkeley approve a war against the NativeAmericans to seize their land for tobaccoplantations. Governor Berkeley’s refusal ofNathaniel Bacon’s demand sparked Bacon’sRebellion in 1676.

Bacon marched into Jamestown, took control of the House ofBurgesses, and burned Jamestown to the ground. Bacon’s sudden illnessand death ended the rebellion. Berkeley hanged Bacon’s followers.Angered by Berkeley’s actions, King Charles II recalled the governor toEngland. After that incident, the House of Burgesses passed laws to pre-vent a royal governor from assuming such power again. The burgesses hadtaken an important step against tyranny. In the next section, you will readabout the New England colonies and their steps toward independence.

The English Establish 13 Colonies 73

2. Taking NotesUse a series-of-events chainto review events that led tothe founding of Jamestown.

What were reasons Englandwanted colonies in America?

3. Main Ideasa. Why did the first Englishsettlement at Roanoke fail?

b. How did the Englishfinance their colonies after 1606?

c. What was the outcome of Bacon’s Rebellion?

4. Critical ThinkingDrawing ConclusionsWhat were the main reasonsthat Jamestown survivedand prospered?

THINK ABOUT• how, after the “starving

time,” Lord De La Warrtook control

• John Rolfe’s developmentof a high-grade tobaccoplant

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• joint-stock company• charter• Jamestown• John Smith• indentured servant• House of Burgesses• Bacon’s Rebellion

Section Assessment1

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

ARTLANGUAGE ARTS

You need indentured servants to work on your plantation. Draw a poster or writean advertisement that will attract people to your plantation.

Nathaniel Bacon(right) confrontsVirginia governorWilliam Berkeleyat Jamestown in 1676.

Event 3

Event 2Event 1

Founding ofJamestown

Vocabularytyranny: a govern-ment in which asingle ruler hasabsolute power

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