BRITISH COLONIZATION

North Atlantic Exploration and the Chesapeake

Early Atlantic Economy

Richard Hakluyt’s Argument• Richard Hakluyt made argument to English royals and

merchants in favor of British colonization in the Americas:• Main points:

• Agriculture and wealth to be found• It’s easy – open areas of N. America, no interference or

conflicts with Spanish (or other powers)• No competition for wealth, power, control• Religion – spread Christianity to new areas of the world• Protestantism – spread British Anglicanism instead of

Catholicism• Safety valve for the poor – Britain’s many poor can be

relocated to Americas, making them useful, and getting them out of the Crown’s hair

Hakluyt Map, 1599

British Economic Motives

Competition with Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and French Explored and exploited northern Atlantic waters for fish

(cod) for centuries before formal colonization of Americas Wanted what Spain had: riches, gold, silver Found out that it was harder than it looked:

Very little gold and silver in N. America Hostile native populations, less-densely populated, large

wilderness they could flee into Hostile environment (experience of first settlers in

Chesapeake and New England?)

THE CHESAPEAKEProblems and Developments, 1607-1650

First English Settlements inthe Chesapeake, 1607-1652

Jamestown, 1607

English settled in Powhatan territories

The Chesapeake: Environmental Factors

• Jamestown was settled in horrible spot – good for protection and water travel, bad for living• Hot and humid• Swampy• Tidal waters: mixture of fresh and saltwater,

bacteria, fecal matter, unfit for human consumption

• Disease vector: climate, water, mosquitoes, human and animal waste

The Chesapeake: Native Americans• Algonquian tribes dominated eastern woodlands

from Canada to Virginia• Paramount Chief Powhatan dominated

Chesapeake region• What options were available to English at

Jamestown?• How did English goals, ideals, and preconceptions

of colonization affect the outcome?

Native American and British Settlements, early 1600s

Comparison: Native & French Relations A different model than N.A.-English relations Based on the fur trade – after 1608, the French had est.

fur trading posts in Quebec and along the St. Lawrence River

Missionaries – sent to convert natives, lived with them French had to work and live with native groups

Learned customs, language to achieve their ends Intermarriage

Trade as center of relationship – search for common ground, fair trade, and respect

Creation of “middle ground” – balance of power, maintenance of relationships and respect over time

John White’s Watercolors

• English scientist and artist at Roanoke Colony, 1585

• Watercolors documented Native American – Algonquin – life

• A Road Not Taken?• Depicted Native Americans in realistic manner,

not idealized or caricatured• Depictions show respect for and interest in

native life and customs

English-Native American RelationsDifferent than French-Indian relationsBritish only used trade relations when it suited

them – when they needed corn to survive first few years

Broke agreements and raided Algonquin towns Distrust and animosity grewNative attacks on Roanoke Colony and Jamestown

after initial English violenceThree wars between 1610 and 1646

English Mishaps

Bad choice of settlement siteToo many explorers, wealthy, tradesmen with little to

know willpower to grow cropsDependence on Powhatan Indians who didn’t want

them thereBad luck: harsh winters, hot summers, droughtMalnutrition, disease, lazinessBetween April and Sept., half of 104 original settlers

were dead; only 38 alive by following spring

King TobaccoEnglish searched for way to make colony lucrative and

successfulJohn Rolfe bred new type of tobacco – gained English and

European marketsTobacco Fever - Frenzy to buy land in Chesapeake for

tobacco, to sell as much as possibleThe first American get-rich schemeVirginia Co. gave land to stockholders and those who

settled in VirginiaTurned to indentured servants for labor (think about

Hakluyt’s argument from earlier) Tobacco Economy spurred population growth through

immigration and natural increase

Indentured Servitude

Curing, airing, and storing of Tobacco

Growing InequalityInequalities of wealth and power developed

quickly in the ChesapeakeReflected in land ownership patterns – wealthy

snatched up best lands near waterWealthy: more land, close to water, lower

transport costs = more tobacco, more profitsIndentured servants lacked wealth and powerIndentured servants mistreated, beaten, worked

to death in hot, humid, backbreaking labor Terms of service could be extended for minor

infractions, pregnancy

Tobacco Economy Dictated Land Use and Settlement Patterns

Great Chain of Being

GodAngelsMortals

(diff. levels of humans)

BirdsFishes

MammalsPlants

New Class Relations in AmericaMain question: How did American context affect

class relations?Paternal relations in England – the Great Chain of

BeingTraditional class relations: royalty, aristocracy,

peasantry – supposedly unchangingBut new wealth in America = new social classesHow did new economy affect class relations?What conflicts and how were they worked out?Who would have power in America if there was no

settled aristocracy or king present?

Future Topics and Themes

• Ongoing issues of power, wealth, land• Class issues and conflicts• Indentured servitude and the white poor• Servitude to Slavery• Political rights – who gets them?

Links

• Link to newspaper article on John White watercolors• Link to British Museum online exhibit of White’s watercolors• 3D Virtual Algonquin Village• Virtual Jamestown Site (with contracts of indenture, maps, etc.)• John White Watercolors, Fort Raleigh, NPS