January 21st The English Colonies Virginia Major Questions 1 What are the character defining features of the Virginia colony 2 How did English settlers gain a foothold in Virginia Outline English settlement 1 1607 Early Jamestowne named after King James was the first permanent 2 Why colonize a Virginia company of London expected Jamestowne to turn a profit and b find vast silver mines In 1606 three ships with 104 colonists make landfall on the Chesapeake Bay i Godspeed ii Susan Constant iii Discovery They were trying to get rich c They established a colony on an island in the James River for protection but they had poor soil water that could not be drunk and malaria ridden swamps d The colony was not sponsored by the English government The colonists named Virginia the state after the predecessor Virgin Queen Elizabeth a Virginia company Make a profit b Black Legend Was the idea that Spanish colonization was uniquely violent and brutal i England Protestant nation Think that they will free the Indians from Catholic Spanish tyranny c Enhance national power i They thought colonizing would make nations strong through ii trade It also gave a second chance to the abundance of poor English men that were the result of the Enclosure Movement in the 1600s This movement evicted peasant farmers to the already crowded cities and the overcrowding led to rising unemployment alcoholism and crime iii Population surplus Gin lane Poverty and alcoholism skyrockets but the colonies can provide new life and abundance for all 3 Three immediate problems a Resources Virginia had no mineral wealth There were no mines and it was too far north to grow sugar b Labor Earliest settlers are ill equipped to do any real work and there were no Native Americans in the area to enslave i John Smith complained about the laziness amongst his settlers They were there to get rich quick and go home not to work c Food 1609 1610 starving time was the result of the first two problems i They expect to trade with local Powhatans or maybe get supply ii ships from England He that will not work shall not eat John Smith was an aristocracy figure during the Starving Time he was later injured and had to return to England iii Powhatans cut off all trade to Jamestowne and a hurricane delayed supply ships Population went from 900 to 60 many colonists resorted to cannibalism iv The remaining settlers packed up and sailed back to England but on their way out an English supply ship was coming toward them so they decided to give it one more shot They changed from a business to a functioning society 4 1610 Virginia Company makes changes a Farmers They start recruiting farmers instead of soldiers b Free land The headright system Pay for your passage to Virginia and you can claim 50 acres of land i Pay for someone else s passage and get their land also c Limited self government Colonies can elect legislature which has a say in how colony is run but only wealthy land owners can vote d A final crucial development 4 500 new people were added to the colony from 1619 1624 5 1617 Tobacco Makes Virginia successful and rich a John Rolfe poster boy for a new rich Virginia Brought tobacco seeds up from the Caribbean and planted them in 1612 i The first crop was sold in 1617 ii 1623 200 000pounds were exported iii 1638 More than 3 000 000 pounds were exported iv However Virginia still had a labor problem b Problem and solutions i Labor Work was done by indentured servants the poor people of England 1 They were treated very terribly but their service was only for a temporary time It only differed from slavery in duration ii Land Anglo Powhatan War 1622 1632 1 Tobacco wears out the soil pretty quickly 2 The Powhatans dominated about 30 smaller ethnic groups around Chesapeake Bay and adopted the English as another although evidence suggests that this was made up 3 Anglo Powhatan war disagreements came to peace by Pocahontas when she married John Rolfe in 1614 4 1618 Powhatan dies so his brother Opechancanougu takes the lead He favors trade first because he likes gun a Nemattanew Hated the English and warned b Opechancanogu but was murdered in the fall of 1621 In response Opechancanogu launches an assault in March of 1622 They pretended like they were there to trade and then attacked c Some converted Powhatan Christians warned English of the attach In their counterattack the goal was to annihilate the Powhatans d To end the war the Powhatans were forced to sign a treaty assigning them to reservations 6 What does the colony look like by the mid 1600s Tobacco shapes the colony by making it a Unstable hierarchical i Local elites run everything ii Number of indentured servants skyrockets Often then run away and elites pass laws to keep servants in line 75 of English immigrants were servants b Rural settlement pattern i Slow to develop a centralized port cities institutions law offices newspapers port offices etc ii Social institutions like churches were also slow to develop c Weak role for church and family i Most immigrants were men 5 1 ii Most women were indentured servants They would marry later in life as a result and have fewer children iii Tobacco inspired exploitative get rich ideals and there was not much interest in church Differences in each colonization Spanish wanted to dominate and control French wanted unobstructed fur trade English Each side was determined to annihilate the other