4.1 NOTES Jamestown Settlement

ENGLAND’S 1st PERMANENT COLONY

• Established in 1606 by the Virginia Company• 105 male colonists arrived in 1607• The town and river were named in honor of

King James I

GOALS

1) Search for the Northwest Passage2) Look for gold

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF LOCATING NEAR THE RIVER

• Positives-Easy to defend & receive supplies. Helped with transportation; resources of the river could be used

• Negatives-swampy, mosquito-infested, brackish water, subject to diseases (mostly malaria) & excess humidity

ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS

• Settlers refused to work without an incentive, i.e. they were more interested in hunting for gold than building shelters

• By the time the 1st winter arrived, 2/3 of the original colonists were dead (only 38 originals would survive the 1st year)

• Tough winter with scarce food (rats, shoe leather, horses, frogs, roots, insects, etc.)

JOHN SMITH BECOMES GOVERNOR (Sept. 1607)

• He tried to make sense of the chaos• Organized work parties• Built shelters, cleared land, planted crops and

built stockade fences/defenses• Gov. Smith convinced the Powhatan Indians to

trade corn to the colonists• His basic four word rule?• NO WORK NO FOOD

ADIOS JOHNNY!

• He only served as governor for short time because he was badly injured in a powder explosion

• Smith had to return to England for treatment

POST JOHN SMITH

• What happened?• Settlers returned to their old ways

STARVING TIME (Winter 1609-10)

• Indians stopped trading food• Settlers were too scared to leave the fort• Lots of disease and death, rat snacks, mice,

etc.

VA Company Repopulation Plan

• English orphans were kidnapped by company representatives

• Prisoners were offered amnesty if they would settle in America

• Women were brought over to be auctioned off as wives in exchange for tobacco

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF TOBACCO

• The crop was introduced to Europe by the Spanish and adapted to the Virginia soil by John Rolfe

• The stinky weed guaranteed the survival of Jamestown

• Slavery was introduced to supply the labor

DAILY LIFE IN VIRGINIA

• Headright system• Indentured servants