Early English Settlements

Essential Questions/Today’s Agenda

Why did the English settle in North America?

What happened at Roanoke?

What are the 3 types of colonies?

What was life like in early colonies?

Trouble with England & Spain Spain and England moving towards a war….

Why?

-Fighting over land, religious differences, & trading rivalry

King Phillip II of Spain wanted to put a Catholic ruler on the throne of England because Queen Elizabeth (Daughter of Henry VIII) was a Protestant

Spanish Armada

King Phillip establishes the Spanish Armada (fleet of ships) to attack England

Sir Francis Drake attacked and defeated the Spanish Armada

England had destroyed the powerful Spanish Navy and had an open road to colonize in North America

Why Colonize in North America?

Economic times in England are tough

Commercial farming, crop rotations, and iron ploughs decreased the need for farmers = increase in poverty and homelessness

Some suggested that England ship the poor citizens to the new world to solve the “street problem”

The queen was reluctant to invest public money instead joint stock companies invested

Opportunity for $, get more land, freedom, and get rid of poor people

3 Types of Colonies

Joint Stock Companies – private investors gave money to develop colonies in hopes of high returns on their investment

Proprietary Colonies – Owned by a single person or single family. These colonies were ran like a dictatorship

Royal Colonies – Colonies under the direct rule of the king or queen

Sir Walter Raleigh had the right to claim land in North America from the Queen

He sent a group to find a good place to settle

They found Roanoke Island off the present day coast of North Carolina

100 men established the colony and stayed for a difficult winter

In 1587 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children were left (John White a mapmaker and artist led the group)

Mystery of Roanoke

Roanoke Continued

White later returned to England for supplies

He did not return to Roanoke for 3 years

When he returned no one was there

He found the word Croatoan carved in a gate post

Historians to this day do not know what happened

http://www.history.com/videos/mystery-roanoke#mystery-roanoke

Jamestown In December 1606, The Virginia Company sent 144 settlers in 3 ships to build a new colony

The first few months very difficult (disease, hunger, swampy location)

Colony survives because of John Smith made the people work, gather, and explore

Smith would return to England in 1609 and Jamestown would struggle

1609-1610 known as “the starving time”

Jamestown

Jamestown Boom $

Colonists discovered how to raise tobacco using seeds from the West Indies = $$$$$$$

Relations with Natives improved after John Rolfe marries Pocahontas, the daughter of the Chief Powhatan

Later women, children, and slaves would arrive

1624 King James canceled the charter and made Jamestown England’s first royal colony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssS6UoBoiuc

Exit Card

What was life like at the beginning of the Jamestown colony?

What happened at Roanoke?

What are the three types of colonies

What new crop gave colonists an economic boom in Jamestown?