Colonial Virginia, Westward Expansion and the French

1
Colonial Virginia, Westward Expansion and the
French Indian War

• By Ms. Walter

2
A New Capital

• A fire destroyed the capital of Jamestown in 1698
  so the General Assembly decided to move the
  capital to a new location.
• They chose Middle Plantation between the James
  and York River.
• Lawmakers decided to change the name to
  Williamsburg in honor of the king.

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Williamsburg

• 3 reasons Williamsburg was a better capital.
• The college of William Mary was located here.
• It was easier to defend than Jamestown.
• The land was not swampy and the climate was
  healthier.

4
College of William Mary

• Founded in 1693
• This was Virginias first college.
• It was the second of the English colonies.

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Williamsburg

• The Duke of Gloucester Street was the main street
  in Williamsburg.
• The College of William Mary was at one end and
  the capitol was at the other end. The Governor's
  Palace was halfway between the college and the
  capitol.
• CAPITOL- a building where lawmakers meet to
  conduct government business

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Public Times

• Public Times were occasions when the House of
  Burgesses met at the capitol building to make
  laws for Virginia. This took place twice a year.
• There would also be dances, fairs, horse racing,
  games, ect.

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Barter, Bank, Saving, Credit

• People rarely used money or coins.
• There were no banks!
• Barter was commonly used instead of money.
• Barter means to trade one thing for another.
• Tobacco was an highly bartered item that depended
  a lot on slave labor.

8

• Consumer- someone who buys/uses goods or services
• Debt- something you owe someone
• Credit- getting something today and paying for it
  later
• Barter- trade
• Colonists exported products like tobacco, fur and
  wood to England. They imported manufactured
  goods from England.
• Export- goods sent to another country
• Import- good brought into a country

9
Westward Expansion

• Alexander Spotswood became governor of the
  Virginia colony when Williamsburg was being
  built.
• Gov. Spotswood wanted the colonists to settle on
  the frontier in western Virginia because he
  wanted the colony to grow.
• He also wanted to stop the French from claiming
  the land. French fur trappers were already
  exploring the area.

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Westward Expansion

• In 1716, Gov. Spotswood and a group of planters
  and gentlemen went to explore the western part of
  Virginia. It took about a month to make the
  journey. When they came to the Shenandoah River,
  Gov. Spotswood claimed the land for King George I
  of England.
• The land claimed is known as the Shenandoah
  Valley

When Gov. Spotswood and the men who traveled with
him returned to Williamsburg, he gave each of
them a golden horseshoe. The men became known as
the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe.
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Germans and Scotch-Irish

• In the 1730s, settlers from Pennsylvania
  traveled to the Shenandoah Valley to start their
  own farms.
• When they came to the valley, they cleared land
  to make cabins and furniture for their homes.
  They also planted more crops.

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Frontier Life

• The farms in the west were small. They didnt
  have plantations and few families owned slaves.
• Farmers grew food for their families. They also
  planted tobacco and hemp. Hemp is used to make
  rope.
• The frontier families had to make almost
  everything they needed. They did not have shops
  like the colonists in Williamsburg had.
• Sometimes they faced dangers such as Indian and
  wild animal attacks.

13
French Indian War

• The French were claiming land in what is now
  Canada.
• The Indians like the French better because they
  did not clear the land or make Indians leave.
• The English believed the land was theirs.
• George Washington delivered a message to the
  French for Governor Dinwiddie, but the French
  refused to leave.

14
French Indian War

• George Washington and his soldiers were sent to
  drive the French out from their forts.
  Washington and his men built Fort Necessity. The
  French outnumbered them and Washington had to
  surrender.
• In the 2nd
  battle Gen. Braddock
• and his men were easily defeated by
• the French.
• Braddock and
  his men wore red
• coats and
  marched in straight lines.

15
French Indian War

• Finally, the British army defeated the French by
  capturing Fort Duquesne.
• In 1763, France and England signed a peace
  treaty.
• The French had to give up Canada and the land
  west of the Appalachian Mountains to the
  Mississippi River.

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Virginia still faced problems.

1. Fighting between the Virginians and the Indians
   still went on.
2. The colonists did not like some of the English
   laws and taxes.

NO TAXES!