Chapter 5: The struggle to found colonies

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Chapter 5 The struggle to found colonies

• Lesson 1
• Hard Times in Virginia

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Places

• Roanoke Island
• Virginia
• Jamestown

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Hard Times in Virginia

• People

• Queen Elizabeth I
• Walter Raleigh
• John White
• Francis Drake
• King James I
• John Smith
• Chief Powhatan
• Pocahontas
• John Rolfe

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Vocabulary

• Charter
• Stock
• Cash Crop
• Indentured Servant
• House of Burgesses

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• Englands rulers watched as Spain established
  vast new colonies in Americas
• In the late 1500s England began trying to
  establish its own colonies
• Roanoke was Englands first attempt

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• Queen Elizabeth I of England and other English
  leaders had many reasons for wanting colonies in
  North America
• England was hoping to find gold and other natural
  resources

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• Queen Elizabeth I knew that establishing a colony
  would be difficult and expensive and maybe even
  dangerous
• The Spanish did not want other nations to build
  colonies in North America

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• Walter Raleigh, an advisor to the Queen, offered
  to organize the first colony
• Raleigh was a soldier who explored North America
  in the 1580s
• Roanoke Island was off the coast of present day
  North Carolina

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• The first group of colonists landed on Roanoke
  Island in 1585
• They faced a tough winter, having difficulty
  finding food
• In 1586, the starving colonists returned to home
  England

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• Raleigh did not give up on starting a colony in
  North America
• In 1587, John White led 100 men, women, and
  children to Roanoke Island
• This colony struggled as well

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• When supplies ran out, John White went back to
  England for help
• Upon arriving in England, John White found
  England at war with Spain
• England could not spare any ships to send
  supplies to the Roanoke Island colony

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

• White was unable to return to Roanoke Island
  until 1590
• Everyone on the Island had disappeared
• The only clue White found was the word CROATOAN
  carved in a tree
• Croatoan was the name of an American Indian group
  that lived near Roanoke Island

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Hard Times in Virginia

• No one knows what happened to the Roanoke
  settlement
• The colonists may have been captured by the
  Spanish or died in battles against the Native
  Americans
• The starving colonists may moved south to live
  with the Croatoan people
• Roanoke Island settlement is known as The Lost
  Colony

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• Tension was growing between England and Spain
• Englands attempt to build a colony in North
  America angered Spains King Philip II
• English sea captains had been raiding Spanish
  ships, traveling from America to Spain, of silver
  and gold

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• One of the most famous English captains was
  Francis Drake
• In 1577 Drake began a voyage around the world
• When Drake returned to England in 1580, his ship
  was full of gold captured for Spanish ships

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• Drake was considered a hero in England
• The Spanish called him the Master Thief
• In 1588, King Philip II decided to attack England
  
• King Philip II assembled the Spanish Armada, a
  huge fleet of war ships

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• The Spanish had 130 ships carrying about 30,000
  sailors and soldiers
• The Spanish Armada met the English off the coast
  of England
• The Spanish were confident of victory

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• The English navy had some advantages
• The English ships were smaller and could move
  faster in the water
• The English ships had more powerful guns

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• The commander of the English fleet, Lord Howard,
  wrote
• Their force is wonderful great and strong, yet
  we pluck their feathers by little and little.
• Many of the Spanish ships were sunk by English
  cannonballs

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• Other Spanish ships were caught in a storm and
  smashed against the rocky coast of Ireland
• Of the 130 ships of the Spanish Armada, 60
  returned to Spain safely

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada

• The Battle of the Spanish Armada was a major
  victory for the English
• The victory made England one of the worlds most
  powerful nations
• Now the English could turn their focus back to
  establishing colonies in North America

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Jamestown Colony

• In 1606, a group of merchants formed the Virginia
  Company of London
• They asked King James I for a charter to set up a
  colony in Virginia
• Charter a document that permitted colonies to
  settle on land claimed by their ruler

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Jamestown Colony

• The owners of the Virginia Company raised money
  by selling stock shares in the company
• Each person who bought stock in the company would
  earn a profit if the colony was successful

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Jamestown Colony

• In 1607, three English ships carrying about 120
  colonists reached the eastern coast of Virginia
• They sailed up a river they named the James River
  in honor of King James I
• They unloaded their ships on a peninsula in the
  river
• The spot was called Jamestown

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Jamestown Colony

• One of the settlers, John Smith, called Jamestown
• A very fit place for erecting a great city
• He was wrong
• The land was low and swampy
• The air was full of disease-carrying mosquitoes

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Hard Times in Virginia

• The Jamestown Colony

• The river water was not healthy to drink
• The water made the people sick
• As soon as they arrived in Jamestown, many of the
  settlers began to die

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Map Adventure

• Be sure to read page 159 in class

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• Some Jamestown colonists expected to find gold in
  Virginia
• Instead of building shelter and planting crops,
  they spent days searching for this gold
• Some thought they found gold but it wasnt gold

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• Soon, men began dying of starvation and disease
• By the end of the first year, there were only 38
  settlers remained
• The little wheat they had left form the voyage
  was full of worms

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• John Smith was elected leader of the colony
• He issued an order to the surviving men based on
  the Bible
• He that will not work, shall not eat.

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• Under John Smiths leadership, the colonists
  built houses and dug wells for fresh water
• The colonists planted crops and fished in the
  river
• Smith began trading with the leader of Powhatan
  people, Chief Powhatan

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• Corn from the Powhatan helped keep the colonists
  alive
• Relations between the English settlers and the
  Powhatan were peaceful for a moment
• Pocahontas, Chief Powhatans young daughter would
  visit Jamestown often

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• John Smith wrote that when he first met Chief
  Powhatan, he was taken prisoner
• Smith was about to be executed when 12 year-old
  Pocahontas saved his life
• She persuaded her father to let Smith go free
• Smith returned to England in 1609

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• The colony suffered without John Smiths
  leadership
• So many people died of hunger
• This period was known as the Starving Times
• Jamestown was nearly abandoned with the
  population dwindling

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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith and the Starving Times

• More settlers arrived including a new leader,
  Lord De La Warre
• The Virginia Company gave the leader new powers
• Forcing colonists to work
• The last survivors were saved and the colony
  revived

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• Like corn and tomatoes, the tobacco plant is
  native to the Americas
• Earlier European explorers and traders learned
  from Native Americans how to grow tobacco
• By the early 1600s tobacco was becoming popular
  in England and other European nations

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• In 1612, a settler named John Rolfe raised a crop
  of tobacco in the rich Virginia soil
• Tobacco soon became Virginias first cash crop
• Cash crop crop grown for a profit
• Tobacco was soon widely grown

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• King James I of England did not approve of
  tobacco
• King James I called smoking hateful to the nose,
  harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs
• Despite the Kings opposition to smoking, people
  in Virginia still raised tobacco

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• Tobacco export to England rose rapidly
• Farms were growing so quickly that more workers
  were needed
• Thousands of English indentured servants began
  arriving in Jamestown

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• Indentured Servants were those who agreed to work
  for someone for a certain amount of time in
  exchange for the cost of ocean voyage to North
  America
• Most indentured servants hoped to buy their own
  land when they gained their freedom

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• Many never lived long enough to become free
• Between 1619 and 1622, many indentured servants
  died of disease, overwork, and mistreatment by
  their masters

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• In 1619, a Dutch ship arrived with 20 African who
  were sold as indentured servants and later
  released
• Some established their own tobacco plantations
• Later Africans brought to Virginia would be
  enslaved

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Tobacco Helps Jamestown Grow

• In spite of the hardship of life in Jamestown,
  the colony continued to grow steadily
• The marriage between John Rolfe and Pocahontas in
  1614 helped to maintain peace between the English
  and the Powhatan people

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Self-Government in Virginia

• The Virginia Company of London continued to try
  to attract more settlers to the colony
• The Leaders of the company declared that the
  settlers in Virginia should have
• Such a form of governmentas may be to the
  greatest benefit and comfort of the people

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Hard Times in Virginia

• On July 30, 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses
  met for the first time
• The House of Burgesses was the first law-making
  assembly in an English colony
• Members were chosen to represent each district
• The House of Burgesses helped to establish the
  tradition of self-government in the English
  colonies

• Self-Government in Virginia

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Hard Times in VirginiaClick the picture to play
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Hard Times in Virginia

• John Smith 1580 - 1631

• Be sure to read page 163 in class
• Or research John Smith on your own

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Hard Times in Virginia

• Answer your study questions.
• Quiz will be on Wednesday morning before moving
  to Lesson 2