Locating a Colony

The Scenario - Listen to the dramatic reading HERE.

You are one of 120 passengers on a ship called The Prince Charles.  You left England twelve weeks ago in hopes of settling in the New World.  You have experienced many hardships: a stormy passage, half rations, sickness, cold damp weather above deck, and hot foul, oh so foul, air below deck.  Ten of your fellow immigrants to the New World, including three children, have died and been buried at sea.

You are now anchored at an uncertain place, off the coast of the New World, which your captain believes to be somewhere north of the Virginia Grants.  Seas are so rough and food is so scarce, you have decided to settle somewhere in this area.  You, as one of the elder council members, must decide at once where the first settlement will be located, but you must listen to the needs and perspectives of some of your fellow immigrants.

You must seek the input from three groups: Merchants, Farmers, & Military. The merchants want to settle along the river, which is deep, because they expect deep-water ships from England with more colonists and merchants within 10 months.  The farmers, on the other hand, say they must have fertile, workable land, and plenty of it, if they are to feed the settlement for any amount of time.  The third group, the military officers, who are in charge of the landing party, reported seeing armed natives flee upon your arrival.  The officers feel the settlement must be located so that the military can defend it from the natives by land, and from the sea where other countries (like Spain) are looking to cause harm and gain power.

The choice is yours, but choose wisely, for the fate of the settlement rests squarely on your shoulders.