Surviving Jamestown

UNIT 2: Colonization

Lesson: Surviving Jamestown

Tennessee State Standard:

8.01 Explain the founding and development of Jamestown as the first permanent English colony, its early struggles, the economic and political structure, and role of the Powhatan people.

SURVIVING JAMESTOWN

ENGLAND SEEKS WEALTH AND POWER

European nations raced to explore and colonize the Americas starting in the late 1400's. Spain was the first nation to gain great power and wealth from its colonies in the Americas.

England, France, and the Netherlands wanted the same. Soon, these nations competed to be the wealthiest and the most powerful in the world. England wanted to become more powerful than Spain.

James I, King of England

INVESTING IN COLONIES

King James I of England thought the best way to establish a colony was to let wealthy people and merchants invest in it. This would free England from paying the costs of settling a new land.

Once the investors raised enough money, England would issue a charter. A charter is a document that gives a person or group the right to organize settlements in a given area.

Investors then would the fees pay fees and taxes to England on whatever money they made in North America. England's plan for power was in place!

THE VIRGINIA COMPANY TAKES CHARGE

The Virginia Company of London was formed to invest in a new settlement in North America. The Virginia Company was a joint-stock company. To raise money, they asked people to buy stock in their business. A stock is a share of ownership in a business or company. By selling stocks, they ensured that they had enough money to pay for everything they needed to start a new colony.

The investors expected the colonists to find gold and other natural resources to trade with England. If they did, the company and the investors would earn a profit. A profit is the money made from an investment.

THE FIRST PERMANENT ENGLISH COLONY

In late in 1606, English settlers set sail with a charter from King James I to start a new colony in North America. The voyage took about four months. They made landfall on April 26, 1607. The colony was officially named Virginia after the Virginia Company.

The colonists selected a marshy, inland location for their settlement and named it Jamestown. This choice of land created one of many challenges for the colonists.

THE COLONY STRUGGLES

The English settlers at Jamestown faced tough times.

The colonists lacked skilled laborers. Most of the colonists were English gentleman who had never worked a day in their lives. There were only eight men who knew how to build a fort and shelter.

Fresh water was in short supply. The colonists had landed during a drought, and the rivers had very little water. Ocean water also seeped into fresh water sources, making all of the water salty. Drinking this salty water made people sick.

Producing food was also a problem. The marshy land was a poor place to grow food and almost no one wanted to farm, or knew how to plant crops. They ate supplies brought on the ships until the food ran out. The colonists became hungry very quickly.

Disease was rampant. Colonists often threw their waste into the rivers. Unhealthy living conditions caused diseases like dysentery and typhoid fever.

POLITICS IN THE NEW COLONY

Unbeknownst to the settlers, the Virginia Company had chosen seven of the new colonists to govern the colony as a council. Their choices were locked in a box aboard one of the ships so the settlers did not discover the identity of their leaders until they reached North America in April 1607.

In 1619, the governor appointed by the Virginia Company called for the election of 22 burgesses, or representatives to replace the council. The burgesses met with the governor at first, but starting in 1643, the burgesses met separately as the Virginia House of Burgesses. This was the first democratically elected legislative body in the English Colonies.

JOHN SMITH & RELATIONS WITH THE POWHATAN

John Smith, who was one of the 7 men chosen to be on the leadership council quickly rose to become the settlement's main leader. He trained the first settlers to farm and work, thus saving the colony from early devastation. He publicly stated, "He who will not work, shall not eat."

While out searching for food, John Smith encountered a Native American Indian tribe known as the Powhatan. The English colonists had established Jamestown on land where the Powhatan Indians had lived for generations. According to Smith, he was taken to meet the Chief of the Powhatan Indians at their main village.

Smith feared for his life, but he was eventually released. The Chief's daughter, Pocahontas, convinced her father to let John Smith go free. After the encounter, a friendship developed between the Powhatan and the English colonists. The English provided metal tools, copper, and beads. In exchange, the Powhatan gave the colonists food and furs.

Captain John Smith, the leader of Jamestown

The real Pocahontas (Rebecca Rolfe)

Pocahontas as portrayed by Disney

However, this friendship did not last long. As more people and supplies arrived from England, the colony expanded and moved further into Powhatan territory. Hostiles and tensions rose as well. A drought reduced food supply in the region. The colonists stole corn from the Powhatan. Relations between the two groups grew much worse.

In response, the Powhatan blocked the entrances to the fort at Jamestown. People couldn't get out to find food, and supplies ran out. Starvation and disease soon took its toll.

THE STARVING TIME

In October of 1609, John Smith was severely injured by a gunpowder explosion in his canoe, and he sailed to England for treatment. He never returned to Virginia. This left the colony without a true leader.

The winter of 1609 to 1610 became known as the "starving time" because of the combination of food shortages, ineffective leaders, and attacks by the Powhatan Indians. This resulted in the deaths of two out of every three colonists. Desperate colonists ate whatever they could find, including horses, rats, and shoe leather. Historical reports state that some colonists even ate other dead colonists.

When spring arrived and the Powhatan ended the blockade, most of the colonists were already dead. The Virginia Company, however, continued to finance and transport settlers to sustain Jamestown. Somehow, the settlement survived.

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