Historical Background

Jamestown was a famous early settlement in America. The settlers built Jamestown on a marsh. TCi says, “Unfortunately, the settlers built Jamestown on a marsh. The water around the town was dirty and salty and the land was bad for farming. Worse still, mosquitoes in the marsh carried a deadly disease called malaria. By the end of 1607, disease and other hardships had killed many of the settlers.” This shows that the settlers picked a bad spot to start a settlement. The water was dirty, and the land was terrible for farming, but things got better. A man named John Smith became the leader of Jamestown. TCi states, “The colonists largely depended on trade with the American Indians for food. When John Smith became the leader of Jamestown in 1608, he brought discipline to the colony. The settlers planted crops and built houses. Trade with the American Indians flourished, and there was less violence between the settlers and the American Indians.” Therefore, Jamestown had a bad beginning, but kept going.

Roanoke was another of the early settlements in America. Unfortunately, not a lot of the colonists were farmers or had any experience with growing crops. Their food supplies quickly ran short. TCI states that, “Unfortunately, few of the settlers were farmers and supplies quickly ran short.” This shows that they ran short of food so fast that they actually gave up because they did not have enough experienced farmers. A man named John White returned to Roanoke, but there was no sign of the soldiers. The only clue he discovered was the word “croatoan” carved into the gatepost of a ruined fort. Therefore, Roanoke did not have the supplies to build up a new settlement, so they gave up and went home.

Settlers settling in America faced many challenges. TCi states, “The early settlers faced many difficulties. England's first settlement, on the island of Roanoke, disappeared completely. Another settlement, Jamestown, survived through numerous hardships.” This shows that the settlements faced many difficulties, including disease and lack of food. But despite the challenges, they kept going. The people who left England left safety and supplies behind. They did not know what was ahead of them. TCi says, “These groups left Europe for all kinds of reasons, but they all shared the same goal of finding a better life.” This shows that people who left Europe left for different reasons, but they all wanted a better life.

In the colonial times, the colonists were segregated, they treated each other different, and they also had fun! People in colonial times normally treated people different because of their skin color, or whether they were girls or boys. This happened a lot, and some people didn’t agree with it, like me. Black people would normally be slaves for white, do chores, clean, and more. George Washington even owned some slaves! They got no pay, other than some food, but many didn’t get any and starved. On the other hand, most women also didn’t get to go fight, or do what they wanted. People thought girls or women should sew, or help deliver babies, wear dresses, and had to stay at home, if they weren't any of these, and just cook and help the children. Little girls would get worse, or no education BECAUSE they are a girl. Some people thought it was unfair.

People did have fun though. They had parties, they had dinners, they had balls, after they put their kids to sleep, or at midnight. After a hard day at work, they normally go out to drink, or hangout. The church was also a big part that other people used to interact, people loved to go. This is how the people were in colonial times!

Have you ever wondered about how the west Africans were shipped off to the Americas to be enslaved? First you need to know that the British didn't just go to Africa and take the slaves. They were caught by raiders in west Africa or in wars then they faced a hundred mile walk or so. Then the British would meet at the coast and take them on the ships. The ships were especially brutal because they could not get any exercise or move around; sometimes they would not even be able to move at all. And some of them even tried to kill themselves but the captains did not let this happen and whipped them when they tried. Then they were sold off to individual people in the Americas. In this paragraph you learned about how the slave trade and transportation worked.

In the American colonies, slaves usually worked in fields and sometimes were sold at auctions. Families were separated at auctions because they were sold separately and usually never saw their family again. Slaves worked VERY, VERY, VERY, hard. They had small breaks to get food one at noon and one in the evening. Most slaves slept on dirt floors but some had a hay bed and a blanket.

Slaves did not like the way their masters treated them. They usually tried to escape and hid in the woods. Some slaves killed their owners but got caught by other slave owners. The West Africans hated being slaves.

In the Americas and Europe many people believed that the system of slavery was fair because black people were thought to be less important. This quote shows that it is not fair The author of this article writes, “How was this system of slavery justified? After all, it was common among European nations that claimed to support freedom and liberty” (Race and forced labor, Part I). They still thought it was fair even though the slaves were not free and their laws sometimes said that everyone should have liberty, but for slaves this was not the case. This was how unfair and unjust the Europeans and Colonists were to slaves.

French & Indian War (by Ayaan): The French and Indian War occurred from 1754-1763. In this war Great Britain and the French were fighting to claim more control over land in North America. A TCI article says, “Great Britain and France could not agree about which country should control these lands” (The French and Indian War). Both the British and the French had allies amongst the colonists and Indians. The same TCI article says, “Because many American Indian tribes were allies of the French, the British colonists called the conflict the French and Indian War” (The French and Indian War).

In the beginning of the war, Great Britain lost many battles. But later things changed to favor the British. The author of the same TCI article says, “France gave up its land claims in present-day Canada to Great Britain. The British also won the land between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains” (The French and Indian War). Even though Britain won the war, one major problem that occured is that they were left with a lot of bills and debt.

Proclamation of 1763 (by Drew): Britain and parliament tried to stop fights by saying that the colonists could not move to the land west of the Appalachian Mountains because the reason why was so they could save the land for the Native Americans, since the Native Americans were afraid that the colonists would destroy their way of life. But some colonists didn’t like the law because it made them rely on Great Britain. Because of this, they ignored this law and moved there anyway. This disagreement between the colonists and Great Britain was part of the reason they continued to disagree and eventually went to war.

Quartering Act, Stamp Act, Frustration and Responses to Taxes (by Noa): Parliament passed some acts that colonists did not agree with. Two of these acts were the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act. The Quartering Act was an act that forced colonists to feed and house the British soldiers. The colonists didn’t like this because the soldiers were rude. In TCI, it says, “The relationship between the soldiers and the colonists worsened” (The Boston Massacre). This eventually led to the Boston Massacre. The Stamp Act made the colonists pay a tax on all printed papers. The colonists didn’t want to pay these taxes, so some of them stopped buying things. Later, even more things became taxed. TCI said, “These laws, called the Townshend Acts, taxed several goods that the colonies imported. These goods included lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea. In protest, the colonists again stopped buying British goods” (The Stamp Act). The colonists did not like having to pay taxes and house rude people, so they protested. Some colonists protested the Quartering Act by throwing wood and snowballs at some soldiers. No one knows how it started, but the soldiers fired, and 5 colonists died. This accident was the Boston Massacre. People protested the Stamp Act, too. TCI says, “Groups from different colonies joined together in protest against the Stamp Act” (The Stamp Act). The Quartering Act and the Stamp Act were both acts that the colonists didn’t like, and which they protested in different ways.