SSUSH1A

European Settlement of North America (The Chesapeake Colonies)

England’s Renewed Interest in North America

• The Reformation in Europe created a growing rivalry between

England and Spain

• England didn’t have any naval ports near the Caribbean

• English Privateers were unable to attack Spanish Ships in the Caribbean

England’s Renewed Interest in North America

• Queen Elizabeth granted the first charter to Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578. • He died after two failed attempts to colonize North America.

• In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh led 100 men to establish a colony on Roanoke Island.

• He named the new territory Virginia after Queen Elizabeth, “The Virgin Queen.”

• When an English ship returned in 1590, the colonists were all gone: No Bodies were found; only a settlement of empty buildings.

England Establishes Three Types of British Colonies

• Self-Governing Colonies formed when the King granted a Charter to a

Joint-Stock Company, allowing them to set up its own government.

• It was basically a partnership between Private Investors and the Crown.

• Proprietary Colonies were basically huge Land Grants from the Crown

to trusted officials.

• These Colonial Governors reported directly to the King.

• Royal Colonies were territories directly owned and controlled by the King.

The Chesapeake Colonies

• The first permanent English settlements in North America were located

around the Chesapeake Bay region.

• The two primary colonies in this

region were Virginia and Maryland.

• Virginia was originally established as

a Self-Governing Colony.

• A group of investors in London formed

the Virginia Company with the hope of

making Instant Profits from the

colony’s raw materials.

• In 1607 they established Jamestown,

which was England’s first settlement.

England’s First Permanent Colonial Settlement

• The Jamestown Colony was not

successful due to the lack of:

1. Leadership

2. Work Ethics

3. Survival Skills

4. Sanitary Practices

• Captain John Smith emerged

as the most capable leader

and eventually established

trade with the Native

Americans

• However, after he was forced to return to

England, the Jamestown colony declined

England’s First Permanent Colonial Settlement

• The Winter of 1609-1610 was

known as the

“Starving Time”

• Due to the lack of food,

the Colonists ate:

1. Dogs

2. Rats

3. Snakes

4. Toadstools

5. Horsemeat

6. Human Remains

Relations with the Native Americans

• The Native American group in Virginia was called the Powhatan Confederacy.

• This group was made up of

forty tribes of Algonquin

speakers.

• Chief Powhatan’s need for

allies caused him to initially

befriend the English

• Legend has it that the Chief’s

daughter, Pocahontas saved the

life of Captain John Smith.

Relations with the Native Americans

• Relations between the Native Americans and the

English got worse after the colony was taken

over by Lord De La Warr.

• War occurred between the Native Americans

and the English between 1610-1614.

• Peace was acquired

when Pocahontas

married John Rolfe.

After Chief Powhatan’s Death, the Natives

attacked the Jamestown settlement, killing

347 settlers.

Virginia Grows from a Settlement to a Colony

• Farmer John Rolfe created a blend of Tobacco that

was desirable in England.

• This gave Jamestown a Cash-Crop economy.

• From 1616 to 1619, Jamestown’s Tobacco Crops

grew nearly twenty-fold.

• Labor shortages in Jamestown

led the British to establish the

Headright System.

• This system offered 50 acres

of land to those who would

come and settle the colony.

Virginia Grows from a Settlement to a Colony

• It also offered land to those who would pay

for the Transportation of laborers who could

not afford the passage.

• Indentured Servants were laborers who agreed

to work 5 to 7 years in exchange for the cost

of their passage to the British Colonies.

• The first African Servants arrived in Jamestown

in 1619.

• Originally they were treated just like Indentured

Servants

• Eventually, they were treated as Chattel

(Like any other moveable property)

Virginia’s Government and Rebellion

• The first legislative body in the British Colonies was the House of

Burgesses, formed in 1619.

• Initially they ruled over

Virginia with little

interference from the King.

• Problems in the Colony caused

the King to revoke their

Charter in 1624, changing

Virginia into a Royal Colony.

• By the 1660’s, many Indentured Servants and Tenant Farmers wanted to

acquire their own lands in the Virginia Backwoods.

Virginia’s Government and Rebellion

• The members of the House of Burgesses didn’t want the colonists

expanding into the backwoods due to hostilities with the Native Americans.

• After Native Americans attacked landless and

backwoods farmers, a Rebellion erupted under

the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon.

• When the Colonial Governor

condemned their actions

against the Natives, the

rebels burned Jamestown.

• Eventually, the Governor’s Militia forced the rebels

to flee to the swamps.

Virginia’s Government and Rebellion

• Nathaniel Bacon, the rebel

leader, died of Dysentery.

• The Rebellion caused the government to:

1. Look after the welfare of all

colonists (regardless of wealth).

2. Expand territory regardless of

the impact on the Native Americans.

The Other Chesapeake Colony

• In 1632, King Charles granted George Calvert (Lord

Baltimore) a charter to create a Proprietary Colony

in the Chesapeake Bay region called Maryland.

• As the owner (proprietor), Lord Baltimore ruled the

Colony in the King’s name.

• This gave him power to:

1. Appointed Officials

2. Coin Money

3. Impose Taxes

4. Grant Lands

5. Establish Courts

6. Create Towns

The Other Chesapeake Colony

• Although established as a refuge

for persecuted Catholics, most of

the settlers were actually Protestant

• In 1649, the Colonial Legislature in

Maryland passed the Toleration Act.

This was the first law in the

British Colonies establishing

Religious Tolerance.