UNIT 2: European Colonization
A long time (about 500 years) ago on
a continent far, far away …
• Renaissance brought new
discoveries in shipbuilding,
navigation, and mapmaking
• European countries began
sailing oceans to find new
trade routes to Asia
• Columbus’ discovery of the
Americas led to race to
establish colonies
Why Did They Want Colonies?
• Mercantilism: trade wealth = national power
• Countries needed natural resources to sell or
manufacture into trade goods
• Colonies a source of raw materials (GOLD?!)
Meanwhile, back in Europe …
RELIGIOUS WARFARE!
• Newly Protestant countries (ex. England)
feuding with Catholic countries (ex. Spain)
over which Christianity is the right one
• Minority religious groups faced persecution
(even death!)
• Most land owned by nobles or church – lack of
economic opportunity for commoners
The Three G’s of European
Exploration
•GOLD–Make money
•GLORY--Military heroes
•GOD–Religious Freedom OR spread
Christianity to Native Americans
Who Colonized America?
SPAIN (you learned about them in TX History):
• Explored southern part of North America
• Conquered and enslaved Natives in South and
Central America and American Southwest
• Built missions, established farms, but few
large settlements – wanted to make Natives
into Spanish citizens
FRANCE:
• Explored and claimed Mississippi Valley
and central U.S. – named Louisiana after
King Louis XIV
• Claimed eastern Canada
• Few settlers – mostly wanted to find gold,
trap furs and trade
• Established several important trade
centers – Montreal, Quebec, and New
Orleans
and finally …
ENGLAND
• Settled eastern North America along Atlantic
coast; competed with French for Canada
• Brought many settlers with families –
established towns, ports, and farming
communities
• Not as concerned with missionary work – saw
Natives as a threat to expansion
Unit 2 BIG IDEAS
1. English settlers came to America hoping to
find economic opportunity and religious
freedom they couldn’t have in Europe
2. Settlers endured many hardships such as
disease, hunger, and Native conflicts before
achieving successful colonies
3. English tradition, Protestant religion, and the
distance from home led to representative
governments in the colonies
VIRGINIA: The 1st English Colony
• Establishing colonies expensive – ships, men,
tools, and supplies needed for success
• Joint stock company – investors buy stock in
company, then share in profits or lose money
• Virginia Company founded to find investors
for new colony in North America
• Charter - legal permission from a monarch
(king or queen) to establish a colony – settlers
have same rights as citizens at home
1607 - Jamestown
• Named after King James I
• Chose deep water port on
James River – easy to
defend from rival explorers
but …
• Settlement on swampy land
with bad water
• Mosquitos, disease, and
poor land for farming
What did Jamestown look like?
First Settlers
• First group – 104 men (women came later)
• “Gentlemen” – wealthy English and their
servants - not used to work
• Indentured servants – poor men who sold
their labor for passage to Virginia
• Arrived in May - too late to plant spring crops
• Poor leadership - more concerned with
finding gold than survival
• Over half die in first year …
Captain John Smith
• 27 year old adventurer,
arrived in 1608
• Captured by Powhattan
(Algonquin chief) –
Pocahontas saved his life
• Took leadership role in
Jamestown
• He who doesn’t work doesn’t eat
“Starving Time”
• John Smith wounded in 1609, returned to
England
• Poor leadership, conflicts with Natives left
Jamestown unprepared for winter
• Only 60 of 214 settlers survived – ate
whatever they could (even cannibalism), used
buildings for firewood – settlement near
failure
• Governor De la Warr arrived in 1610 with
supplies and skilled builders – colony survived!
Tobacco Saves Jamestown
• Jamestown losing money –
investors angry!
• 1609 – John Rolfe brought
Spanish tobacco seeds from West
Indies – grew well in Virginia soil
and climate
• 1612 – introduced tobacco to
Jamestown after it proved
successful
• Tobacco popular in Europe –
Jamestown now had profitable
crop
Pocahontas Marries
• Royal weddings used in Europe to make peace
between countries, so …
• 1614 – John Rolfe married Pocahontas,
daughter of Chief Powhatan
• Short period of peace followed …
1619 - House of Burgesses
• Colonists wanting more independence from
Virginia Company rule
• Established House of Burgesses – members
(burgesses) elected by male land owners to
make laws for the colony
• First representative
government in colonies
First Africans Arrive
• Also in 1619, the first Africans arrived in
Jamestown as laborers
• First more like servants than slaves, but true
slavery of Africans would become a major part
of Virginia’s plantation economy
The Peace Ends
• Settlers continued expansion on Native land
• Chief Powhatan died, and new chief attacked
Jamestown in 1622 - 347 settlers killed
• King revoked the Virginia Company’s charter
and made Virginia a Royal Colony
• Fighting would continue on the frontier until
1645
• Natives forced to cede (give away) land and
recognize the authority of the King.