Early English Settlements Study Guide (3.1, beginning 3.2)
*Review all foldables (Red = Roanoke, Green = Jamestown, Yellow = Plymouth)
Terms to Know:
Spanish Armada
Spain’s fleet of warships, were defeated by
England which marked the end of Spanish
control of the seas
Croatoan
mysterious word carved into a tree near the
entrance to Roanoke settlement
People to Know:
Queen Elizabeth
Queen of England who gave Sir Walter Raleigh
the right to claim land in North America
Charter
document granting the right to organize
settlements in an area
John White
artist and mapmaker who led the settlers at
Roanoke, returned to England for supplies and
no one was there when he returned 3 years
later
Joint-stock company
a company in which investors buy stock in the
company in return for a share in its future
profits
Sir Walter Raleigh
explorer who claimed Roanoke Island for
England
Virginia Dare
Virginia Company
the first English child born in North America
a joint-stock company chartered by King James
I with the purpose of establishing settlements King James I
in North America
canceled the Virginia Company’s charted and
made Jamestown England’s first royal colony
in America.
Headright
a 50-acre land grant given to colonial settlers
who paid their own way to North America
House of Burgesses
government where representatives of the
colony’s town met to make local laws
“The Starving Time”
the winter of 1609-1610 when Jamestown
lacked a strong leader
Captain John Smith
an experienced explorer who forced the
settlers to work, explored the area, and
sought corn from the local Natives
Chief Powhatan
father of Pocahontas, lived in the area of
Jamestown
John Rolfe
brought tobacco to the settlement which
helped them to prosper
The Mayflower
Boat the pilgrims used to arrive at North America
Pocahontas
married John Rolfe, which improved the
English relations with the Natives
“Strangers”
Puritans
common people on the Mayflower, made up of
servants, craftspeople, and poor farmers. They
hoped to find a better life in America.
protestants who wanted to reform the Anglican
church
Mayflower Compact
Separatists
a formal document, written in 1620, that provided
law and order to the Plymouth colony.
protestants who wanted to leave the Anglican
Church and set up their own churches
Pilgrims
First Thanksgiving
meal split between the Native Americans and the
Pilgrims as a sign of their harmony with each
other.
separatists who journeyed to the colonies during
the 1600s for a religious purpose
William Bradford
historian and leader of the Mayflower
Squanto
Native American who befriends the colonists at
Plymouth
Essential Questions:
3.1 – Why did the English settle in North America?
 Set up a base in the “new world”
 Search for gold and establish trade in fish and furs
3.2 (beginning) – Why did the Separatists and Puritans leave England and settle in North
America?
 They wanted to reform the Anglican Church and set up their own churches
 Freedom of religion