Jamestown Study Guide (VS.3 d,e,g)
You will need to know the following items for the test:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY-1619
 General Assembly– In 1619 the Governor called a meeting of the General Assembly.
It included:
 Governor (appointed by the king)
 Governor’s council (appointed by the governor)
 Burgesses-2 citizen representatives from each division of Virginia
The General Assembly met as one legislative body (law making body)
Only certain free adult men had the right to take part in the government
Jamestown’s system of government was called the General Assembly.
Important date- 1619 – the Governor called a meeting of the General Assembly.
By the 1640’s the burgesses became a separate legislative (law making) body called the
House of Burgesses.
The House of Burgesses met separately from the Governor’s Council and was one of 2
legislative bodies.
The House of Burgesses was the first ELECTED legislative body in English America.
The House of Burgesses gave settlers the opportunity to control their own government.
The General Assembly later became known as the General Assembly of Virginia which
continues to make our laws in Virginia today.
Today’s General Assembly of Virginia dates back to 1619 and the establishment of the
General Assembly and it burgesses
ARRIVAL OF AFRICANS-1619
1n 1619 the first African men and women arrived in Jamestown against their will.
They were brought here by Portuguese sailors
They were brought from what today is Angola.
It is uncertain if the first Africans in Virginia were servants or enslaved people.
The arrival of Africans made it possible to expand the tobacco economy.
ARRIVAL OF WOMEN-1620
In 1620 the first “Bride Ship” arrived in Jamestown.
The arrival of women made it possible for:
 settlers to start families
 helped make Jamestown a more permanent settlement
ENGLISH & POWHATAN
 The native peoples and the English settlers at Jamestown established trading
relationships and got along in the beginning
 Captain John Smith initiated (started) trading relationships with the native peoples.
 The native peoples traded mainly food with the English in exchange for tools, pots,
and copper for jewelry.
In the beginning, the Powhatan helped the settlers survive by:
 Powhatan, chief of many tribes, provided leadership to his people and taught the
settlers survival skills.
 Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, helped to keep good contact between the
settlers and natives
 The native peoples showed the settlers how to plant corn and tobacco
Why did the relationship between the Jamestown settlers and the native peoples change?
 Over time, the native peoples realized the English settlement would continue to grow.
 The native peoples came to see the settlers as invaders who would take over their
land.