Name: ____________________________
Jamestown: Part 1
Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonies did not live and grow,
but Englishmen kept on trying to plant a colony in the
New World. Some men in London wanted to send settlers
to Virginia, but none of them was rich enough to start a
colony by himself. So all of them put their money
together and started the Virginia Company. Other
Englishmen joined them by putting their money too. They each owned a small share (part) of
the company. A share of a company can also be called “stock.” In this way, the Englishmen
who put their money together to form the Virginia Company were stockholders, because they
each held stock, a share of the company they had created.
By this time, Queen Elizabeth was dead, and James I was the king of England. King
James claimed that Virginia belonged to him, because he was England’s king. He told the men
in the Virginia Company that they might send settlers to Virginia.
At last everything was ready for the voyage. Three ships were coming to Virginia. They
were named the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. The Susan Constant was
the biggest ship and was 116 feet long. The Discovery was the smallest and was only 49 feet
long. Today all three of these ships would look very small to us, but they were strong and
could ride the storms. The Virginia Company found a brave sea captain to take charge of the
voyage. His name was Captain Christopher Newport.
In December 1606, the three little ships left England to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.
The ships were sailing to a land where there were dark forests, Indians, and wild animals.
They were bringing men to settle a new land. In this new land, the settlers hoped to find gold,
and they hoped to find adventure. About one hundred men and three or four boys sailed on
the three ships. Many of the men were soldiers. Some of the settlers were also carpenters
and other men who knew how to work with their hands. Some were men who had never
done any hard work. These men were English gentlemen. One of the settlers was a minister
of the Church of England. He was the Reverend Robert Hunt. English people loved their
church, and the settlers planned to build a church in their Virginia colony.
The Virginia Company tried to send everything the settlers would need in the new land.
They sent axes to cut down trees and saws and hammers and nails to build houses. There
were hatchets and knives. There were iron pots and pans for cooking. There were beds and
blankets and tents. The Company sent guns and cannon for the fort that the men would build
in Virginia. They sent seed for the settlers to plant in their garden and food to eat while the
garden was growing.
In those days there were no canned foods and no refrigerators. The ships sailing to
Virginia carried dried peas and beans and salt meat. Live hogs were put in a pen on the deck.
When the captain wanted fresh meat, the cook had to go on deck and kill a hog. Ships carried
barrels of flour, and they carried raisins and dried plums to cook in puddings. They took
oranges and lemons, because people would get sick if they did not have that kind of fruit.
There were boxes of thick hard crackers, called “ship’s biscuits.” They carried barrels of fresh
water. With all these supplies there was very little room on the ships for the settlers. They
had to sleep in a low place under the deck. Down there a man had to stoop very low, or he
would bump his head. It was dark, and there was no fresh air.
Directions: Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. Where did the men live who wanted to put their money together to form a company that
would start a colony in the New World?
A. Paris, France
B. Madrid, Spain
C. Roanoke Island
D. London, England
2. What was the name of the Englishmen’s organization?
A. London Company
B. Wealthy Men of England’s Club
C. Virginia Company
D. England Company
3. What does it mean to be a stockholder?
A. A person owns a small share (part) of the company
B. A person gets wealthy from the company
C. A person owns the company and donates parts of it to people he likes.
D. A person shares the company with the government
4. Who became the ruler of England when Queen Elizabeth died?
A. King Charles
B. King James
C. Prince Henry
D. Queen Victoria
5. How many ships did the Virginia Company send to the New World?
A. 8
B. 5
C. 3
D. 1
6. Which is NOT the name of a ship that sailed to the New World from the Virginia Company
in 1607?
A. Susan Constant
B. Mayflower
C. Discovery
D. Godspeed
7. Who was the sea captain in charge of the voyage?
A. John Smith
B. Christopher Columbus
C. Christopher Newport
D. Robert Hunt
8. What did the settlers hope to find?
A. gold
B. arable land
C. tobacco
D. the people of the Lost Colony
9. What is NOT something the settlers brought on board with them on their voyage?
A. hogs
B. dried beans
C. bottled water
D. lemons and oranges
10.Where did the settlers have to sleep on their way across the ocean?
A. On deck
B. In the captain’s quarters
C. A low place under the deck
D. Up in the rafters