Colonial America Chapter 3 Section 1: The Southern Colonies Several European nations took part in the race to claim lands in the Americas. Their next step was to establish colonies in the lands that they claimed. The first English colonies were started in the late 1500s but failed. Even in successful colonies, colonists faced hardships and challenges. The Mystery of Roanoke 1584 Queen Elizabeth I gave Sir Walter Raleigh the right to claim land in North America His scouts said a place called Roanoke Island was a good place for a colony (present-day North Carolina, but Raleigh called it Virginia at the time) Raleigh sent settlers there twice – 1st in 1585 which they gave up and left after a tough winter; 2nd in 1587 Raleigh sent 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children. John White led the second group; his granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was the first English child to be born in North America White had to leave for supplies, when he returned the colony was deserted and the only clue was a tree with the word Croatoan carved in it. Queen Elizabeth I (left), Sir Walter Raleigh (middle), and John White (right) Settlements in Jamestown 1605 - Joint-stock company of English merchants, The London Company, asked King James I for the right to found a settlement 1606 – King James I granted the request of the company to settle in a region called Virginia 1607 (April 26) – First 105 colonists arrived in America. 1607 (May 14)- Colonists established the first permanent English settlement, Jamestown 40 miles up the James River Many were unprepared and did not have skills in farming and carpentry. Two-thirds of the original settlers died by winter. http://www.history.com/topics/jamestown Powhatan Confederacy 1608 – John Smith took control of colony and built a fort He made people work harder and implemented a rewards system that would reward the harder workers with food. Colonists received help from the Powhatan Confederacy of Native Americans. 1609 – 400 more settlers arrived in Jamestown 1610 – only 60 settlers remained due to disease, famine. Jamestown made no profit until John Rolfe introduced a new type of tobacco that sold well in England. Powhatan, paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy John Smith (top) and John Rolfe (bottom) Pocahontas – Debunking the Disney Myth She was born around 1595 to the Powhatan Chief. Her birth name was Matoaka. Pocahontas was a nickname which meant “the naughty one” or the “spoiled one.” She was a child (about age 10) at the time of John Smith’s arrival and did not have a romance with him. In his original writing, John Smith said he had a great feast with the Powhatan chief after he sat and spoke with him. In his letter to Queen Anne, he stated that Pocahontas saved him. Scholars now believe he was pretentious in his writings to gain notoriety in England. Pocahontas went to the Jamestown settlement often to help settlers when food supply was low. Debunking the Disney Myth On April 13, 1613, she was captured by Samuel Argall during one of her visits, and held for ransom for some English planters being held prisoner by her father. John Rolfe took a “special interest” and conditioned her release upon her marrying him. Rolfe was 29-years-old, Pocahontas about 17-19 years old. Pocahontas was baptized under the name Rebecca Rolfe. She went to England with Rolfe. She was used as propaganda to gain support for the Virginia colony. Pocahontas had one son, Thomas Rolfe. She died in 1617 after becoming ill on her way back to Virginia from England. She was buried in St. George’s Church in Gravesend, United Kingdom. War in Virginia 1614 – John Rolfe married teenager Pocahontas, daughter of the Powhatan leader Their marriage helped ease relations between the English and the Powhatan. 1617 – Pocahontas died while visiting England with John Rolfe. 1622 – colonists killed a Powhatan leader and they responded by attacking the Virginia settlers later that year. Fighting lasted for 20 years. 1624- The English Crown could not protect the English settlers, and therefore canceled the London Company’s charter. Virginia became royal colony under the authority of a governor appointed by the king. Daily Life in Virginia People lived in scattered farms; tobacco farmers established plantations. Tobacco was so valuable was used as money sometimes Headright System – colonists who paid their own way to Virginia were given 50 acres of land; could earn another 50 acres for each additional person they brought over. High death rates = labor shortages; majority of workers were indentured servants – servants who signed contracts to work for 4 to 7 years for those who paid for their journey. Expansion of Slavery 1619 – Dutch ship brings first Africans to Virginia. Some Africans were servants; others were enslaved. Some Africans became successful farmers when they’re contract was up and even had slaves. Anthony Johnson -The most prominent African American former indentured servant to acquire freedom, wealth, and slaves. The moment when the trend of slavery becoming race-based was in a case with white indentured servants and a black servant plotted to run away and stole food and gun powder. Born c. 1600 in Angola and died in 1670. The men were given variations of punishments, but the black man was sentenced to life of servitude, establishing the first legal instance of race-based slavery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8XP4-6UBcM Bacon’s Rebellion Jamestown economy began to grow due to plantations; and officials asked for more taxes Mid-1600s – Poor colonists protested the taxes and did not think the colony was well protected against attack. 1676 – Nathanial Bacon and some former indentured servants launch attacks on friendly Native Americans. He believed that colonists should be able to take the NA’s land The governor, William Berkeley tried to stop him; Bacon and his followers burned down Jamestown Bacon controlled most of the colony at one point, then died of fever and rebellion ended. Impact of Bacon’s Rebellion Bacon’s Rebellion showed that whites and blacks could come together to overthrow the elite and powerful. Before the rebellion, poor whites and blacks (slave or not) interacted with each other as equals. After the rebellion, indentured servitude declined due to finishing their servitude and going back to England, and the African slave trade increased dramatically as their labor was more profitable than indentured servants. The elite class was terrified, and began to move towards racebased slavery and labor. Militia jobs, such as plantation overseers and slave catchers, were created for poor whites to police people, mainly slaves. Having poor whites given jobs to control slaves gave them a direct investment in slavery, and eliminated the possibility of poor whites and black alliancing to overthrow the elite, wealthy, plantation-owning class. (According to Michelle Alexander’s book “The New Jim Crow) Other Southern Colonies Maryland 1620s – the first Lord Baltimore George Calvert asked King Charles I for a charter to establish a colony for Catholics in America. King Charles issued the charter to his son Cecilius, the second Lord Baltimore Named it Maryland in honor of England’s queen Henrietta Maria. Located just north of Virginia in Chesapeake Bay area Maryland was a propriety colony meant that the owners of the colony would control the government. In 1634, 200 English Catholics came to Maryland Maryland colonists learned lessons from Jamestown; raised corn, cattle and hogs for food; then grew tobacco for profit Maryland: Religious Tolerance Catholics founded Maryland; but many Protestants begin moving there in the 1640s Religious conflicts arose between the two groups. Resolution: Lord Baltimore presented a bill to the colonial assembly known as the Toleration Act of 1649 The bill made it a crime to restrict the religious rights of Christians The Carolinas In 1663, English king Charles II gave much of the land between Virginia and Spanish Florida to eight of his supporters. First there was Carolina, a single colony. It was hard to manage due to things being far apart 1712 – the colony separated into North and South Carolina N. Carolina mostly consisted of farmers that moved south from Virginia S. Carolina primarily had settlers from Europe. Those who paid their own way received large grants of land, and some brought enslaved Africans with them By 1730 about 20,000 enslaved Africans were living in the colony compared to 10,000 white farmers. Carolinas Carolinas were originally propriety colonies, but the proprietors mismanaged the government and were overthrown in 1719 The Crown bought North and South Carolina and made them royal colonies in 1729 Georgia King George I granted a charter to James Oglethorpe and other trustees to found Georgia in 1732 Oglethorpe wanted a new place for debtors, who had been jailed for their debts in England Oglethorpe and 120 colonists, mostly from England, founded the city of Savannah. Oglethorpe wanted many small farms instead of large plantations owned by a few wealthy in Georgia He outlawed slavery and limited the size of land grants. Settlers grew unhappy with Oglethorpe’s strict rules and the British government made GA a royal colony Soon the coast was filled with large rice plantations worked by thousands of slaves. Types of Colonies Charter – Charter Colonies were governed by joint-stock companies or community Propriety - Proprietary Colonies were established in territories which had been granted by the English Crown to one, or more, proprietors who had full governing rights Royal – Royal Colonies were ruled directly by the English monarchy Economies of the Southern States Economy depended on agriculture Other profits were made from exporting shipbuilding materials (wood and tar) and deerskin trading with the Native Americans Farmers in the South enjoyed warm climates and long growing seasons. Many farmers grew cash crops (crops for profit) such as tobacco, rice and indigo (a plant used to make blue dye) Slavery was the main source of labor Slavery was viciously brutal; Olaudah Equiano, a former slave, recorded his experience. Most southern states passed slave codes (laws to control slaves). The more slaves in the colony, the stricter the slave codes Some slaveholders were not allowed to free their slaves.
