Discovering Our Past: A History of the United States
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
Sir Walter Raleigh (1)
Queen Elizabeth gave him the right to settle Virginia
and claim it for England. He attempted to make a
colony at Roanoke.
Roanoke (1)
Roanoke Island was settled once in 1587 and again
in 1589. The second time the colonists disappeared
while Raleigh was away. They were never found.
“Croatoan” (1)
This word was found carved into a tree/gate post
when Raleigh returned to resupply the colony. The
Natives may have taken the settlers to Croatoan
Island.
Jamestown 1607 (1)
The Virginia Company got permission from King
James I to settle Virginia. Jamestown was a colony
on the James River that was founded for profit.
Charter (1)
A charter was a letter of permission from a King to
found (start) a colony. The government would
share in the profit as part of the agreement.
Joint-stock company (1)
Investors bought shares (invested) in a colony with
the intention of getting more money back one day.
When the Virginia Company founded Jamestown,
many hoped to get rich, but nobody would.
House of Burgesses (1)
Jamestown had the first elected body of lawmakers
in North America. At this time, they were white,
landowning males.
Powhatan (1)
The name of the Indian group living where
Jamestown was settled (also the name of the
leader). They traded with the settlers at first, but
relations became hostile.
“Starving time” (1)
The winter of 1609-1610 was deadly at Jamestown
because the colonists ran out of food stores. They
could not go forage without being attacked.
Separatists (2)
Englishmen and women who did not agree with the
principles of the new Anglican Church were
persecuted. Many chose to leave and received
permission to settle in the English colony of Virginia.
Mayflower Compact (2)
The separatists, or pilgrims, got lost and made
landfall in Cape Cod, Mass. They chose to stay
there and wrote up a government document.
Massachusetts Bay Company (2)
In 1630 another group of religious separatists
settled north of the pilgrims (at Plymouth). They
were led by John Winthrop. In the next decade
thousands of people would leave England and settle
Boston and the surrounding areas.
Patroon (2)
The area of New York was originally owned by the
Dutch. Rich landowners called patroons had poor
farmers work their land and pay taxes in the form of
crops.
Society of Friends (3)
William Penn was a Quaker who brought religious
followers to Pennsylvania. They believed in
pacifism and tolerance of religious views. The
colony was a “holy experiment.”
Indentured Servants (4)
They agreed to work in the colonies to pay for their
passage (ticket) over. They were often treated like
slaves, although they chose to leave England and
the arrangement was temporary.
Sir George Calvert, Lord Baltimore (4)
Maryland started as a religious colony where
English Catholics would not be persecuted.
Indentured servants and African slaves worked on
large plantations. Eventually England would take
over the colony and it would be heavily Protestant.
Indigo (4)
Indigo was a crop grown for sale (a cash crop) in the
Carolinas along with rice and tobacco. These crops
were worked by slaves on large plantations.
James Oglethorpe (4)
He founded Georgia as a debtor colony where poor
English citizens could get a fresh start. England
wanted the colony to block possible Spanish raids
from Florida.