Chapter 3 sec. 1 Notes
Early English Settlements
I.
England in America
A. Trading rivalry and religious difference divided Spain and England
i. King Philip II (Spain) wanted a Catholic ruler on the throne of England
ii. King Philip II did not consider Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, to be the rightful ruler of
England
iii. Sir Francis Drake (England) attacked Spanish ships and ports – King Philip II thought he should
be punished, but instead Queen Elizabeth made him a knight
iv. Philip sent the Spanish Armada to conquer England, but failed
v. War between England and Spain continued until 1604, but the defeat of the armada marked
the end of Spanish control of the seas
B. 1538 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert – claims Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth
C. 1539 – Queen Elizabeth gives Sir Walter Raleigh the right to claim land in North America
i. Raleigh sent an expedition to look for a place to settle – picked Roanoke Island (off the coast
of present-day North Carolina)
1. 1585 – Raleigh sends about 100 men to settle the Island –after a difficult winter the
colonist return to England
2. 1587 – Raleigh tries again – sends 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children to Roanoke
a. John White – a map maker and artist – led the group
b. Virginia Dare – White’s granddaughter – 1st English child born in North
America
c. Settlers needed more supplies – White sailed for England to get supplies and
recruit more settlers
d. White’s return is delayed almost 3 years
e. Finds Roanoke deserted – only clue as to what happened to settlers Croatoan
carved on post
f. Colonist never seen again
g. Roanoke was Raleigh’s last attempt to establish a colony in the Americas
D. 1606 – King James I gives several merchant groups charters (the right to organize settlements in an
area)
i. Virginia Company of London: joint-stock company – received a charter and in December of
1606 sent 144 settlers to build a colony in N. America
1. Sailed into Chesapeake Bay in April 1607 and sailed up a river flowing into the bay
a. Named the river James and the colony Jamestown in honor of King James I
b. Area i. Swampy area full of disease carrying mosquitoes – not good
farmland
ii. On peninsula – could be easily defended from attack
c. Colonist faced many hardships:
i. Not accustomed to hard labor
ii. Disease and hunger - Searched for gold and silver, instead of growing
food
iii. By spring of 1608 – supplies and more settlers arrived - only 38 of
the original 144 colonists remained alive
d. Captain John Smith – leader of Jamestown- forced settlers to work, explored
area, and managed to get corn from the local Native Americans
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
e. August 1609 – 400 new settlers arrived – 2 months later John Smith returned
to England –
i. colony lacked strong leadership
ii. winter of 1609-1610 became known as “the starving time”
iii. By spring only 60 settlers were left
f. John Rolfe –
i. learned to grow a type of tobacco using seeds from the West Indies
ii. 1st crop sold in England 1614 – colony of Virginia began to grow and
prosper
iii. Relations with Native Americans improved with Rolfe married
Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan
Private land ownership was expanded in 1618 – headright – colonist who paid their own way were
given 50-acres of land, settlers also received 50 acres for each family member over 15 years of age
and for each servant brought to Virginia
1619 - Virginia Company agreed to let colonists have some say in their government
i. 10 towns in the colony each sent two representatives, burgesses, to an assembly
1. Had right to make local laws
2. July 30, 1619 – House of Burgesses met for the first time in Jamestown
1619 – Virginia Company sent 90 women to Jamestown – colonist had to pay a fee of 120 pounds of
tobacco to marry one of the women
1619 - Dutch brought 20 African Americans to Jamestown – were sold to planters to work in fields
i. Until about 1640 – some African laborers in Jamestown were free and even owned property
ii. William Tucker – 1st African American born in the American colonies (was a free man)
iii. Slavery was 1st recognized in Virginia law in the 1660s
1624 – King James canceled the company’s charter and made Jamestown an royal colony