Early English
Settlements
Sir Walter Raleigh
“The Unfortunate”
6 foot tall
Englishman who
won Queen
Elizabeth’s affection
Legend says that he
took off his cloak so
that Queen
Elizabeth could
cross a puddle
without getting wet.
Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter
Raleigh also
won favor
with Queen
Elizabeth I
by informing
her of a plot
to take her
throne
Coronation portrait
of w:en:Elizabeth I of
England. Unknown
painter, 1558. Public
domain image
Mary I of
Scotland in
captivity,
c.1580,
unknown
artist. Public
domain image
Mary Queen of Scots was
the niece of Queen
Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII
Many believed that she was
the rightful heir to the throne
after Mary I died.
Mary Queen of Scots had
made many enemies.
• She was a Roman
Catholic
• She was believed to
have been part of a
conspiracy that led to the
murder of her 2nd
Mary Queen of Scots
The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots
by Robert Herdman
Because of her unpopularity in
Scotland, she went to Queen
Elizabeth for help
Instead, Elizabeth locked her in the
Tower of London for 19 years
While there, Mary Queen of Scots is
believed to have endorsed a plot to
overthrow Queen Elizabeth and
install her as Queen
When Elizabeth was told of the plot,
she ordered her execution (although
not enthusiastically)
During her execution, she wore a
scarlet garment that symbolized
Catholic martyrdom… The
executioner was not able to sever
her head with one blow… it took two
chops
Interesting fact…
After Queen Elizabeth
died, James I
succeeded her
James I was the son of
Mary Queen of Scots
King James I
So… the successor of
Elizabeth was the child
of a woman she put to
death.
Raleigh sent out 2 explorers
in 1584 who claimed a
territory in the area of present
day N. Carolina… it was
named in Queen Elizabeth’s
honor (Virginia).
Later, Raleigh asked Queen
Elizabeth to grant him a
Charter
• She gave him the right
to set up a colony in North
America
•By 1585, he had enough
money to send 100 men.
Walter Raleigh,
by Nicholas
Hilliard, c.1585.
They landed on an island off
of present-day North Carolina
called Roanoke
Raleigh himself
did not go on
the journey.
John White, an
artist, did go
Source unknown
He drew very
elaborate
pictures of
Native
Americans and
surrounding
landscapes
• The colonists searched for gold unsuccessfully
• They ran out of food and demanded corn from Indians
• Fighting broke out
• The men of Roanoke were discouraged and ready to return
to England
• When Sir Francis Drake arrived with a ship in 1586, all of
the settlers returned to England
1585 sketch by john
white of Indians at
Roanoke
Public domain image
Raleigh was not
discouraged
He asked White to return
in 1587
White agreed to return to
set up a farming
community with several
women
This included his
daughter and son-in-law
who gave birth to the
first English child in the
Americas- Virginia Dare
Virginia Dare’s Baptism
In Roanoke
Supplies ran low on
Roanoke and White
decided to return to
England for supplies
• He left 117 settlers
behind including his
daughter and
granddaughter
• Before leaving, he
told the settlers to write
their location on a tree
or draw a cross if
attacked
Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588 by
Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796
depicts the battle of Gravelines
Public domain image
Unfortunately, White returned as the Spanish Armada attacked
• The few months he promised the Roanoke settlers lasted
3 years
• Queen Elizabeth wanted all ships available to fight the
Spanish
Upon White’s return, he fond his fort deserted
• houses were empty
• vines ran through windows
• books were torn from covers
The word CROATOAN was carved on a tree
• name of Indian tribe and nearby Island
White wanted to
investigate, but a
storm crept up on
the sailors and
they demanded to
leave
White never saw
his family
Roanoke is still a
mystery and is
referred to as the
“Lost Colony”
Public domain image
After Queen Elizabeth
died in 1603, Raleigh's life
got even more difficult
after he was locked in the
Tower of London
He was implicated in a
plot against James I
After being released he
was rearrested years later
for the same crime and
executed
His distraught wife
carried his severed head
in a sack for 29 years
until her death
Source:
National Park
Service
Virginia
Company of
London Seal
Public domain
image
In 1606, the Virginia Company received a charter from James I
to set up a colony in Virginia.
The Virginia Company was a joint stock company
• merchants pooled money to form a company
• merchants would get stock depending on amount
invested… once they had enough capital they’d outfit ships
• In December 1606, the
Virginia Company sent 144
men on 3 ships (Susan
Constant, the Godspeed, and the
Discovery ) to Virginia
40 died during journey
• Upon arrival in 1607, they
faced many problems
including swampy land filled
with diseased mosquitoes
• Many settlers died
Colonists in
Jamestown were
led by a 13 man
council
• poor
leadership, did
not have a
“plan”
• most colonists
spent time
searching for
gold, neglected
crop planting
Captain John Smith
By the summer of 1608,
Jamestown colony was failing.
Captain John Smith decided to
take charge.
Smith was an adventurous young
man, who fought against the Turks
at age 20. He build a reputation as
a bold soldier.
He was captured and sold to a
Turk. The Turk sent him home to
serve his girlfriend, who Smith
claimed fell in love with him.
She sent him to her brother who
promised to train Smith in the
Turkish Royal Service.
Smith murdered the brother and
escaped.
Smith had little sympathy for the settlers and became angered by their
greed
Smith decided to visit some friendly Indians who gave him some food
and the grateful settlers made him leader of Jamestown
Shortly after, he went into the woods with some friends and were
ambushed by Indians
Smith was wounded and
taken to Powhatan, an
Algonquin chief who hated
the English
Powhatan was impressed by
Smith’s composure. It is
believed that his 12 year old
daughter Pocahontas saved
Smith from execution (by
bludgeoning) by begging her
father to spare his life
Pocahontas saving the life of Capt. John Smith. Lithograph by the New Eng. Chromo.
Lith. Co., 1870. Library of Congress
Smith even
succeeded in
getting
Powhatan to
sell the colony
food.
He instituted
strict rules
including the
famous edict,
“He that will
not work, shall
not eat.”
In 1609, John Smith suffered from a
serious gunpowder burn and had to
return to England. The settlers forgot
Smith’s lessons
The Starving Time (1609-1610)
Settlers began eating dogs, cats, snakes, horses….
Also began using wood from houses for firewood
Only 60 people survived the winter
Source: US Army National Guard
The Virginia Company sent Lord De Larr Ware to the their
colony to improve things
He was not successful
• His tactics were brutal
• executed a man for stealing a chicken
• tied a man to a tree for taking a few cups of
oatmeal (man starved to death)
Eventually, there were 3 things that
did save the Jamestown Colony
1. Tobacco Crops
2. Representative Government
3. Arrival of women
TOBACCO in
Jamestown• In 1612, John Rolfe
discovered that the
Virginia soil was perfect
for tobacco
• Imported tobacco
seeds from West Indies
• King James I hated
tobacco calling it “a
stinking weed”
• The Virginia Company
was now able to make
huge profits
Source: unknown
• In 1619, the first
African slaves
arrived in
Jamestown
• About 20 were sold
to the English by
Dutch sailors
• By the late 1600’s,
Virginia Plantation
owners relied
heavily on slave
labor
In 1619, the Virginia Company sent a governor to
Jamestown with orders to consult the settlers on all
matters
Settlers who were
male property
owners could vote
for burgesses, or
representatives
The burgesses
met in an assembly called the
House of
Burgesses
The Virginia House of
Burgesses becomes the first
representative government in
the English colonies
Representative government is
one in which voters elect
representatives to make laws.
It was deeply rooted in the ideas
of the Magna Carta (1215) in
which nobles forced King John I
to consult a Great Council of
nobles and Church leaders
before raising or imposing
taxes. It also guaranteed
citizens a trial by jury. The
Magna Carta held the King
accountable and limited his
powers.
Image from
Cassell's History
of England Century Edition published circa
1902
Public domain
image
The Arrival of Women
The Virginia Company decided
that they needed to make
colonists “more settled”
They sent their first shipload
of 100 women to Jamestown in
1619 (some went voluntarily,
others were convicts)
Each man who found a wife
was required to pay the
Virginia Company 100-150 lbs.
of tobacco
The presence of women did
make life much better, but it
was still very tough
Women made everything from
scratch
(food, clothes, medicine)
The most famous marriage in the colonies was between
John Rolfe and Pocahontas, years before the first large
groups of women arrived
Pocahontas was kidnapped by settlers shortly after John
Smith left Jamestown
Pocahontas accepted Christianity (Anglican), was
baptized, and changed her name to Rebecca
Shortly thereafter, she met John Rolfe and the
two fell in love.
Both the Governor of Virginia and Powhatan
gave their
blessing and
they were
married in
1614.
The wedding of Pocahontas with John Rolf.
Lithograph by Joseph Hoover, 1867.
Library of Congress
They had their
only child,
Thomas, in
1615.
Library of
Congress Prints
and Photographs
Division Public
domain image
In 1616, they traveled to England where Pocahontas
was the center of attention and even the King
requested a meeting with her
Before returning to VA, she contracted small pox
and died in 1617
Many hoped that the
marriage of Rolfe and
Pocahontas would lead to
peace between English
settlers and Indians
The English scorned the
Native Americans’ religion
They also began moving
onto Indian land
The marriage of Pocahontas. Engraving
by John C. McRae, 1855, after Henry
Brueckner. Library of Congress
In 1622, Native Americans from around the
Chesapeake Bay attacked and massacred about 350
settlers
The settlers responded by attacking, killing and
enslaving many Indians
Theodore DeBry engraving of March 22, 1622, when Powhatan Indians massacred Jamestown and
other Virginian settlers. De Bry's woodcut published 1628 in an account of the New World.
When King James
heard about the
attack, he took
management of the
colony from the
Virginia Company
and made
Jamestown a royal
colony, directly
under king’s control
Review 2-3
1. Why was the Roanoke Colony unsuccessful during the first
attempt to colonize it?
2. What were the major differences between the 1st and 2nd attempt
to colonize Roanoke?
3. Why was John White stranded in England for 3 years?
4. What words were written on a tree discovered by John White
when he returned to Roanoke?
5. In what year did English settlers arrive in Jamestown?
6. What edict (rule) was instituted by John Smith that helped save
the Jamestown colony?
7. What were the three events that saved the Jamestown colony?
8. What man determined that tobacco could be a profitable crop
for Jamestown settlers?
9. What was the Magna Carta?
10. What is the name of the assembly set up in Virginia that served
as home of the first representative government in the Americas?
11.The marriage of what 2 people provided hope for peace between
the native Americans and English settlers?
12. After Indians massacred 350 settlers in Jamestown, what action
did King James take?
In 1620 another band of 102 settlers set sail
from England
Many were “Separatists”, or people that
wanted to separate from the Church of
England because they believed it was still too
Catholic
Fugitives for conscience sake. Leaving the
Flemish coast for America. Engraving by J.
B. Hunt, 1880, after C. J. Staniland. Library
of Congress
They were
persecuted
terribly in
England
Being a Separatist was
considered a criminal
act in England.
The group secretly left
England for Holland,
where they stayed until
1620
Fearing that their
children were becoming
“too Dutch” they
secured a charter to
Virginia and left on the
Mayflower in 1620
The Mayflower. Engraving
published by John A. Lowell,
1905, after Marshall Johnson.
Library of Congress
After a long, stormy journey across the ocean, the settlers
decided to settle near present-day Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Before heading to shore, the Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower
Compact in which the men promised to consult each other on
laws and work together to create a successful colony
The Pilgrims signing the compact on board the Mayflower, Nov.
11th, 1620. Engraving by Gauthier, 1859, after T. H. Matteson.
Library of Congress. Public domain image
As the colony grew, the men decided
to form a representative government
Plymouth Rock, 1620. Engraving by J.
Andrews, 1869, after P. F. Rothermel.
Library of Congress
They named their colony Plymouth
The first winter in Plymouth was
horrible
the
Landing
of the Pilgrims atfor
Plymouth,
11th settlers.
Dec. 1620. Lithograph by N. Currier.
Library of Congress
They arrived in December 1620 and did not have time to build
shelters
• Most lived in sod houses
• Some lived in holes in the ground covered by tents
Nearly half of the
settlers died
during the first
winter
Their strong
religious faith
kept them in
Plymouth despite
hardships
• In the Spring, the Pilgrims were surprised
when an Indian named Samoset walked into
their village and greeted them in English
(learned from explorers along New England
Coast)
• Many of the
Pilgrims were
initially terrified,
but many spent all
day talking to him
Source: Library of Congress
Samoset
introduced the
Pilgrims to
Massasoit, the
sachem of the
Wampanoag
Indians
They made a
peace treaty and
even agreed to
defend each other
against enemies
The Indian who
helped the
Pilgrims the most
was a Patuxet tribe
member named
Tisquantum
(Squanto)
Squanto had lost
his family to
disease, so he
decided to live
with the Pilgrims
and teach them
how to survive
• Squanto was captured by English sailors and brought to England
• While there, he lived with Sir Ferdinando Gorges who taught him the English
language.
• After learning English, he became a guide for English sea Captains. During one
journey, he was released.
• Shortly after, he was captured by another English sailor who brought him to
Spain in the hopes of selling him.
He was purchased by
Spanish friars who
promptly freed him but
Squanto stayed with them
for a few years.
He later boarded a ship
that took him to England
where Sir Ferdinando
Gorges helped him return
to America.
Upon his arrival, he
learned from Samoset that
his entire tribe had died of
small pox in a week’s time
• Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant seeds
for corn, beans, and pumpkins.
• He also taught them how to fish for eels.
• The settlers believed that God had sent Squanto
to them.
• If not for Squanto, it is likely that most of the
Pilgrims would not have survived another year
Squanto also
taught the
Pilgrims how to
use manure as
fertilizer,
different
cooking
methods, and
acted as a
guide and
interpreter
• With the help of Squanto, the Pilgrims had a great harvest in
1621 and invited Massasoit and his immediate family to a
Thanksgiving Dinner
• Massasoit brought 90 braves with him… and there is no
evidence that any Indian women attended the Thanksgiving
Dinner
The First Thanksgiving, after the painting by
Jean Louis Gerome Ferris (1863–1930)Library of
Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Washington
The Pilgrims were not
prepared for such a
large group
Massasoit sent some
of his braves back
and they returned
with five deer and
many other wild game
The feast lasted for 3
straight days
Miles Standish was one of the
most famous characters during
the settlement of Plymouth. He
was hired by the Pilgrims to
accompany them on the
Mayflower to the New World.
Standish was the military
leader of the new colony of
Plymouth Massachusetts.
In 1621, where he explored the
territory, tended the sick,
trained a militia, and fought
Indians.
He later served as assistant to
the governor and as treasurer
of Plymouth Colony. He helped
establish the town of Duxbury
in 1631.
The first Thanksgiving Proclamation was
issued by President George Washington,
months after his inauguration as
president in 1789. It stated in part,
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to
acknowledge the providence of Almighty
God, to obey His will, to be grateful for
His benefits, and humbly to implore His
protection and favor; and Whereas both
Houses of Congress have, by their joint
committee, requested me "to recommend
to the people of the United States a day
of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be
observed by acknowledging with grateful
hearts the many and signal favors of
Almighty God, especially by affording
them an opportunity peaceably to
establish a form of government for their
safety and happiness:"
It was to be celebrated every November
26… but was not as widely celebrated
until an order by the 16th President 74
years later.
President George Washington
It was not until 1863, that Thanksgiving became an official
holiday
Abraham Lincoln signed an Executive Order after the
Battle of Gettysburg making Thanksgiving a national
holiday to be celebrated annually on the last Thursday of
November. It stated in part,
Abraham Lincoln
“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the
United States, and also those who are at sea and those
who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and
observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of
Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who
dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that
while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such
singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with
humble penitence for our national perverseness and
disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who
have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in
the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably
engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the
Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to
restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine
purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony,
tranquility and Union.”
Franklin Roosevelt later changed it to the 4th Thursday of
each year.
Review 2-4
1. The Pilgrims were considered part of what religious
movement?
2. What was the purpose of the Mayflower Compact?
3. In what year did the Pilgrims reach their destination?
4. In what present-day state will you find Plymouth?
5. What happened to the Pilgrims during their first winter?
6. What Native American did the Pilgrims first meet?
7. Who was the chief of the Wampanoag Indians?
8. What Native American is credited with saving the
Plymouth settlers?
9. How did Squanto learn English?
10. Why were the Pilgrims ill prepared at the first
Thanksgiving dinner?
11. Who was the military leader hired by the Pilgrims?
12. In what year was (a) the first Thanksgiving and (b)
which United States President made Thanksgiving an
official U.S. holiday in 1863?