SSUSH1A
European Settlement of North America
(The Chesapeake Colonies)
England’s Renewed Interest in North America
• The Reformation in Europe created a growing rivalry between
England and Spain
• England didn’t have any naval ports near the Caribbean
• English Privateers were unable to
attack Spanish Ships in the Caribbean
England’s Renewed Interest in North America
• Queen Elizabeth granted the first charter
to Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578.
• He died after two failed attempts to
colonize North America.
• In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh led 100 men
to establish a colony on Roanoke Island.
• He named the new territory
Virginia after Queen Elizabeth,
“The Virgin Queen.”
• When an English ship returned
in 1590, the colonists were all
gone: No Bodies were found;
only a settlement of empty
buildings.
England Establishes Three Types of British Colonies
• Self-Governing Colonies formed when the King granted a Charter to a
Joint-Stock Company, allowing them to set up its own government.
• It was basically a partnership between Private Investors and
the Crown.
• Proprietary Colonies were basically huge Land Grants from the Crown
to trusted officials.
• These Colonial Governors reported directly to the King.
• Royal Colonies were territories directly owned and controlled by the King.
The Chesapeake Colonies
• The first permanent English settlements in North America were located
around the Chesapeake Bay region.
• The two primary colonies in this
region were Virginia and Maryland.
• Virginia was originally established as
a Self-Governing Colony.
• A group of investors in London formed
the Virginia Company with the hope of
making Instant Profits from the
colony’s raw materials.
• In 1607 they established Jamestown,
which was England’s first settlement.
England’s First Permanent Colonial Settlement
• The Jamestown Colony was not
successful due to the lack of:
1. Leadership
2. Work Ethics
3. Survival Skills
4. Sanitary Practices
• Captain John Smith emerged
as the most capable leader
and eventually established
trade with the Native
Americans
• However, after he was forced to return to
England, the Jamestown colony declined
England’s First Permanent Colonial Settlement
• The Winter of 1609-1610 was
known as the
“Starving Time”
• Due to the lack of food,
the Colonists ate:
1. Dogs
2. Rats
3. Snakes
4. Toadstools
5. Horsemeat
6. Human
Remains
Relations with the Native Americans
• The Native American group in Virginia was called the Powhatan Confederacy.
• This group was made up of
forty tribes of Algonquin
speakers.
• Chief Powhatan’s need for
allies caused him to initially
befriend the English
• Legend has it that the Chief’s
daughter, Pocahontas saved the
life of Captain John Smith.
Relations with the Native Americans
• Relations between the Native Americans and the
English got worse after the colony was taken
over by Lord De La Warr.
• War occurred between the Native Americans
and the English between 1610-1614.
• Peace was acquired
when Pocahontas
married John Rolfe.
After Chief Powhatan’s Death, the Natives
attacked the Jamestown settlement, killing
347 settlers.
Virginia Grows from a Settlement to a Colony
• Farmer John Rolfe created a blend of Tobacco that
was desirable in England.
• This gave Jamestown a Cash-Crop economy.
• From 1616 to 1619, Jamestown’s Tobacco Crops
grew nearly twenty-fold.
• Labor shortages in Jamestown
led the British to establish the
Headright System.
• This system offered 50 acres
of land to those who would
come and settle the colony.
Virginia Grows from a Settlement to a Colony
• It also offered land to those who would pay
for the Transportation of laborers who could
not afford the passage.
• Indentured Servants were laborers who agreed
to work 5 to 7 years in exchange for the cost
of their passage to the British Colonies.
• The first African Servants arrived in Jamestown
in 1619.
• Originally they were treated just like Indentured
Servants
• Eventually, they were treated as Chattel
(Like any other moveable property)
Virginia’s Government and Rebellion
• The first legislative body in the British Colonies was the House of
Burgesses, formed in 1619.
• Initially they ruled over
Virginia with little
interference from the King.
• Problems in the Colony caused
the King to revoke their
Charter in 1624, changing
Virginia into a Royal Colony.
• By the 1660’s, many Indentured Servants and Tenant Farmers wanted to
acquire their own lands in the Virginia Backwoods.
Virginia’s Government and Rebellion
• The members of the House of Burgesses didn’t want the colonists
expanding into the backwoods due to hostilities with the Native Americans.
• After Native Americans attacked landless and
backwoods farmers, a Rebellion erupted under
the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon.
• When the Colonial Governor
condemned their actions
against the Natives, the
rebels burned Jamestown.
• Eventually, the Governor’s Militia forced the rebels
to flee to the swamps.
Virginia’s Government and Rebellion
• Nathaniel Bacon, the rebel
leader, died of Dysentery.
• The Rebellion caused the government to:
1. Look after the welfare of all
colonists (regardless of wealth).
2. Expand territory regardless of
the impact on the Native Americans.
The Other Chesapeake Colony
• In 1632, King Charles granted George Calvert (Lord
Baltimore) a charter to create a Proprietary Colony
in the Chesapeake Bay region called Maryland.
• As the owner (proprietor), Lord Baltimore ruled the
Colony in the King’s name.
• This gave him power to:
1. Appointed Officials
2. Coin Money
3. Impose Taxes
4. Grant Lands
5. Establish Courts
6. Create Towns
The Other Chesapeake Colony
• Although established as a refuge
for persecuted Catholics, most of
the settlers were actually Protestant
• In 1649, the Colonial Legislature in
Maryland passed the Toleration Act.
This was the first law in the
British Colonies establishing
Religious Tolerance.