The Virginia Colony Roanoke Jamestown Founding History of

The Virginia Colony Roanoke & Jamestown

Founding & History of the Virginia Colony • Lost Colony of Roanoke – In 1584, Queen Elizabeth gave Sir Walter Raleigh the right to claim lands in North America – Raleigh led an expedition to settle the island of Roanoke off the coast of North Carolina – Failure of the First Attempt • All of 100 settlers except 15 men returned to England – Failure of the Second Attempt • 15 settlers that remained were dead • John White became Governor • White left for supplies & returned 3 years later • Colony was deserted and he found the word Croatoan on a tree • White ordered attack against Powhatan natives but settlers attacked friendly Croatoans • English abandoned Roanoke

Founding & History of the Virginia Colony • Jamestown Settlement – The Virginia Company of London (joint-stock company) received a charter from King James I to settle in North America – In 1607, settlers sailed up the James River and established Jamestown – Jamestown faced hardships (disease and hunger) but survived due to Captain John Smith’s leadership • Required subsistence crops • “You don’t work, you don’t eat” • Established relationship with Chief Powhatan (received corn from natives) – Captain John Smith left the colony due to injury- relations with natives deteriorated – Marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe improved native relations again

Founders & Important Colonists of the Virginia Colony • Sir Walter Raleigh – Led settlers to Roanoke Island with permission of the crown • Captain John Smith – Leadership of Smith ensured the survival of the Jamestown Colony • John Rolfe – Introduced tobacco to Jamestown and married Pocahontas • Pocahontas – Daughter of Chief Powhatan, worked to ensure coexistence of settlers and natives, and married John Rolfe • William Berkeley – Early Governor of Virginia Colony

Reasons for the Founding of the Virginia Colony • To establish an English presence in the New World • In 1606, the Virginia Company petitioned for a charter to form a settlement in North America • The businessmen of the Virginia Company wanted to get rich from the New World like the Spanish had by: – Trading – Subjugating the natives and forcing them to provide the English with food, goods, and wealth – Pillaging and Raiding native villages – Growing cash crops and selling them in Europe

The First Charter of the Virginia Colony • Date: – April 10, 1606 • Between: – King James I of England & – Individual Members of the Virginia Company of London (Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and others) • Grant: – “…Licence, to make Habitation, Plantation, and to deduce a colony of sundry of our People into that part of America commonly called VIRGINIA…”

The Economy, Major Industries & Occupations in the Virginia Colony • Agriculture – Tobacco (Major Cash Crop) – Grain – Cattle • Fishing • Trading – Furs • Products – Rum – Furniture

Religion in the Virginia Colony • By Law, Settlers in Virginia were English and belonged to the Church of England • The Church was supported by taxes paid by all settlers • The line was blurred between the religious and civil authorities • Virginians were not tolerant of non-Christians

Government in the Virginia Colony • England – King James I authorized his agents to govern in Virginia according to the Laws of England the Charter of the Virginia Company • House of Burgesses – The House of Burgesses was created as a representative legislative body in Virginia made up of 22 members: • The governor selected by the Company • 6 Counselors selected by the Company • 15 members selected by colonists – Only wealthy, landowning, white, male colonists helped elect representatives – It was America’s first representative legislature and it continues to this day as the Virginia Assembly • In 1624 King James I revoked the Virginia Company Charter and Virginia became a royal English Colony

Major Cities & The Status of Slavery in the Virginia Colony • Major Cities in Colonial Virginia: – Jamestown – Williamsburg – Norfolk • Status of Slavery in Colonial Virginia – Slavery was legal in Virginia although at first colonists used indentured servants (slaves were three times more expensive) – In 1619, two British ships sold 21 African slaves to the governor of Virginia (first African slaves in North America) – In 1660 as the tobacco industry took hold, farmers required more labor and the more and more African slaves were brought to Virginia

Bibliography (Internet Sources) • http: //www. learnnc. org/lp/editions/nchistcolonial/2029 • http: //avalon. law. yale. edu/17 th_century/va 01. as p#1 • http: //www. history. org/almanack/life/religion/re ligionva. cfm • http: //www. lva. virginia. gov/exhibits/political/col onial. htm