Tobacco in Jamestown Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

Free Enterprise/Free Trade -The development of business and trade supported by the idea that government should not restrict business and trade activities.

amestown was settled in 1607, but within a year, in 1608, most of settlers had died from malaria or

dysentery. Not only was the population dwindling, but England relied on the colonies’ economic

exploits

Jin order to keep supporting colonization. However, economically speaking, Jamestown was due for failure.

They had tried silk making, glassmaking, lumber farming, sassafras, pitch and tar, and soap ashes, but were

unable to find any success. Jamestown was almost

sure to fail as an English colony if it had not been

for a discovery by John Rolfe; tobacco farming.

Tobacco was native to North America and the

West Indies, and up to that point, the Spanish had

control of tobacco farming and the tobacco

market. Although Virginia at the time did grow a

small amount of tobacco, it was the Spanish

variety that was favored by the English. Rolfe, who

was married to the daughter of the Powhatan

chief, Pocahontas, learned how to dry and cure the

tobacco leaf, so that it smoked “smoked pleasant,

sweete, and strong.” Upon returning from a visit

to the Caribbean, he planted tobacco, cured it the

way he learned from Pocahontas, making the new

3 Tobacco plant and leaf

crop of Virginia’s cash export crops. This in turn made Jamestown an important colony for the economy of

Great Britain.

1. List two reasons why the invention of tobacco farming in Jamestown was important to the

economy of Great Britain.

2. Why was John Rolfe able to succeed a farming tobacco in Jamestown?

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania

The life of an indentured servant Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

Economic Opportunity -The strong belief that in America opportunities are available to better a person’s economic situation.

he many new opportunities in the English colonies called to many Europeans, some of whom were

not able to afford the travel to the new world. Because of this, in return for food, shelter, and a paid

trip across the Atlantic, they agreed to be indentured servants. Indentured servants agreed to work for their

employer for about five to seven years, after which they were free to go live their own lives. From the 1630s

to the time of the American Revolution, nearly one-half to two-thirds of all white immigrants in the New

World were indentured servants.

T

The life of an indentured servant was not easy. He or she could not marry without permission of their

master, and they were often subject to harsh physical punishments. If a female indentured servant became

pregnant, her term of indenture was lengthened, to make sure she served out her entire term of service.

Some indentured servants were also taken unwillingly from Europe, and made to work in the colonies

without their consent.

4

Unlike slaves, however, indentured servants were

guaranteed to be released from bondage eventually, at

which time they would receive their “freedom dues”

payment and became free citizens. The right to an

indentured servant’s labor could be sold, meaning that they

would have to work for another master, but the person as a

piece of property could not be sold.

1. Compare and contrast a similarity and difference between indentured servants and slaves.

2. Explain why you think someone would sell themselves into indentured servitude.

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania

The house of burgesses Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

Republicanism - People have a voice in government.

n 1619, the elected representatives from the Virginia

Colony met to create what would become America’s

first legislative

Ibody, the House of Burgesses. This democratically elected

lawmaking body, met from 1619 until the American

Revolution, when the Virginia Constitution created a new

General

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania 5

A reconstructed chamber of the House of Burgesses

Assembly that replaced it. Many of America’s Founding Fathers

were member of the House of Burgesses, including George

Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, and Patrick

Henry.

The following is a report on the manner of proceedings in the General Assembly convened at Jamestown.

1. Carefully read through the above quote by John Pory. In your own words, describe what the last

sentence is saying.

2. Explain why the House of Burgesses was an important development in the creation of the United States.

6

John Pory (July 30, 1619) –

intente is to establish one equall and uniforme kinde of government over all Virginia.

and the general Assembly, wherein their duties were described to the life ... And forasmuch as our

meeting. Which done he read unto them the commission for establishing the Counsell of Estate

Plantation ... The Speaker ... delivered in briefe to the whole assembly the occasions of their

would please God to guide and sanctifie all our proceedings to his own glory and the good of this

es tooke their places in the [church] Quire till a prayer was said by Mr. Bucke, the Minister, that it

But forasmuch as men's affaires doe litle prosper where God's service is neglected, all the Burgess-

Geography of the us colonies Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

War - In order for America to gain independence and maintain or expand its borders, war became inevitable.

Instructions: Analyze the map of the 13 colonies in 1776 to the left and answer the following questions:

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania 7

exports of the colonies Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania 8

colonies.3. List the 13 original US

south? List them.expand to the west or to the with, if they wanted to have to come in conflict powers would the colonies how many different 2. According to this map,

Which foreign power controls the territory directly to the south of the 13 US colonies? 1.

Economic development - The American economy was able to transform from a nation of independent farmers to an industrial giant due to capitalist values and an

entrepreneurial spirit.

Study the chart below and answer the following questions regarding exports of the US colonies:

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania 9

)ships, lumber and rum(

geography of the US colonies?

the about you tell crops

between these three export

difference the does What

Study your answer from #2. 3.

timeframe?

this for South Lower

Colonies, Chesapeake, and the

Middle the from crops

What were the largest export 2.

products?

of amount export largest

the produced area Which 1.

The fight for new york Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

War - In order for America to gain independence and maintain or expand its borders,

war became inevitable Negotiations - Often America had to negotiate in order to acquire

territory.

ew York, the state that contains the largest city in the United States, wasn’t always New York. The original N

English colonies were often grants of land from the English monarch to one of his constituents, and in this

case, the king had awarded his brother, James, the Duke of York, a grant of land in the Americas. The

problem was that part of this area was already claimed by the Dutch, who called it New Netherland.

In 1664, the English sent a fleet of warships to New Netherland to gain control of the land from the Dutch,

who surrendered quickly. Seven years later, in 1673, the Dutch attempted to take back New Netherland, but

after a year of fighting, the land was firmly in the hands of the English. The English renamed the area New

York, after the king’s brother.

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania 10

1. In your own words, explain why New

Netherland became New York. area for

themselves.

2. Where did the name “New York” come

from?

3. Carefully study the map to the left. Find

New Amsterdam. What current US city and

state is located in the area of New

Amsterdam in the map shown here?

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania 11

Population of the us colonies Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

Economic Opportunity -The strong belief that in America opportunities are available to better a person’s economic situation.

The following tables illustrate the estimated population of the US colonies, from 1610 to 1780.

Year Population

1760 1,593,600

1770 2,148,100 1780 2,780,400

1. In 1750, which of the original 13 US colonies had the smallest population? Which had the largest?

2. In the decade from 1610 to 1620, approximately how much did the population increase? In the decade

from 1770 to 1780, approximately how much did the population increase?

12

Graphic representation of the population of US colonies in 1750 1,170,800 1750

905,600 1740

629,400 1730

466,200 1720

331,700 1710

250,900 1700

210,400 1690

151,500 1680

111,900 1670

75,100 1660

50,400 1650

26,600 1640

4,600 1630

2,300 1620

350 1610

3.

3.

3.

3.

3.

3.

3.

3.

3.

3.

3. In 1750, where were the colonies with the largest

populations located (north, south, middle)? What does this

tell you about the US colonies?

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania

Differences between the colonies Key concepts you will learn about at this station:

Diversity -There are a variety of people in America. Labor Systems -The establishment of various systems of labor used in American business.

Economic Opportunity -The strong belief that in America opportunities are available to better a person’s economic

situation.

The following chart illustrates some of the differences

between the US colonies by region:

1. Compare and contrast the economies of the Northern and the

Southern colonies. Discuss how these differences could have led

to future confrontations between the two regions.

13

Culture Established colonies for religious freedom and a new way of life.

Established colonies as economic ventures, looking for natural resources to provide material wealth.

Socio-political structure was varied, and welcomed people from diverse lifestyles.

Economy

Primarily specialized in nautical and boating equipment, and shipbuilding. Later developed mills and factories.

Diverse workforce of farmers, fishermen, and merchants. Rich farmland and moderate climate, ideal for small to large farms. Coastal lowlands provided vast trading opportunities.

Primarily agricultural, small amount of cities and schools. Fertile farmlands, leading to the rise of large cash crops such as rice, tobacco, and indigo, as well as the development of plantations, which utilized slave labor.

Social Life

Connected to the church and village community.

Diverse backgrounds created a socially rich atmosphere.

Vast, flat, rural terrain made socializing difficult. Large farms with slaves and owners formed self sustaining communities.

2. Joshua is immigrating with his family from England, and he is

escaping persecution for his religious beliefs. Which region of

US colonies might be best-suited for him and his family, and

why?

3. Frederick is appointed by his English Lord to go to the Americas

and set up a business. He has a vast amount of experience in

farming tobacco in the Caribbean. Which region of US colonies

might be best-suited for Frederick, and why?

Copyright © 2016 Instructomania

14