Jamestown vs. Plymouth

South vs. North

Jamestown – 1607“The Mystery of the Deaths at Jamestown”

• Late 1606 Virginia Joint-Stock Co. sends out 3 ships filled w/ young male profit-seekers– Expected to find fortune in gold & silver to benefit investors– Most unsuited for farming and survival tactics

• Spring 1607 land at mouth of Chesapeake Bay.– Attacked by Indians and moved on.

• May 24, 1607 about 100 colonists [all men] land at Jamestown, along banks of James River– Easily defended but…– Swampy terrain with stagnant, brackish water– Scarcity of fresh drinking water - dysentery– swarming with mosquitoes - malaria

Chesapeake Bay

Jamestown Fort

Computer-generated Model created by archaeologists

Present-day replicas of Jamestown Houses

Present-day replicas of Jamestown Houses

Historic Jamestown

“The Starving Time”• 1606-1607 40 people died on the voyage to the New World.• 1609 supply ship from England lost in shipwreck off Bermuda.• Settlers died by the dozens!

– “Gentlemen” colonists would not work– Game in forests & fish in river uncaught.– Wasted time looking for gold instead of hunting or farming.– Ate dogs, cats, rats, and mice– One hungry man killed, salted, cooked, and ate his wife – he was executed

• Captain John Smith achieves temporary relief– Institutes martial law – “he who shall not work shall not eat”– Captured by Powhatans; released / saved by Pocahontas – Learned to grow corn from Powhatans; taught settlers– Lead Jamestown through “starving time” until new ships, settlers, and leaders

arrived

Pocahontas saves John Smith

Pocahontas saves John Smith

John Rolfe & PocahontasJohn Rolfe & Pocahontas

What finally made the colony prosperous??

Tobacco -

“Stinking Weed”?

“Bewitching Weed”?

“Green Gold”?

“Brown Gold”?

“Virginia’s gold and silver.” -- John Rolfe, 1612

Virginia: Child of TobaccoCrash Course: Natives and the English

• 1618 — Virginia produces 20,000 pounds of tobacco.• 1622 — Despite losing nearly one-third of its colonists

in an Indian attack, Virginia produces 60,000 pounds of tobacco.

• 1627 — Virginia produces 500,000 pounds of tobacco.• 1629 — Virginia produces 1,500,000 pounds of

tobacco.

Virginia and Maryland

Colonies thrive in the

Chesapeake• Economic

• Social

• Religious

• Political

Economy thrives – tobacco plantations require large supply of land and labor– Lead to land disputes with Indians– Early labor – indentured servants ; 1st Africans in 1619 were

indentured servants– Late 1600s – slavery replaces indentured servitude; after Bacon’s

Rebellion– Virginia Company failed in 1624 – VA becomes Royal Colony – all

profits shared by king/queen and Planters– Profits and land quality dwindle for former indentured servants– Proprietary colony est. by Lord Baltimore (George Calvert) in

Maryland (1632) also developed prosperous tobacco economy

Economic Activities

Social / Cultural Characteristics• Social Stratification develops in

Plantation culture of VA & MD– plantation owners (Planters) were

top of society– small farmers (former indentured

servants) eventually were most of the population

– Very few women at first; came later to be wives for mostly male population; second class role of women; served no economic function

– indentured servants (young men) – slaves were lowest level

Planters

Small Farmers

Landless Whites

Indentured Servants

African Slaves

Social Hierarchy of Virginia

Religious Characteristics• Virginia settlers were Protestant Anglican (members of the Church of

England) Christians– Settlers motivated by economic opportunity NOT by evangelism– Church of England was “established” church - 1624 law mandated that “white

Virginians worship in the Anglican church and support its upkeep with their taxes”. No separation of church and state; would later contribute to revolutionary spirit

– Not tolerant of non-Christians– Rural/agricultural settlement pattern (dispersed farms); discouraged organized

church formation or attendance – NO churches– Most southern colonists were Xtian in name and culture only

• Maryland settled as a safe haven for Catholics fleeing persecution in England– Soon outnumbered by Protestants; agreed to est. Act of Toleration, 1st colonial

statute for religious freedom for all Christians; non-Christians subject to execution

– Act of Toleration later repealed by Protestant controlled Assembly; became intolerant of Catholics; lost right to vote

Political Structure• First ruled by series of military-style dictators (including

John Smith and Lord De La Warr)• House of Burgesses est. in 1619 as 1st representative

assembly in American colonies – made up of burgesses (reps) from counties

• Became Royal Colony with governor appointed by King/Queen

• Tradition of representative democracy already est. by HoB; held power over gov. including “power of the purse”

• Maryland est. as Proprietary Colony (Lord Baltimore) with representative assembly; resemble Virginia politically

OPEN-NOTES QUIZ on Note card

1. All of the following threatened early Jamestown EXCEPT: a. tobacco failuresb. conflict with native Americansc. diseased. food shortages

2. As more and more settlers arrived in Jamestown, relations between the settlers and the Powhatan people:

e. worsenedf. stayed about the sameg. improved slightlyh. improved dramatically

3. In the early years of the Virginia Colony, a field laborer was most likely to be:i. a slavej. a Powhatan Indiank. a landholderl. an indentured servant or a former indentured servant

4. The most significant cause of the shift in Virginia from the use of indentured servants to the use of African slaves as the primary source of labor on southern plantations was:

m. the “Starving Time “n. the Powhatan Rebellion of 1622o. a rebellion of frontier farmers led by Nathaniel Baconp. the Salem Witch Trials

5. The first example of a colonial self-government based on the principle of representative democracy was _____________________________________

Plymouth Settlement - 1620

• Pilgrims (separatists) and Anglicans came on the Mayflower

• Pilgrims wanted religious freedom• Anglicans wanted economic opportunity• Attempted to join Virginia Colony, but landed in

wrong place – Cape Cod (Massachusetts)

Jamestown or Plymouth?Economic, Social, Political?

1. Settlers were searching for gold ____________________2. Settlers were seeking religious freedom ____________________3. Settled by young men ____________________4. Settled by entire families ____________________5. Royal governor & House of Burgesses ____________________6. Mayflower Compact & town meetings ____________________7. Congregational Church ____________________8. Anglican Church ____________________9. Tobacco plantations, rice, indigo, cotton ____________________10. Fishing, shipbuilding, fur trading, shipping ____________________11. Urban; towns and villages ____________________12. Rural; few towns; plantations & country life ____________________13. direct democracy; town meetings ____________________14. republic; representative democracy ____________________15. Hierarchical structure; Planter class dominated __________________16. Community oriented; male church leader dominated ______________17. Subsistence farmers ____________________18. Indentured servants; slaves ____________________

New England Society Shaped by Religion

• Mass. Bay colony thrives - Puritan Rule– Friendly climate – clean water, cool climate– Family migrants = natural increase– Stable family life – large families – denial of women’s property

rights bound wives to husbands – rarity of divorce according to Puritan Law

– Tightly knit towns – community oriented, not individualistic = little privacy

– Commitment to education – improvement of youth– “Puritan Ethic” – promoted hard work, thrift, and sobriety– Democratic assemblies – “town meetings” instilled democratic

principles– “The Scarlet Letter”; “the Crucible”

Puritan control erodes• Population growth spreads people out• Internal challenges to Puritan doctrine

– Roger Williams– Anne Hutchinson

• Subsequent generations lack religious zeal of original settlers

• New England colonists became more concerned with survival (subsistence farming) and Commercial success (shipping and trade), the GOD. Church attendance and membership declined.

• Puritan leaders became scared they were losing power and influence in society. Preached strong messages of fear. Jonathan Edwards – “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Salem Witch Trials• -1692 - Salem , Massachusetts

• -Puritan community standards being challenged

• -young girls accused people of being witches

• -the accused named other witches

• -20 “witches” were executed

• -trials later suspended due to poor evidence

• -Many theories about what happened.

The “Real” Salem Witch Trial

Growing Commercialization and Stratification of New England

• Witch trials reflected fear and suspicion of secularism and materialism of growing merchant class – accusers were rural subsistence farmers; accused were townspeople in merchant class

• Trade/commerce, shipping, commercial agriculture came to dominate colonial life

• Economic concerns replaced spiritual concerns