...to be devastating- by 1611, more than 80% of the 500 settlers who arrived four years before, had perished. The question is: why did so many colonists die in early Jamestown? It can be answered by three main reasons: lack of clean water, shortage of good workers, and poor relations with the Powhatan Indians. First of all, water caused death in three ways. For example, the water was found to be too salty for drinking (Document A). In addition, human waste tended to cluster rather than flush away, leading them to fester in rivers in Jamestown (Document A). Historians also found that droughts were evidenced in the tree-ring patterns of old cypress trees growing near Jamestown throughout the winter of 1609 to 1610 (Document B). These pieces of evidence prove that the water caused sickness, due to the moon tides affecting the water’s saltiness, and the filthy garbage in the water would have caused disease. Droughts were another contributor...
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...Name: Connor Adkins Early Jamestown DBQ Essay What Caused the Death of So Many Early Jamestown Colonists? Imagine four and a half months on the sea, less than a year on the ground and nearly everyone you know, dead. That was what early Jamestown was like to the colonists. Jamestown was the second English colony and the first permanent one. King James, who the town was named after, gave John Smith, the established leader for many of the colonies early years, a charter to start the colony at Chesapeake Bay because the location seemed perfect. The location was not perfect. From the evidence provided, the Jamestown colonists were eradicated by lack of freshwater, conflict with natives, and few needed personnel. The colonists...
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...“Jamestown and triumphs” Julie Atkinson Reconstructive US History Professor Brumbaugh December 20,2014 Before the settlers landed in Jamestown, The Indians occupied the land and lived there for centuries. They were the first people to arrive in Jamestown. Some say there were 25,000 Indians; others say around 50,000 of the American natives, who lived on the land. There were about thirty different tribes whom the powhatan chiefdom took charge. However, each tribe had their own chief. In time there would be a change; King James 1 of England granted for another colony to be established under the Virginia Company of London which consisted of many wealthy Englishmen who wanted to invest their money into the company. They expected to open new lands for financial and patriotic explorations and use the resources of the new world. They wanted to establish English shipbuilding industries and to convert the Indians to Protestant Christianity. The Spanish were aggressive to convert the Indians to Roman Catholicism. Since there were already Spanish colonies in America, the English needed to develop new employment opportunities for the English. For this reason, English people wanted their own colonies. Around the time of 1607, there were three ships sailing from England: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery. They held around hundred and fifty English men, and boys who sailed four months before they reached Jamestown. During their voyage they encountered crowded conditions...
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...Colonizers: Great Britain in Jamestown “Life and Death at Jamestwon” INTRODUCTION “There it comes!” In May of 1607, there was the arrival of the first white settlers in Jamestown, Virginia. Virginia Company, a group of entrepreneurs from London, funded the explorers. Three ships namely Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery were used to transport the 104 men and women who left England to look for greener pastures in North America. Half of the settlers aboard the three ships were mostly “gentlemen” and some others from upper classes who do not know how to find a way to save their own lives. As soon as the colonists arrived at Jamestown On May 13, 1607, their expectations were immediately cut short since this group was met by rampant diseases, internal political struggle, as well as attacks from the native Indians. The initial instruction for the colonialist was to ensure that they have located a site that was not near the coasts to ensure an avoidance of Spanish warships, Virginia Council's primary concern. The relationship with Powhatan Indians were a major worry of the England Settlers. Because of the environmental issues at Jamestown, the English settlers had to establish their relations with native Powhatan Indians. Moreover, there were also some Indians who were hospitable to the first settlers, others were very hostile and would discharge them with arrows. After constructing rudimentary fort as well as witnessing Indian attacks, the white settlers realized that they...
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...notoriety today is based on glorified tales that do not account for the tragedies that befell her. According to Camilla Townsend, “Long before Pocahontas became an icon, she was a child who walked and played beneath the towering trees of the Virginia woods, and then an adult woman who learned to love--and to hate--English men.” (Preface) Pocahontas was born in 1595 in Werowocomoco, Virginia. Pocahontas's real name was Matoaka. As a child, she was also called Pocahontas, meaning "playful one," and the name stuck. (Pocahontas Biography http://www.notablebiographies.com/Pe-Pu/Pocahontas.html) She had 20 brothers and 9 sisters, not including herself. At an early age Pocahontas was taught how to swim. Like many other children from her tribe, she swam and bathed in crystal clean rivers. She also knew how to use a canoe at a very early age. Pocahontas often liked to go exploring and playing in rivers and forests. She enjoyed gathering different kinds of berries with her friends. She, along with many other girls, learned bead work. They did this so that they could have doll...
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...agitating ideas like the separation of church and state. Moved North to the area now known as Providence, Road Island and established the Protestant Church. Eliza Lucas Pinckney: Was in Charge of 3 South Carolina plantations by the age of 16. Imported indigo to her plantation, which became a very important cash crop. John Smith: Leader of Jamestown Colony in Virginia. First explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay part of the first settlement to the New World. Helped save colony from devastation. Anne Hutchinson: Was a Puritan spiritual adviser and an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy that shook the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She helped create a theological schism that threatened to destroy the Puritans' religious experiment in New England. She was eventually tried and convicted, then banished from the colony with many of her supporters. John Rolfe: Was married to Pocahontas and moved to England with her. Most notably established the tobacco industry in the colonies and was killed by Indians upon re-arrival in the new world. Pocahontas: Was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. Daughter of Powhatan and married to John Rolfe. John Calvin: Influential Frenchman who helped develop Calvinism, which contained the idea of pre-destination. He Fled to America for religious freedom. Ferdinand Magellan: Portuguese explorer selected by King Charles of Spain who organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies...
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...The Differences between Indentured Servants and Slaves Jabrehia Smith May 15, 2014 HIS/110 Professor Frank Bird Introduction Prior to the Civil War, slaves and indentured servants were human chattel that were sold and considered personal property. One system consisted of laws to protect certain rights for laborers, while another system provided no protection from the law to protect laborer’s rights because they were simply considered a piece of property. This brief essay explains the differences between an indentured servant and a slave. In addition, readers will learn when and why masters began to choose slaves over indentured servants. Indentured Servants In 1607, the Virginia Company of London landed and settled in Jamestown. Early settlers realized they had an abundant amount of land to care for; however, there was no one to tend to the land. The Virginia Company developed a system known as the indentured servitude that would attract workers needed for cheap labor and a decade later, the first indentured servants arrived in America ("History Detectives Special Investigations", 2011). The indentured servitude system benefited both the masters and the servants. Masters were awarded 50 acres of land for every laborer brought across the Atlantic as well as the services of the laborers and servants worked under what was typically a five to seven years contract in exchange for freedom dues, lodging, room, board, and passage ("U.S. History Pre- Columbian...
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...Kimberly Bailo History Review Essay 1 Bacon's Rebellion Early in 1607, the English relocated to North America for promises of new beginnings, wealth, and religious freedom. The Virginia Company had funded the operation under a charter from King James 1 hoping for promising returns on their investment. The new colonists bright and hopeful settled in Jamestown, Virginia only to find nightmares instead of dreams. The conditions for the new colonists exploited a rising tension that would soon escalate into a famous revolt called Bacon's Rebellion. Jamestown was to be the new Promised Land for the English settlers. It was surrounded by water, which would provide protection and allow for mass trading due to the opportunity to install several ports. As such, the Virginia Company believed the expedition would be profitable and King James 1 saw an opportunity to convert the savages to Christian religion, which would make settling much easier since the heathens would be no more. Many of the settlers were not accustom to getting their hands dirty and came only to find gold and wealth quickly and easily. The tobacco industry became Jamestown's wealth, which required many hard working laborers. They were called indentured servants and promised land after seven years of hard work. In addition, many of the new colonists succumbed to malaria, dysentery, and unbearable working conditions. The women were subjected to sexual abuse along with harsh emotional and...
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...Commemorations Pilgrim Memorials Around the World The Society How to Join Society Information SMDPA News Newsletter JR PA Mayflower Newsletter For Teachers & Students Links Contact Membership Info Apply Now Eligibility & How To Join Proving Your Lineage Passenger List About the SMDPA Donate Contact Us Discover History Articles Comparing Plymouth and Jamestown Comparing Plymouth and Jamestown Written by Robert Jennings Heinsohn 1. Introduction Pilgrim families arrived in Holland in the spring of 1608 and in Plymouth in December 1620. In May 1607, 105 men arrived in Jamestown to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America. While the individuals in both settlements were English, the they were different in many important ways. To fully appreciate our Pilgrim heritage, it is important to understand the differences between Plymouth and Jamestown. This essay identifies major differences and explains how these differences affected the settlements during the first few decades of their arrival. 2. Royal Charters and Patents Sir Humphrey Gilbert c. 1539-1583 Early Efforts to Colonize North America Queen Elizabeth granted a patent (Royal Charter) to Sir Humphrey Gilbert (half brother of Sir Walter Ralegh) who led an expedition to Newfoundland in 1583 and claimed it for England. For the next thirty years he tried, but without success, to begin settlements. Eventually he was lost at sea in a storm. A Royal Charter was granted to...
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...Midterm Essay Christopher Riojas Keiser University Introduction Adventure and discovery of land and territories in the early centuries were the order of the day for the majority of the stable nations, armies and organized ethnic groups who searched for food, water, and places of settlement. The adventuring movements of communities across the world brought about acquisition of property, resources and territories that later converted to the states and the countries under currently existing geographical boundaries. This effect culminated in more aggression in the movement and acquisition of territories that later turned out to be colonized. During the pre-colonial era, communities under the leadership of ethnic chiefs controlled tribes and extracted resources that were only within their territories. More land was unoccupied thus attracting other foreign immigrants who, moved in search of better resources and experiences. It is in the spirit of discovery and colonization, this article puts into perspective the development of a new state of Virginia in America. Precisely at Jamestown, as it is told through a film called “The New World”, directed by Terrence Mallick, and a story book called “The General History of Virginia, New England, and The Summer Isles”, by Smith (pg.57-69). This article analyses the two sources, the film and the book as their stories are related by both explaining the discovery and development of Jamestown and Virginia. This region has been captured in...
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...In Howard Zinn’s Drawing The Color Line he brings up not only the reason behind slavery but why it was implanted in the first place. He proposed that slavery will be incorporated if it “is practical and profitable”(Zinn 3). Another thing that he brought up was the time before slavery was really implanted into the Americas. In this reflective essay we will be looking at these two aspects of Howard Zinn’s Drawing The Color Line and how they repeat to the driving question, What are the historic patterns within the relationship between the majority US culture and minority cultures, and how have these patterns shaped the development of our nation? Before slavery was implemented in America the settlers were not doing too well in the harsh climate....
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...ancient times most governments have punished a wide variety of crimes by death and have conducted executions as a routine part of the administration of criminal law. The Age of Enlightenment was the first significant movement to abolish the death penalty. Britain was very influential in America’s use of the death penalty. The European settlers that came to the new world are the one’s that brought the practice of capital punishment, death penalty. The first execution was recorded in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1608. The Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws were enacted in 1612 by the Governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale. The death penalty was established for minor offenses such as killing chickens, stealing grapes, and trading with Indians. It was Cesare Beccaria’s 1767 essay, On Crimes and Punishment that caused policy makers to have a different view of the death penalty. Becarria theorized that there wasn’t any justification for the state’s to take the life of a human being. The essay led to Tuscany and Austria abolishing their policy of the death penalty as a punishment for the crimes that were committed. It also gave an authoritative voice and renewed...
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...of the business middle classes, the merchants and entrepreneurs who were to be major agents of the modernizing process. By seventeenth centaury, England's imperial reach was global; it stretched west from Ireland to Newfound land to Bermuda, and eastward to the subcontinent of India. It was to the west in the New World in 1606 that King James issued charter to two joint stock companies to colonize the land that Sir Walter Raleigh had named Virginia in honor of the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. The company promptly sent out an expedition of 144 people and after four months arduous voyage they reached Chesapeake Bay in April 1607. The 105 surviving English men than proceeded up a great river, which they named for King James, and founded Jamestown- the first permanent English settlement in North America. For one category of immigrants the Virginia environment (James town) produced not self fulfillment but enslavement. In 1619, a Dutch trading ship dropped anchor at...
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...“What was the role of female writers in abolishing slavery?” Women were not able to vote and little influence on the political scene; regardless of this, they played an important role in the abolition of the Slave Trade and slavery in the British colonies. In the early years, women were not direct activists and were not expected to take part in politics. Lady Margaret Middleton helped persuade William Wilberforce to take up the cause but could not become actively engaged herself. However women found their own ways to campaign. They wrote imaginative literature on slavery, such as Hannah More's publications. In 1792 Mary Birkett Card wrote 'A Poem on the African Slave Trade' and, as the campaign became more popular, many women, from all walks of life, (including Georgina, the Duchess of Devonshire and Bristol milk-woman Ann Yearsley) published anti-slavery poems and stories. These were aimed at a wide readership. Former slaves such as Phyllis Wheatley wrote their own poems and accounts that were extremely influential. (quoted in “The Abolition Project”) However as the main food purchasers, women played an important role in organizing the sugar boycotts of the 1790s, after the bill for the abolition of the Slave Trade was defeated in Parliament in 1791. Over 300,000 people joined a boycott of sugar which had been grown on plantations that used the labor of enslaved people. The Abolition Act, passed in 1807, abolished the Slave Trade but not chattel slavery. A child born to an...
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...Ernesto Castillo Jodie Baeyens LITR220 August 14, 2015 Short Answer Essay Assignment 1. Based on the readings from weeks one and two, discuss the images of America the European writers constructed to promote colonization and settlement. What kinds of unique natural resources and environmental factors did they extol in their accounts of the New World? Relate these images to natural resources and environmental factors today. The Purposes behind coming to America was as diverse as the people living in it. America turned into the Promised Land of mankind, offering individuals a grand belief of a dream of extended opportunities and new hopes which was denied to them in the Old World. Europeans writers wrote an enormous amount of documents about America aimed during the early periods of settlement. Europeans composed portrayals of the nation, its abundant vegetation and aquatic life. They also “wrote of trading with the Indians” as numerous tribes established a peaceful exchange relation with the new settlers during the early phases of European settlement (Perkins 4). John Smith composed for future settlers when settlement started to grow. He also drew the maps for those settlers and gave them dreams that made them come to America even more. What created the drive for new settlers to come to America even more, was his adventure as “he told the story of his rescue by Pocahontas” (Smith 31). Through these stories, the readers could see the issues of Virginias settlement...
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