Jamestown, Plymouth, English Colonies

1. The First English Colonies:
Jamestown and Plymouth
Textbook Reference: Chapter 3 sections 4,5

2. Focus Questions:
• #3 What were the different reasons for the settlement of the English
colonies Jamestown and Plymouth?
• #4 How did the concept of “self-government” develop in the English
colonies?

3. I Can:
• Describe the problems that the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies
faced and how they overcame them.
• Describe how European settlement impacted Native Americans and
the role that Native Americans played in the early colonization efforts
of England.
• Describe the role that religion played in early European colonization
efforts

4. Jamestown: Starvation, Tobacco, and
Representative Government

5. The Virginia Company of London
• In 1606, King James granted the
Virginia Company of London a
charter to settle land in North
America.
• A charter is a legal document
that gives certain rights to a
person or company.

7. Jamestown: disaster, starvation…
• The colony is established in 1607.
• Dirty water/swampy area
• Drought/poor soil
• The “wrong people”/many of the colonists were primarily interested
in looking for gold not farming
• Bad planning/ over-reliance on Native Americans for trade and
support
• Disease, poisoning, murder/breakdown of law after Smith leaves for
England

8. …recovery
• John Rolfe arrives in 1610 • His tobacco is exported in 1612

9. Pocahontas and John Smith
Married John Rolfe in 1614, which
creates a temporary climate of peace
An effective leader in the colony from
1607-1609

10. Representative Government in Jamestown
• In response to the difficult early years at Jamestown- many leaders
were tough on the settlers and set up harsh systems of rule
• Who wants to live like this? Nobody.
• So, to attract colonists to Jamestown, the Virginia Company sent a
new governor with orders to meet with elected officials throughout
the colony
• In 1619, The House of Burgesses meets for the first time. This
governing body is made up of burgesses or representatives chosen by
the male members of the colony
•

11. The Virginia House of Burgesses

12. English traditions that lead to American
Representative Government
Magna Carta
• 1215- King John agreed to
consult a great council of nobles
before raising taxes
Parliament
• A representative assembly in
England that influenced the way
colonists viewed their rights to
representative government in
America

13. Plymouth: Seeking opportunity and Religious
Freedom in 1620

14. It was not easy for people to practice religion
freely in Europe during the 1500s
• #1 The Protestant Reformation divided European Christians into
Roman Catholics and Protestants- this led to fighting over religion and
the deaths of thousands of people

15. European States and Religion
#2 The Established Church
• The rulers of Europe preferred
to maintain law and order by
picking a religion and supporting
it over all others.
How do you think government
involvement in religion affects
religion?
#3 Persecution
• The mistreatment or
punishment of those who did
not follow the established
church.
• How do you think persecuted
people overcame their
mistreatment?

16. Religious Separatists decide to leave Europe
and settle in North America
• #4 In 1620 the Mayflower lands in an area in present-day
Massachusetts
• These colonists won a charter to settle in Virginia, They wanted to go
to the Hudson River in New York, but settled in Cape Cod Mass.

17. Religious Separatists decide to leave Europe
and settle in North America
#5 The Mayflower Compact
• The colonists set up a
framework for governing their
colony and agreed to unite
under this new rule of law.
#6 Precedent
• The desire of the separatists
(pilgrims) to worship freely in
America became an important
example for others to follow.

18. The Mayflower Compact

19. Early Hardships for the Plymouth Colony
#7 Cold Weather
• The Pilgrims showed up right as
winter was starting and had they
a hard time getting shelters built
#8 Starvation
• They did not bring enough food
with them and they were too
late in the season to plant