The document summarizes Britain's early colonial efforts in North America, beginning with the late start of British settlements compared to other European powers like Spain and France. It then discusses some of the earliest British explorers like John Cabot and Sir Walter Raleigh. Francis Drake gained riches for Queen Elizabeth by raiding Spanish ports in North America. The document also covers early failed colonial attempts by Humphrey Gilbert and at Roanoke colony, which disappeared mysteriously. It concludes with the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and the "Starving Time" that nearly caused the colony to fail before it became self-sustaining through John Smith's leadership.

1. Britain in the New World
Unit 2
Part I

2. Britain in the New World
• Most modern American
citizens consider Great
Britain to be their European
"parent" country. However,
by the time British arrived in
the New World and
established their first
permanent settlement at
Jamestown in 1607, much of
the continent had already
been claimed by other
European nations.
• All of the modern Southwest,
including Texas and
California, had been peopled
by Spanish settlers for about
a century. The entire
expanse of land between the
Appalachian Mountains and
the Rocky Mountains had at
one point been claimed by
France.

3. • Many factors contributed to Britain's tardiness. England was not
the most powerful European nation in the 16th century. Spain
was most influential. Along with Portugal, Spain dominated New
World exploration in the decades that followed Columbus.
France, the Netherlands, and Sweden all showed greater
interest in the Western Hemisphere than England did.

4. Late Expectations
• One of England's most
adventurous sea captains,
Sir Walter Raleigh was
granted a charter in 1584 to
seek out new lands.

5. John Cabot
• A voyage by John Cabot on
behalf of English investors in
1497 failed to spark any
great interest in the NEW
WORLD.

6. Henry VIII
• When HENRY VIII broke
with the Catholic Church in
1533, decades of religious
strife ensued.
• Finally, under Henry's
daughter ELIZABETH I, the
English were prepared to
stake their claims.

7. Early Ventures Fail

8. Francis Drake
• Francis Drake was
financially supported by
Queen Elizabeth.
• He was a buccaneer who
found it easier to plunder the
gold of others than mine it
himself.

9. • Francis Drake gained riches for himself and his investor (Queen
Elizabeth).
• After raiding ports in NEW SPAIN, Drake circumnavigated the
globe in order to avoid being destroyed by the Spanish for his
crime.
• Upon Drake’s safe arrival in England, the Spanish demanded
his arrest.

10. New Spain
• New Spain refers to Spanish-controlled territories in
North America.
• These territories included what would become the
southwest United States, Florida, Mexico, Central
America north of Panama, some West Indian
islands, and the islands of the Philippines.

11. The Knight Stuff
• Queen Elizabeth refused to comply with Spain’s
demands as she was one of Drake’s investors.
• Elizabeth knighted him on the deck of his ship.
• Drake became the first to sail around the world since
FERDINAND MAGELLAN’s voyage.
• Drake completed perhaps the longest escape route
in the history of the world.

12. Ferdinand Magellan
• Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal circa 1480. As a boy,
he studied mapmaking and navigation. By his mid-20s, he was
sailing in large fleets and was committed in combat. In 1519,
with the support of King Charles V of Spain, Magellan set out to
circumnavigate the globe. He assembled a fleet of ships and,
despite huge setbacks, his own death included, proved that the
world was round.

13. Early Attempts at Colonizing
• HUMPHREY
GILBERT was the
first to attempt to
colonize the New
World.
•Gilbert has already made a
name for himself as a
colonizer.
•His fervor for the Church of
England made him ruthless.
•In 1583, he claimed the land
for his queen, ignoring the fact
that fishermen from other
countries had already lived
there for decades.
•His ship was lost at sea on
his return home.

14. Roanoke
• Sir Walter Raleigh’s expedition to ROANOKE did not
fare much better.
• In 1585, Raleigh’s men settled off the coast of
modern-day North Carolina.
• Amity with the Native Americans soon dwindled,
along with the colonists’ supplies.
• In 1586, after beheading the local Indian chief,
WINGINA, the colonists left Roanoke.
Water color by John White, believed to be Wingina.

15. • Sir Walter Raleigh arranged for GOVERNOR JOHN
WHITE and a group of families to return to live
peacefully with the natives in 1587.
• Violence resumed within one month.
• White was forced to return to England to ask Raleigh
for reinforcements.
• Due to the war with Spain, White did not return to the
colony until 1590.

16. • White searched for the settlers.
• His granddaughter, VIRGINIA DARE, the first
English New World baby, was missing as well.

17. “CROATOAN”
• All that could be found was the remains of a village
and a mysterious word, “CROATOAN,” engraved on
a tree.
• This lost colony remains one of the greatest
mysteries of the colonial period.

18. Jamestown Settlement and the “Starving
Time”

19. • The first joint-stock
company to launch
a lasting venture in
the New World was
the VIRGINIA
COMPANY OF
LONDON.

20. • In 1607, 144 English men and boys established the
JAMESTOWN colony, named after King James I.
• The colonists were told that if they did not generate
any wealth, financial support for their efforts would
end.
• Many of the men spent their days vainly searching
for gold.
• As a consequence, the colonists spent little time
farming. Food supplies dwindled. MALARIA and the
harsh winter besieged the colonists, as well.
• After the first year, only 38 of the original 144 had
survived.

21. “Work or Starve”
The colony may well
have perished had it
not been for the
leadership of JOHN
SMITH. He imposed
strict discipline on
the colonists. "Work
or starve" was his
motto, and each
colonist was
required to spend
four hours per day
farming.

22. • An accidental gunpowder burn forced Smith to return
to England in 1609. After his departure, the colony
endured even more hardships.
• A new boatload of colonists and supplies sank off the
coast of Bermuda on its way to help the hungry
settlement.
• The winter of 1609-10, known as the "STARVING
TIME," may have been the worst of all.

23. • Disease and hunger ravaged Jamestown.
• Two desperate colonists were tied to posts and left
to starve as punishment for raiding the colonies'
stores.
• One colonist even took to cannibalism, eating his
own wife. The fate of the venture was precarious.
• Yet still more colonists arrived, and their numbers
included women.

24. King James I
declared the Virginia
Company bankrupt
in 1624.
About 200,000
pounds were lost
among the
investors.

25. To be continued…

26. Credits
• ushistory.org
• biography.com
• shmoop.com
• Gymnopédie 1 – Erik Satie