English Exploration

First English Colony – Roanoke 1585

Sir Walter Raleigh – 1585 – set up a colony of 108 people on Roanoke – an island off the coast of North Carolina

Problems: A. Arrived to late to plant

crops B. Colonists upset

local Indians C. Went home in

1586

Roanoke Tried again in 1587 A. This time women

and children came over

Their leader, John White, had to return to England for more supplies and was gone for three years

When he returned, the colony had vanished

Still remains a mystery today

Jamestown – Chesapeake Colonies Jamestown (located in Virginia) 20 years after the Roanoke

Colony Investors raised money to fund

a settlement in the New World called it a joint stock company – a company in which a number of people purchase ownership of the company

King James I granted them a charter for land

1. 1607 – arrived in Virginia with 105 men and boys

2. Built a small post on the James River

3. Did not get off to a good start

A. the men spent most of their time looking for gold

Malaria (disease spread by mosquitoes) infected many

During the first year more than half of the settlers died

Captain John Smith Arrives

Imposed strict discipline

If you did not work, you did not eat

“Starving Time” In 1609, Smith had to return to England

The winter was very harsh

They ate….

Tobacco John Rolfe learned how

to grow a better tobacco plant in Jamestown

Tobacco became a cash crop – a product that can be grown in quantity and sold at a profit

They began to grow tobacco everywhere – sold it back to England for a profit

Virginia House of Burgesses

Made up of elected representatives to make decisions – first one in the New World

Gave the colonists a voice in the government

The Puritans (Pilgrims)

Puritans Wanted to “purify” the Church of England by getting rid of ALL Catholic practices

Those Puritans that wanted to completely separate from the Church of England were called Separatists

Puritans in England They were persecuted during the

reigns of James I and Charles I So they left to go to the Netherlands

(Holland) (Dutch) However, their children were

becoming more Dutch than English and the Puritans did not like this

They asked the Virginia Company for a charter of land in the New World

Voyage They left England in September 1620 in the Mayflower

Went through stormy weather most of the trip

Landed far north of Virginia in Massachusetts

Reasons: a. storm blew them off course b. wanted a piece of land all

to themselves

Mayflower Compact Before they left

the ship, they signed the Mayflower Compact

This document formed their government

Survival During the first

several months, half of the colonists died

Local Indians showed them how to hunt, fish and farm – Squanto and Massosoit

First Thanksgiving When the Puritans had their first

harvest, they invited the Indians for a feast

More Indians came than expected, so the Indians had to supply most of the food

The feast lasted for three days

Puritans came to North America for religious freedom!!