Colony Compare and Contrast
In the 17th century, England was late when it came to the colonization of the new world. Which went through many changes before it was able to test the waters, forming the first settlements in the mid-Atlantic, Virginia. Under the guise of a noble mission given to them by King James I, the Virginia Company funded the first Colonies in Virginia. Years later, after perfecting their skills at surviving this new land, colonies in the south, Carolina were formed. These two regions both had their share of challenges, but they overcame them in different ways. Each had a method of doing things by force or from trial and error. The world in 1606 was very different than the world of today, but this is a story based on the
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They were unprepared for life in the wilderness. Most had the impression that everything would be easy in the new world. The men and boys who first settled in Jamestown were townsmen and gentlemen. “They had come expecting to find gold, friendly Indians, and easy living.” (America: A Narrative History, 57) This information was given to them before making the journey to the new world. The settles were also told they would be provided with everything they would need, but supplies from England were undependable. When they arrived there was no town or any shelter waiting for them. They had to learn how to hunt and grow their own food, which they were not use to or even knew how to do in this untamed world. Captain John Smith took charge of the colony ensuring that of the 38 original survivors had to pull their own weight. He used various means to archive his goals and through his efforts Jamestown pulled through. After a period called the “Starving Time,” (America: A Narrative History, 60), where most of the colonist died, a man named John Rolfe provided a way for the colony to survive. He was able to acquire tobacco seeds from the Spanish and with it he made the colony a source of trade (America: A Narrative History, 61). Tobacco and other grown good where used to improve the lives of the colonies, but their daily lives were still very harsh as they were …show more content…
Unlike Virginia’s colony Jamestown, it took years before this became a fully established colony. The name given to it was Charles town and most of the colonists who settled there came from the Caribbean island of Barbados. Which had more experienced people in order to start a sugar-cane plantation like in the West Indies (America: A Narrative History, 85). These people has years of experience tending to the land. Compared to the gentlemen, who were unfamiliar with farming that first settled Jamestown years earlier. Lord Anthony Ashley Copper, one of the eight lards who owned the region, wrote the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. Along with the assistance of his secretary John Locke (America: A Narrative History, 86). This document was mainly used to draw up new land grants. In order to encourage more people to settle in Carolina, religious tolerance was also outlined in the Fundamental Constitution of Carolina. Compared to Jamestown, Charlestown of Carolina also had plenty of work to do, but not enough workers to complete it. More laborers were needed which made slaves a highly valued trading good. As they increased trading with the native people, settlers encouraged them to capture and sell rival tribes into slavery (America: A Narrative History, 87). Settlers in the Carolinas benefited
Summary: This book starts well before Roanoke was founded. It detailed how, at the time, England was not a superpower. Spain and France were the most dominant of the European countries, but internal conflicts in France made it weak, while Spain was getting extremely wealthy off of Indians and the Aztecs. England saw this as an opportunity to expand into the New World, and had Walter Raleigh head the trip. The main goals of the colony were to expanding their efforts of privateering, with a sustainable colony as an after thought. It was initial devised as a way to intercept merchant ships more effectively from other countries (mainly Spain) and be a short-term base of operations. Most if not all of the men brought over had only military experience, so they struggled with building proper housing, getting clean water, and growing crops. Ultimately, conflict erupted when the Indians grew weary of giving such a large amount of supplies to the colonists, and many high ranking officials died on the Indian side. The settlement was abandoned due to lack of supplies. After this unsuccessful attempt, John White lead another group intended to be a permanent settlement to Roanoke, and the prototype of plantations he u...
Against all Odds is a very interesting Documentary that follows the early settlement of Jamestown in the 17th century .With endless against the odds situations thrown out in from of the people of Jamestown left and right things seemed bleak. But a lot of perseverance from the early settlers including the Documentaries depiction of the original leader John Smith things seemed to resolve themselves. In Documentary there were several parts where it conceited with what is in chapter three of the Textbook the American Promise. For example, In the Documentary when the subject of the Tobacco business came up it was exampled in the same way as the first page of chapter three. With examples of how the product was grown and distributed out into the world. Making it a very valuable trade to be doing although very labor intensive, which is why it would soon lead into the slave trade. Something that was briefly shown in the documentary mainly to show what lengths the people of Jamestown were willing to go to make things work out in their new home.
A fundamental difference between the New England and Southern colonies was the motives of the founders. In 1606, the Virginia Company was formed, motivated primarily by the promise ...
The seventeenth century was a time of great change in colonial America. Virginia, the first colony in the Chesapeake region, was established in 1624. Plymouth, the first colony in New England, was established in 1620. These two regions developed in distinct ways, but were intertwined because of their ties to England. The Chesapeake colonies were established for economic reasons, as the Virginia Company of London looked to mass-produce cash crops in the new world. The New England colonies, however, were created to be a religious haven for those who opposed the English church. Both regions developed economic and political systems that catered to the desires of the respective populations and the geographical conditions.
Everyone knows the story of how the Pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower and started a new life. But what about before the Pilgrims? On May 14th, 1607, 104 English settlers stepped off the crowded boat and started a colony in modern-day Virginia. These people are referred to as the “early Jamestown settlers”. Now, it’s important to know that when we say “early”, we mean the first 544. However, they didn’t actually ever have 544 people there at once. The most they ever had at one time was 381 people, and the least amount was 40. This is because a lot of them died. Why did they die? That’s a good question. Their deaths can be attributed to multiple things, including the climate, disease, and a lack of money. However, those things are mere
Looking at the early English colonies in the Chesapeake Bay region, it’s clear that the English had not learned any lessons from their experiences at Roanoke. Poor planning, a bad location, unrealistic expectations, flawed leadership, unsuccessful relations with the local Indians, and no hope of finding the mineral wealth the Spanish found in Mexico, all contributed to failure. The first colonists in the Chesapeake region were not only ignorant, lazy and unambitious, but their attempts were hampered before they had begun. However, a solution to these problems was found in a single plant: tobacco. Nevertheless, this cash crop ultimately created numerous problems for the colonists. The ignorance and indolent acts of the Chesapeake colonists to unsuccessfully restore the colony by themselves led to the demise of the colony as a whole especially regarding the planting of agricultural goods for food.
America, it has always had everything we need, except for when colonists flocked in the early 1600´s. Its 1609, you and a group of people have been on a boat for months. Now you aren't even sure if the America's exist. But once you lost every single drop of hope, you see it. A beautiful swampy land. This place makes you feel like you have a lot of opportunities, there’s a river, a lot of wildlife, and not that many Native’s around. It seems perfect, that’s what people that saw posters of Jamestown thought in England. Jamestown seemed, perfect, appeared perfect…
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.
The first effort by the English to establish a colony in the New World was when Sir Walter Raleigh issued a charter to establish a colony at Roanoke. It was the responsibility of Raleigh to make the necessary provisions to complete the journeys to the New World and accomplish the goals of the charter. This entailed hiring ship captains and their crews, recruiting possible colonists, purchasing food and other supplies, and finding those who would invest capital in the missions. Raleigh however did not actively participate in the journeys to Roanoke Island; he was just the organizer and major financier.
Virginia in 1676 was a colony in turmoil. For a number of years the popularity of Governor Sir William Berkeley had suffered, especially among smaller farmers and those living on the edge of the frontier. Issues of complaint included land ownership, requirements on voting rights, high taxes, low tobacco prices, restrictive Navigation Acts, and, most importantly, lack of protection from attacks waged by Native Americans. Berkeley’s attempts to negotiate peace with the Native Americans caused him to avoid confronting violations of treaty obligations for fear of making the situation worse. As a result, as a greater percentage of the white population began to infiltrate Indian lands, more and more Virginians, especially unemployed colonists who had formerly been indent...
The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans, and the English (textbook 44-5). Economic growth and expanding their territories were the main priorities of the English in the Jamestown colonies.
The colony was led by John Winthrop and was established in 1630. They were also Puritans who settled under the Massachusetts Bay Company, who dealt in trade. The colony settled in the Massachusetts Bay, with Boston becoming their largest city and capital. Unlike the Pilgrims of Plymouth they were non-separating Congregationalists for the simple fact that they believed the Church of England could be reformed. Their charter was unique because authority rested with a genral court of freeman, who were Puritan stock or property owners and later church members. They elected their governor and his assistants and later gained the power to pass their own laws and levy taxes. The freeman eventually became so large that it formed into a two-house legislature known as the House of Assistants, who were Lords, or of Royal descent, and the House of Deputies, who were Commons, or normal people not of Royal descent. Their government was a union of church and state and looked to make Puritanism the official religion with the Bible as the basis for the law. Much like the Pilgrims, they were very self-sufficient and did not have to rely on Native American help because they were able to grow many different crops of their own. This was very helpful because it ensured if one crop died, they had others they could rely on for survival. This was a very successful colony, arguably one of the most successful overall
Kupperman argues that the geographical location along with the lack of potential profit (until the introduction of the tobacco plant by John Rolfe) was the prime components which resulted in the rocky start of the colony. "One reason was its site, which proved to be a very poor choice of promoting the well-being of the people who tried to live there...was a time of environmental crisis that made establishing a thriving settlement even more difficult." The fact that the Jamestown colony eventually began to develop value does not expunge it of its past and it does not change the foundation upon which it was
The year was 1607, on May 14 a ship have arrive to what is now known as Jamestown. This was the beginning of the United States, yet it doesn’t tell about the hardship these individuals had to endure. These settlers went through obstacles and came out victorious, but at what price. Death, one of the most common word you will see in Jamestown, this was due to the harsh environment that the settlers have encounter. Many factors have influence their survival from the area that have chosen to the kind of health they are experiencing.
Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland were settled in the early 17th century. It was a difficult live for the first colonist; they had limited labor and were constantly raided by Native Americans. Colonist tried to use the Native Americans as a source of slavery. Most of the colonist’s farms were by forest areas so Native Americans would just leave in to the woods. Colonists were afraid of pressuring them from the fear of getting ambushed by gangs of Native Americans. Another reason Native Americans men made bad slaves was because the women in the tribes did the agricultural work in the Native American villages.