
The failure of Roanoke was expensive, and, with the war against Spain still raging, Elizabeth made it clear that there was no money for colonization ventures. When peace came in 1604, private funds rather than the royal treasury financed English settlement in North America. The joint‐stock company and the founding of Jamestown
Jamestown
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River about 2.5 mi southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was established by the Virginia Company of Lon…
Full Answer
What was the first English company to settle in America?
English Exploration, Early Settlements. In 1606, Elizabeth's successor, James I, issued charters to the Virginia Company of Plymouth and the Virginia Company of London to establish colonies along the Atlantic coast from modern‐day North Carolina to Maine. These were joint‐stock companies, the forerunner of the modern corporation.
How many successful English colonies were there in the Americas?
While there were several mishaps and failed settlements at the start, here is a list of the first five successful English colonies in the Americas. In 1606, the newly-formed Virginia Company was granted a charter to build a settlement in the Americas under the English flag.
Why did the English settlers come to America?
In the early seventeenth century, thousands of English settlers came to what are now Virginia, Maryland, and the New England states in search of opportunity and a better life. Promoters of English colonization in North America, many of whom never ventured across the Atlantic, wrote about the bounty the English would find there.
How did England gain the right to colonize America in the 1600s?
Soon after England’s first colonization efforts, several changes took place that strengthened their ability to colonize America in the early 1600s: the Protestant Reformation, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the changes in the English economy.

How did England finance its early exploration?
How did England finance its early exploration and colonization of America? Through capital provided by English pirates.
What was one of the purposes of the settlement at Plymouth Plantation?
What was one of the purposes of the settlement at Plymouth Plantation? The settlers wanted to provide lumber, furs, and fish for London merchant Thomas Weston.
Where was the first permanent European settlement on future United States soil?
Even before Jamestown or the Plymouth Colony, the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States was founded in September 1565 by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in St. Augustine, Florida.
Who financed England's earliest ventures to North America?
Origins (1606–07) The colony was a private venture, financed and organized by the Virginia Company of London. King James I granted a charter to a group of investors for the establishment of the company on April 10, 1606.
What was the most likely motivation to create the Mayflower Compact?
But after treacherous shoals and storms drove their ship off course, the settlers landed in Massachusetts instead, near Cape Cod, outside of Virginia's jurisdiction. Knowing life without laws could prove catastrophic, colonist leaders created the Mayflower Compact to ensure a functioning social structure would prevail.
What was the name of the first English settlement in New England?
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Who were the first white settlers in America?
The invasion of the North American continent and its peoples began with the Spanish in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida, then British in 1587 when the Plymouth Company established a settlement that they dubbed Roanoke in present-day North Carolina.
Who were the 1st settlers in America?
Five hundred years before Columbus, a daring band of Vikings led by Leif Eriksson set foot in North America and established a settlement.
What were the first two English settlements in America?
After Roanoke Colony failed in 1587, the English found more success with the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620. The two colonies were very different in origin.
Who discovered America for England?
John CabotIt was, in fact, a ship commissioned by England's very own King Henry VII which first reached the American mainland in 1497, albeit led by a Venetian captain called John Cabot.
Why did English settlers come to America?
The British settlers came to these new lands for many reasons. Some wanted to make money or set up trade with their home country while others wanted religious freedom. In the early 1600s, the British king began establishing colonies in America.
When did the English first come to America?
1607The first permanent English colony in America was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
What is the importance Of Plymouth Plantation?
The work is considered among the most significant of early American literature and history, not only for its artistic and historical value but also its influence on the development of the national character of the United States of America.
Which statement best describes one main idea of Of Plymouth Plantation quizlet?
Which statement best describes one main idea of Of Plymouth Plantation? D. The Pilgrims found themselves in a hostile environment with only their religious faith to sustain them.
What is Of Plymouth Plantation summary?
It was primarily a journal of the colonists' first years at Plymouth. The Bradford journal records the events of the first 30 years of Plymouth Colony, as well as the reactions of the colonists to those events, and it is regarded by historians as the preeminent work of 17th century America.
What is the most important idea of the second paragraph of Of Plymouth Plantation quizlet?
What is the most important idea of the second paragraph of Of Plymouth Plantation? The Pilgrims and ship's officers discussed the damage to the ship and decided to continue the voyage.
THE DIVERGING CULTURES OF THE NEW ENGLAND AND CHESAPEAKE COLONIES
Promoters of English colonization in North America, many of whom never ventured across the Atlantic, wrote about the bounty the English would find there. These boosters of colonization hoped to turn a profit—whether by importing raw resources or providing new markets for English goods—and spread Protestantism.
THE CHESAPEAKE COLONIES: VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND
The Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland served a vital purpose in the developing seventeenth-century English empire by providing tobacco, a cash crop. However, the early history of Jamestown did not suggest the English outpost would survive.
PURITAN NEW ENGLAND
The second major area to be colonized by the English in the first half of the seventeenth century, New England, differed markedly in its founding principles from the commercially oriented Chesapeake tobacco colonies. Settled largely by waves of Puritan families in the 1630s, New England had a religious orientation from the start.
Section Summary
The English came late to colonization of the Americas, establishing stable settlements in the 1600s after several unsuccessful attempts in the 1500s. After Roanoke Colony failed in 1587, the English found more success with the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620. The two colonies were very different in origin.
What were the major changes that occurred after the English colonization?
Soon after England’s first colonization efforts, several changes took place that strengthened their ability to colonize America in the early 1600s: the Protestant Reformation, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the changes in the English economy.
What were the factors that fueled the expansion of the colonial era?
Colonial expansion was fueled by a number of factors. England’s population was growing at a rapid rate. Economic recession left many without work, even skilled artisans could earn little more than enough to live. Poor crop yields added to the distress. In addition, the Industrial Revolution had created a growing textile industry, which demanded an ever- increasing supply of wool. Landlords enclosed farmlands for sheep grazing , which left the farmers without anywhere to live. The law of primogeniture (first born) stated that only the eldest son inherited an estate, which left many entrepreneurial younger sons to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Colonial expansion became an outlet for these displaced populations.
Why did the Separatists leave England?
In an age when church and state were united, dissenting from the practices of the official Church of England was seen as treason. The Separatists went into exile departing for Holland in 1608 so that they did not have to conform to the beliefs set out by the Church of England. As fellow Calvinists, the Dutch tolerated the Separatists—and many others. After living with the Dutch customs and liberal ways for 12 years, the Separatist longed for their English lifestyle. Since they could not go back to England, they decided the next best option was to transplant their customs in the New World.
Where did the Mayflower settle in the spring?
Having landed on the Massachusetts shore in the middle of winter, the Pilgrims’ first months spent trying to build the settlement were very difficult. About half of the settlers died during the first winter, but when the Mayflower returned to England in the spring all of the remaining Separatists stayed in Plymouth.
How many people travelled on the Mayflower?
In 1620, about 100 people boarded the Mayflower for the New World, and less than half of them were Separatists. A storm made the group miss their destination, pushing them north of the Virginia Company where they settled off the coast of New England in Plymouth Bay.
What was King Philip II's goal?
One of his goals was to bring England back into the Catholic fold once and for all. In 1588, the Spanish Armada consisting of some 130 ships and 30,000 men sailed to the English Channel.
Why did King James I establish the Virginia Company?
The charter revealed the primary motivation for colonization of both King James and the company: the promise of gold. Secondary motivations included finding a sea passage through the New World to Asia and the Indies, establishing colonies and outposts to demonstrate English power and influence, and spreading Christianity and a European definition of civilization to the native people. The English assumed that the riches and native populations that the Spanish found in Mexico and Peru existed throughout the Americas.
When did indentured servants improve their chances of social mobility?
e. indentured servants chances of social mobility improved in second half of 1600s
Who shook the foundation of the social order by sowing seeds of doubt?
New light preachers like Gilbert Tennent shook the foundation of the social order by sowing seeds of doubt about ---
Why did the English settle in Virginia?
Figure 3.8 In the early seventeenth century, thousands of English settlers came to what are now Virginia, Maryland, and the New England states in search of opportunity and a better life.
What was the main source of labor for the English colonies?
The transition from indentured servitude to slavery as the main labor source for some English colonies happened first in the West Indies. On the small island of Barbados, colonized in the 1620s, English planters first grew tobacco as their main export crop, but in the 1640s, they converted to sugarcane and began increasingly to rely on African enslaved people. In 1655, England wrestled control of Jamaica from the Spanish and quickly turned it into a lucrative sugar island, run on forced labor, for its expanding empire. While slavery was slower to take hold in the Chesapeake colonies, by the end of the seventeenth century, both Virginia and Maryland had also adopted chattel slavery—which legally defined Africans as property and not people—as the dominant form of labor to grow tobacco. Chesapeake colonists also enslaved native people.
What did Virginians do to help the colonists?
To meet these labor demands, early Virginians relied on indentured servants. An indenture is a labor contract that young, impoverished, and often illiterate Englishmen and occasionally Englishwomen signed in England, pledging to work for a number of years (usually between five and seven) growing tobacco in the Chesapeake colonies. In return, indentured servants received paid passage to America and food, clothing, and lodging. At the end of their indenture servants received “freedom dues,” usually food and other provisions, including, in some cases, land provided by the colony. The promise of a new life in America was a strong attraction for members of England’s underclass, who had few if any options at home. In the 1600s, some 100,000 indentured servants traveled to the Chesapeake Bay. Most were poor young men in their early twenties.
How did the Puritan labor system differ from the Chesapeake colonies?
Different labor systems also distinguished early Puritan New England from the Chesapeake colonies. Puritans expected young people to work diligently at their calling, and all members of their large families, including children, did the bulk of the work necessary to run homes, farms, and businesses. Very few migrants came to New England as laborers; in fact, New England towns protected their disciplined homegrown workforce by refusing to allow outsiders in, assuring their sons and daughters of steady employment. New England ’s labor system produced remarkable results, notably a powerful maritime-based economy with scores of oceangoing ships and the crews necessary to sail them. New England mariners sailing New England–made ships transported Virginian tobacco and West Indian sugar throughout the Atlantic World.
What did the Puritans do to convert Native Americans?
John Eliot, the leading Puritan missionary in New England, urged natives in Massachusetts to live in “praying towns” established by English authorities for converted Native Americans, and to adopt the Puritan emphasis on the centrality of the Bible. In keeping with the Protestant emphasis on reading scripture, he translated the Bible into the local Algonquian language and published his work in 1663. Eliot hoped that as a result of his efforts, some of New England’s native inhabitants would become preachers.
What was the cause of the Powhatan War?
The First Anglo-Powhatan War (1609–1614) resulted not only from the English colonists’ intrusion onto Powhatan land , but also from their refusal to follow native protocol by giving gifts. English actions infuriated and insulted the Powhatan. In 1613, the settlers captured Pocahontas (also called Matoaka), the daughter of a Powhatan headman named Wahunsonacook, and gave her in marriage to Englishman John Rolfe. Their union, and her choice to remain with the English, helped quell the war in 1614. Pocahontas converted to Christianity, changing her name to Rebecca, and sailed with her husband and several other Powhatan to England where she was introduced to King James I (Figure 3.10). Promoters of colonization publicized Pocahontas as an example of the good work of converting the Powhatan to Christianity.
Why were Puritans a threat to the Church of England?
In the Church’s view, Puritans represented a national security threat, because their demands for cultural, social, and religious reforms undermined the king’s authority. Unwilling to conform to the Church of England, many Puritans found refuge in the New World. Yet those who emigrated to the Americas were not united. Some called for a complete break with the Church of England, while others remained committed to reforming the national church.
Who was the first person to establish a colony in the New World?
In the course of their expedition, they encountered few obstacles and their positive report prompted Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a colony in the New World.
Who was the first child born to English parents in the New World?
The third colony, choosing the same location their predecessors had abandoned, saw improved relations with natives and the 1587 birth of Virginia Dare , the first child born to English parents in the New World.
What happened to the colonists on Roanoke Island?
After English supply ships failed to reach Roanoke Island, the colonists returned to England, and in the process missed the arrival of a re-supply ship.
What is the Lost Colony?
The vanquished settlement is often referred to as the “Lost Colony,” a story retold each summer on Roanoke Island in Paul Green’s outdoor drama. Although the first English colonies were unsuccessful, the attempts brought attention to the dangers inherent in creating a new society in a foreign world, and laid a course for future colonists.
How many men did the Grenville expedition have?
They never did, and eventually the men returned to England. Two years later, Grenville sent another colonial expedition of 150 men, led by artist John White.
Who were the three explorers who set out to explore the coast of North Carolina?
In April of 1584, explorers Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe set out from England to survey the coast near Cape Hatteras.
Historical Background
The overarching theme of this time period is exploration and competition for empire. The European countries were in competition to be the biggest, wealthiest and most powerful empire. They all wanted a piece of the “pie” that became known as North America.
Lesson Objective
The essential question I would like students to be able to answer at the end of the lesson: What were the religious and economic events and conditions that led to the colonization of America?
Materials
Encyclopedia Virginia, “John White Returns to Roanoke; an excerpt from the fift voyage of Master John White into the West Indies and parts of America called Virginia, in the yeere 1590.”
Procedure
Hook/Preview: The lesson will be introduced with the idea that students will be “Historical Detectives.”
Assessment
The students will complete an exit ticket (after the second block of presenting the material) as a formative assessment.
When did the English start colonizing?
It wasn’t until the decisive victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588 that the English were able to flex their imperial muscles and truly begin establishing their colonial empire.
Why did the colonists choose Jamestown as their first settlement?
Their main concern was to make the location defensible from the local natives, as well as from the Spanish. This simple decision was one that made life very difficult for the initial settlers.
What was the name of the colony that exploded in the 1630s?
The population of the colony exploded in the 1630s during what’s known as “The Great Migration ,” in which Puritans from across England settled into the area.
How many colonists died during the starving time?
Nearly 80% of colonists between 1609 and 1610 died during what’s known as the “Starving Time.”. Despite almost becoming a failed colony itself, and in fact being completely abandoned for a day, an eventual third supply finally brought the workforce and leadership the colony needed.
Why did the race gobble up land?
In order to boost the status of their nations and establish economic, military, and cultural superiority over their European counterparts, the race was on to gobble up as much land as possible.
How many people migrated to Massachusetts Bay?
An estimated 20,000 people migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony during this time. Often times the existing settlements simply didn’t have enough room for the new settlers. This led them to create even more towns nearby to give land to the new arrivals.
What was the purpose of the Virginia Company?
This venture was primarily a way to extend the English presence in the New World, though as a privately funded endeavor, the company was looking to turn a profit in the colony.
