Download Virginia

The First Two Cities
What motivations led Europeans to settle in America? What problems did they have to
overcome once they arrived, and how did they overcome these problems?
Introduction:
 England’s struggles…
o England’s first colony of Roanoke failed miserably
o Finding riches took time and effort in which many adventures did not have
 The first two cities
o Jamestown and Plymouth were the first successful cities
o The main difference between Roanoke and these two cities is that they survived
o The development of these two cities will develop two distinct societies (sections) of the country
Jamestown: The First Southern City
 Motivations: Money
o A London based company known as the “Joint Stock Company” wanted to start a colony
o Jamestown Charter
 Created by the Joint Stock Company for the colonists
 It guaranteed rights of all Englishman
 Colonists and English citizens are equals????
o The company must be profitable
 Problems within the first year: Mortality rate was 85%
o Major food shortages
o No farmers
o Disease
o No women at first!
o Powhatan Confederacy saw the settlers as a nuisance and with the encroachment by the settlers
began a war
 The ‘Crown’ took the colony away from the company
 Overcoming these problems:
o Captain John Smith
 He was the first strong leader of Jamestown, he held Jamestown together
 Every time he would leave, the city would begin to crumble
o John Rolfe
 He brought sweet tobacco from the Caribbean which made the colony profitable
 The soil and the climate was perfect for this new cash crop
 With the bringing of Sweet Tobacco, Jamestown needed more slaves
 He married Pocahontas to ease tensions with the Natives
Plymouth: The First New England City
 Family and religion controlled almost every aspect of their lives (Public Education)
 Motivations: Religion
o Religious tension remained high after the Protestant Reformation
o Puritans
 They wanted to reform or purify the Church of England (Concentrate on the Bible)
 Some even stated that they should separate from the Church of England
 One group of ‘Separatists’ became the Pilgrims
o Pilgrims immigrated to the Netherlands than the Americas
o The Pilgrims wanted practice their faith without being persecuted



Motivations: Freedom
o Concern:
 The pilgrims wanted the freedom to practice their religion as they see fit
 However, their ship the Mayflower, did not have all Pilgrims on it
 Because of the Pilgrims’ fear of the others, the non-pilgrims forcing them to abandon
their religious beliefs, the Pilgrims wanted to set a system of laws to protect their
religion
o Mayflower Compact
 The Pilgrims were originally supposed to land in Virginia, but they were getting
desperate for supplies so they made landfall
 On November 21, 1620, 41 male passengers established basic laws for the new colony
 These laws were meant to protect a person’s right to be a pilgrim (not freedom of
religion)
 Significance: The Mayflower Compact was the colonies first attempt at a democratic selfgovernment
Problems: 50% mortality rate
o Harsh first winter
o Lack of supplies
o Starvation
Overcoming these problems:
o The Pilgrims were better able to handle the rural atmosphere
 They were ‘farm people’
 They were able to build houses and develop families
o Squanto – the colony’s savior
 Spoke English
 He taught the pilgrims how to fertilize their farms and how to establish good relations
with the Wampanoag Indians
 “Squanto continued with them and was their interpreter… He directed them how to set
(plant) corn, where to take (catch) fish, and to procure (to get) other commodities (goods)”
o Traditionally: the Pilgrims had better relations with the Natives than the people of Jamestown
Salem Witch Trials:
 Problem: ‘Just wanted to have fun’
o According to the Pilgrim perspective of Christianity and the Bible, a person should not do acts
that might disgrace them (having fun)
o The girls were dancing in the woods and got caught by the minister and were about to be
punished
 The accusations
o The girls blamed others for their need to have fun (someone made them do it)
o These girls ranging from 6 to 15 years old began accusing others of hurting them - physically
and emotionally (witchcraft)
 There was no real evidence of witchcraft
o The girls used what is known as spectral evidence (a person’s spirit attacking)
o 19 innocent people were killed, they could not defend against it
 Significance:
o It helps show the religious hysteria of the New England colonies
o You can’t really defend against a rumor
Summary