Virginia & MarylandVirginia & Maryland

Reorganization of the London Co.

Virginia Company (1609)

Stock options for “adventurers”

Indentured servitude

The “Starving time” (1609-1610)

A chance meeting

Deciding to stay…

Jamestown and its Governors

John Smith returns to England

Governor Lord De La Warr

Harsh labor requirements

Harsh penalties

Land incentives

Private ownership

New relationship with the natives

Jamestown Jamestown Colonization Colonization Pattern:Pattern:1620-16601620-1660

Jamestown Jamestown Colonization Colonization Pattern:Pattern:1620-16601620-1660

River Settlement PatternRiver Settlement PatternRiver Settlement PatternRiver Settlement Pattern

Large plantations [>100 acres].Large plantations [>100 acres].

Widely spread apart [>5 miles].Widely spread apart [>5 miles].

Social/EconomicSocial/EconomicPROBLEMS???PROBLEMS???

Why Was There Such High Why Was There Such High Mortality?Mortality?

Why Was There Such High Why Was There Such High Mortality?Mortality?

POPULATION:POPULATION: 1607: 104 colonists1607: 104 colonists

By spring, 1608: 38 survivedBy spring, 1608: 38 survived

1609: 300 more immigrants1609: 300 more immigrants

By spring, 1610: 60 survivedBy spring, 1610: 60 survived

1610 – 1624: 10,000 immigrants1610 – 1624: 10,000 immigrants

1624 population: 1,2001624 population: 1,200

Adult life expectancy: 40 yearsAdult life expectancy: 40 years

Death of children before age 5: 80%Death of children before age 5: 80%

WidowarchyWidowarchyWidowarchyWidowarchy

High mortality among High mortality among husbands and fathers husbands and fathers left many women left many women in the Chesapeake in the Chesapeake colonies with unusual colonies with unusual autonomy and wealth!autonomy and wealth!

Virginia Begins to Thrive

Tobacco is King

John Rolfe

Headright system (1618)

Expansion of Plantations

Craftsmen come to the colony

John RolfeJohn RolfeJohn RolfeJohn Rolfe

King James deplores tobacco

English Tobacco LabelEnglish Tobacco LabelEnglish Tobacco LabelEnglish Tobacco Label

Tobacco and LandGrowing tobacco leached the soil of nutrients requiring the settlers to seek more land. This expansion along the banks of the James River resulted in the displacement of Virginia Indians from their homelands and led to conflict between the two cultures.

Early Colonial TobaccoEarly Colonial TobaccoEarly Colonial TobaccoEarly Colonial Tobacco

16181618 — Virginia produces 20,000 pounds of tobacco.

16221622 — Despite losing nearly one-third of its colonists in an Indian attack, Virginia produces 60,000 pounds of tobacco.

16271627 — Virginia produces 500,000 pounds of tobacco.

16291629 — Virginia produces 1,500,000 pounds of tobacco.

Tobacco Prices: 1618-1710Tobacco Prices: 1618-1710Tobacco Prices: 1618-1710Tobacco Prices: 1618-1710

Why did tobacco prices decline so precipitously?Why did tobacco prices decline so precipitously?

Labor Problems

Labor shortages

Enslaving Indians

Importing white servants

Beginnings of the African slave trade

The Virginia Assembly of 1619

House of Burgesses

HeadrightHeadrightSystemSystem

Indentured Servitude

Indentured ServitudeIndentured ServitudeIndentured ServitudeIndentured Servitude

Headright System:Headright System:

Each Virginian got 50 acres for each Each Virginian got 50 acres for each person whose passage they paidperson whose passage they paid

Indenture Contract:Indenture Contract:

5-7 years.5-7 years.

Promised “freedom dues” [land, $]Promised “freedom dues” [land, $]

Forbidden to marry.Forbidden to marry.

1610-1614: only 1 in 10 outlived their 1610-1614: only 1 in 10 outlived their indentured contracts!indentured contracts!

First African Slaves Arrive in Jamestown (1619)

Dutch slave ship

Blown off course—accidentally arrives in Jamestown

1st slaves treated like indentured servants

Evidence of freedoms and privileges that WILL NOT exist later

Chief Powhatan

The clash of co-existence

Matrilineal vs. Patrilineal societies

The role of the “white father”

Concept of land “ownership”

The miscommunication of the treaty process

Powhatan Indian video

The Powhatans

The Powhatan paramount chiefdom consisted of approximately 30 named tribes with a population of about 14,000 people, and was named Tsenacomoco, which may have meant “our place.”

The Powhatans had a sustained society with a structured government, economy, religion, language and intricate social institutions.

The clash of co-existence

The Powhatan Confederacy

The Ransom of Pocahontas

Opechancanough

The Massacre of 1622

Retaliation against the Powhatan

Jamestown becomes a royal colony 1624

Pocahontas- “Lady Rebecca”

Opechancanough

Pocahontas and John Rolfe

Take Five

Discuss the relationship between the

Powhatan Indians and the English settlers

1607

1620s

1690s

Agricultural Exchange

Learning to farm “American” style

New crops—The Three Sisters

Corn (maize or “greene wheat”), beans, pumpkins or squash etc…

Churches at Jamestown

Throughout the 17th century the colonists constructed several churches at Jamestown.

At one point in Jamestown’s history, it was mandatory that the settlers attend church twice on Sundays or suffer severe punishment.

The Colony Grows

Jamestown expanded from a small fort into the social, economic, political, and religious center of the colony.

Jamestown served as the seat of Virginia’s government for 92 years, until the capital moved to Williamsburg in 1699.

Images of New Towne Structures

The first brick home was built in 1639. In the second half of the 17th century some Jamestown families lived in brick Row Houses. This row of 3 houses was occupied at least from 1650 through 1720.

Row Houses