ENGLAND’S FIRST COLONIESCh.2 Sec.1

Activating Prior Knowledge

Correct Answer:England, Spain, France, Netherlands

England Takes Interest in America• Reasons for English Interest in N. America

• Protestant Reformation• Puritans seeking religious freedom

• Enclosure Movement• The rich kicked everyone off their estates to use them as sheep farms• Thousands of newly homeless Englishmen needed jobs and housing

• Joint-Stock Companies• Companies pooled money to find new places to herd sheep

• Competition w/ other European countries• France, Spain, & Netherlands were all battling for natural resources• Spain had begun hiring privateers to sink English merchant ships in the

Caribbean

England Returns to America• Roanoake Colony

• Founded by English on coast of North Carolina• Commanded by Sir Walter Raleigh• Raleigh sent two groups of colonists to settle there

• The 1st group came back after 1st winter• The 2nd group mysteriously disappeared

• When English supply ships finally reached the colony, everyone had disappeared

• Their fate is still a mystery

England Returns to America• Jamestown Colony Founding

• The Virginia Company bought land to raise livestock• Named Jamestown in honor of King James I• The chosen site was close to the ocean, in a swamp, and on low-

lying land• Colonists who arrived knew nothing of farming, living in wild• Captain John Smith stepped forward to organize and save the

colony• Were saved by the local Native American tribe (Powhatan)• Good times last two years

England Returns to America• Jamestown Colony Troubles

• John Smith returned to England with injuries• Jamestown’s new leader (Lord de la Warr) was a disaster• Too many people and not enough food caused shortages for the

winter• Began stealing food from Native Americans, were attacked• Began eating dogs, rats, snakes, and even human corpses

(dubbed the “Starving Time”)• Out of over 500, 60 survived that winter

England Returns to America• Jamestown Thrives

• The colony needed to find a way to make money• Colonist John Rolfe found a way to grow tobacco in surrounding

the swampy lands• The new demand for tobacco in Europe led to soaring profits for

the colony• To attract more settlers, colonists were allowed to begin governing

themselves• Were eventually taken control of by England, became a royal

colony

• Burgesses• A representative from each town in the colony• The group were known as the House of Burgesses

England Returns to America• Maryland Colony

• Lord Baltimore was a good friend of the King• After converting to Catholicism, he wanted to create a safe refuge

for his religion• Catholics were viewed as traitors and not allowed to hold certain

jobs• Maryland was established for religious freedom for Catholics• Mostly Protestants ended up moving there