Agenda 1.  Jamestown Background Essay –

What did you learn? 2.  Jamestown Documents A - C

Homework 1.  Read Jamestown Documents D

and E and Answer the Questions 2.  Group Four Current Events Due

Friday, 10/2 3.  Current Events Peer Response

One Due Friday, 10/2

Tuesday, September 29th

7B Social Studies Inquiry: What elements do you need to make a successful society? Why did so many colonists die in Jamestown? Goal: Students will analyze and integrate information from primary and secondary sources about the Jamestown colony. (CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.6-­‐8.7)

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Background Essay Questions 1.  Why did the English come to the James River in 1607?

2.  Who helped pay for settling the James River Colony?

3.  How many settlers died in the first six months?

They  came  to  establish  the  first  permanent  English  se@lement  in  America.    They  wanted  riches,  opportuniEes,  a  passage  to  China,  and  to  spread  ChrisEanity.  

A  group  of  English  investors  paid  for  the  adventure,  hoping  to  make  a  profit  (gold,  passage  to  China).    

They  arrived  on  May  13,  1607;  by  the  end  of  December  1607,  70  of  the  original  110  had  died.    

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Background Essay Questions 4.  Define or explain each of these terms: Chesapeake Bay Powhatan Wahunsonacock

A  large  saltwater  bay  of  the  AtlanEc  Ocean  on  the  coast  of  Virginia  

A  naEve  American  group  of  about  15,000  people  who  lived  in  near  the  James  River  in  the  early  1600s    

The  Chief  of  the  Powhatan  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Background Essay Questions 5.  With regard to age and social class, who were the first

settlers? The  se@lers  were  generally  between  17  and  35  years  old.    

Most  were  poor  people  who  arrived  in  debt  and  wanted  a  chance  to  make  a  new  life  and  own  land.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die?

We are now going to look at five documents that relate to early Jamestown. Some are primary sources and some are secondary sources.

Before we dive into the documents, lets figure out exactly what we are looking for.

1.  What is the main question for this mini-unit? (Hint –look at the top of the SMART Board!)

2.  Define “early Jamestown.” What years will mark the beginning and end of the period we are studying? (Look at the Background Essay.)

3.  Does the question ask you to come up with several reasons for the high death rate or one underlying reason?

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Here are the document titles. Using the titles as clues, can you infer what three possible reasons for the high death rate in Jamestown these documents might prove? Document A “Jamestown’s Environment” Document B “Rainfall in Jamestown” Document C “Occupation List of First Settlers” Document D “Grain Trade with the Powhatans” Document E “Chronology of English Mortality”

Resource  (Water)  Problems   Se3ler  Skills   Rela6ons  with  Powhatans  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document A 1.  What is brackish water? 2.  What twice daily event would cause water levels around

Jamestown to rise and cause wells and fresh water streams to become brackish? (Hint: the moon)

Brackish  water  is  salty  water.  

High  Edes  in  the  AtlanEc  Ocean  and  Chesapeake  Bay  cause  water  in  connected  rivers  like  the  James  River  to  “back  up,”  bringing  salty  ocean  water  into  the  river.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document A

3.  According to Carville Earle, what happened to human waste that got dumped into the river?

4. What inference can you make about the effect of tides on health in Jamestown?

5. Consider the last paragraph. What time of year do you think starvation was most likely to happen?

Waste  dumped  in  the  James  River  by  the  colonists  “tended  to  fester  rather  than  flush  away.”    That  means  the  waste  stayed  in  the  water  near  the  se@lements.  

People  got  sick  from  using  the  water  for  drinking,  bathing,  cooking,  or  swimming.  

StarvaEon  was  more  likely  to  happen  in  the  fall  and  winter  because    fishing  was  bad  at  that  Eme  of  year.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document B

1.  What is indicated by a sharp spike below the 0 line? What were the dates of the first five years of settlement in Jamestown?

2.  Look at the years 1580 – 1640. During which period did

Jamestown suffer its longest unbroken period of drought?

3.  In the winter of 1609-1610, Jamestown experienced what settlers called the “starving time.” Based on this document, what inference can you make about the cause of this “starving time”?

The  sharp  spike  below  0  line  indicates  a  very  dry  year.    The  first  five  years  were  1607-­‐1612.      

The  longest  drought  period  was  1606  to  1612.  

You  can  infer  that  drought  was  a  contribuEng  factor  to  starvaEon.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document B 4. Is there any way lack of rain might strain English relations with the Powhatans? Explain.

Drought  would  have  affected  both  the  se@lers  and  the  Powhatans  and  would  have  reduced  the  corn  supply.    Hungry  people  are  more  aggressive  with  each  other  in  their  a@empts  to  get  food.    This  might  have  caused  fighEng.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document C 1.  How many settlers arrived in May 1607? 1608? How many had

known occupations? 2.  How many of the settlers from either group were female?

3.  What is a gentleman?

In  May  1607,  110  se@lers  arrived,  and  82  had  known  occupaEons.    In  January  1608,  120  more  se@lers  arrived,  and  69  had  known  occupaEons.  

None  were  female.  

A  “gentleman”  was  a  person  with  social  posiEon  and  wealth.    In  England  at  this  Eme,  it  meant  a  person  who  did  not  need  to  work  to  support  himself.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document C 4.  Of the 110 settlers who arrived in May 1607, nearly 70 were

dead by December. Is there anything in the ship lists that helps explain why?

There  are  four  possible  explanaEons:  a.  The  gentlemen  may  not  have  been  ready  to  do  hard  or  useful  

work.  b.  No  farmers  are  listed;  without  farmers,  there  would  be  a  food  

shortage.  c.  There  were  no  women,  who  were  ocen  more  skilled  at  

nursing  the  sick.  d.  There  was  no  apothecary  (person  who  gives  out  medicine)  in  

the  first  group.  

Homework: Read Document D and E and answer the questions for each.  

Early Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die? Document D Definitions for Document D: “crewell dealinge” – brutal treatment “and other extremetyes” – other extremities, such as arms and legs “towe of the Salvages heads” – two of the Patawomeke’s heads “by the perswasion or rather the inforcement of his company” –West’s men forced him to make the decision to return to England “hoysed up Sayles” – hoisted or raised up the sails