Topic #1: Early British Settlements

Essential Question: To what extent were the early British settlements successful?

Old World

Before European contact, America had a diverse population of Native American tribes which differed but had similarities based on geography:

1. Far West: Fishing/agriculture

• Ex: Chumash

2. Southwest: Dry desert → Advanced irrigation system/agriculture

• Ex: Pueblo

3. Plains: Nomadic: Bison

• Ex: Sioux

4. Eastern Woodlands: Fishing/agriculture

• Ex: Haudenosaunee

All the tribes had a complex trade network.

European Empires

• After Columbus discovered America in 1492, European explorers started traveling to America thanks to new technology like sails and navigation.

• They wanted to sail the northwest passage for trade and money.

• They established many empire:

  • Portugal: East of South America

  • Spain: West of South America, Central, Southwest. (Gold, Glory, God)

  • French: Canada, Great Lakes, Louisiana. (Fur trade, convert)

  • Dutch: New York

  • English: East Coast, North America, Canada

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, and disease between Native Americans and Europeans during the age of exploration. It improves the European population, but negatively impacts Native populations.

• Ex: Sugar, horses, smallpox.

Early Settlements

Jamestown

• 1607

• The men were looking for gold

• 1610 - The starving time: 65 settlers died

• Captain John Smith comes and introduced military rule

• John Rolfe and Powhatan discover that Jamestown’s swamp/humid environment was perfect for growing tobacco

• Indentured servants

• 1676 - Bacon’s Rebellion

• 
  

John Smith

Indentured servants

Virginia Company

House of Burgesses

Bacon’s Rebellion

Plymouth

Pilgrims

Mayflower Compact

Massachusetts Bay

Puritans

John Winthrop

Origins of American Slavery

1619

Middle Passage

Plantation

Tobacco