Jamestown Vocab

John Smith

Adventurer, soldier, explorer, and author who played a major role in the establishment of Jamestown

Virginia Company

A trading company from 1606 to 1624 with the objective to colonize the east coast of North America

Colony

An area under the political control of another country

Joint-stock companies

Companies formed by ,multiple people who contributed certain amounts of money for colonization in exchange of shares

King James I

King of Scotland (James IV 1567-1625) & King of England (James I 1603-1625)

Virginia

A colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776

Jamestown

First English settlement in North America, established 1607 in Chesapeake Bay

Powhatan

A group of Eastern Indians residing in the coastal plain of Virginia

Starving time

The winter of 1609-1610 in which most English colonists died in Virginia due to starvation

John Rolfe

English explorer, farmer, & merchant, first settler in Virginia to successfully grow tobacco

Headright system

Allowed landowners 50 acres of land for each person whose journey they paid for

Indentured servants

People who worked under a contract for a specific number of years

Pocahontas

Helped English settlers in Virginia in early 1600s, Native American woman

Royal colony

A colony governed by someone appointed by the monarch of the parent state

House of Burgesses

Elected representatives of the Virginia legislature for, 1643 to 1776

Brown Gold

Tobacco