Virginia Studies VS.3: Jamestown Settlement

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Virginia Studies VS.3 standard on the settlement of Jamestown, its key leaders, economy, and government.

Economic Venture

A business project started primarily to make money; the founding of the Jamestown colony was an economic venture.

Charter

An official written document that grants certain rights and privileges to a town, colony, or company.

King James I

The King of England who granted permission and royal charters to the Virginia Company of London to establish a settlement in North America.

Charters of the Virginia Company of London

Royal documents that granted permission to start an American settlement, defined physical boundaries of the colony, and extended English rights to the settlers.

Stockholders of the Virginia Company of London

The private investors who financed the settlement of Jamestown by paying money for ships, supplies, and men.

Jamestown

Founded in 1607 on a narrow peninsula along the James River, it was the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Christopher Newport

The English sea captain who led the transatlantic expedition to establish the colony at Jamestown in North America.

Site Selection Reasons for Jamestown

Settlers selected the site because it could be defended from sea attack, was believed to possess fresh drinking water, and had water deep enough to dock ships.

Captain John Smith

English leader who took command of Jamestown during its struggles, initiated trade with the native people, and instituted a forced work program.

“No Work, No Food” Policy

A forced work program instituted in 1608 by Captain John Smith that established that settlers who did not work would not be fed.

Chief Powhatan

The supreme leader of the confederated native tribes who aided the English settlers by teaching them essential survival skills.

Pocahontas

Daughter of Chief Powhatan who served as an important contact and intermediary between the native tribes and English settlers.

The Starving Time

The winter of 1609–1610 during which many colonists died because of severe food shortages, disease, and harsh conditions.

John Rolfe

Settler who introduced the cultivation of tobacco as a cash crop to Jamestown, making the colony commercially profitable.

General Assembly (1619)

Convened in 1619, it was the first elected legislative body and representative government in North America, composed of the Governor's Council and Burgesses.

Burgesses

Elected citizen representatives in Virginia's colonial government; participation and voting were restricted to white men who owned land.

House of Burgesses

The name for the elected branch of the Virginia General Assembly after the Governor's Council began meeting separately in the 1640s.

Portuguese Sailors (1619)

European traders who captured African men and women and transported them against their will to Virginia in 1619.

Angola, Africa

The region from which the first African men and women brought to Virginia in 1619 were captured.

Tobacco Economy

An agricultural financial system expanded by the forced labor of enslaved Africans, creating wealth by growing and selling tobacco in large volumes.

Arrival of Women (1620)

The arrival of English women in 1620 that permitted settlers to establish families and transform Jamestown into a permanent settlement.

English Trade Goods

Manufactured goods such as metal tools, pots, and copper (used by native peoples to fashion jewelry) traded for native food, fur, and leather.