Early Jamestown (1607 - 1618) Study Guide Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the economic motives, royal charter, geographic advantages and disadvantages, key figures, and Powhatan relations of early Jamestown (1607 - 1618).

Primary Economic Motive

England's goal to establish colonies in North America to gain wealth and power, hoping to find gold and silver, obtain raw materials, and open new trade markets.

The Charter of 1606

A legal document granted on April 10, 1606, by King James I of England to the Virginia Company of London to establish a settlement in North America.

Powers and Rights of the Virginia Charter

The authority given to the Virginia Company to establish a settlement and govern by making their own laws, while guaranteeing that colonists would retain all the rights of English citizens.

King James I of England

The English monarch who granted the charter to the Virginia Company of London to establish a colony in North America.

Virginia Company of London

The company granted a royal charter by King James I to establish and govern a settlement in Virginia.

Agriculture

Farming.

Charter

A legal document granted by a government official.

Economic or Economy

A big system of how people make, buy, and sell goods and services.

Rationing

Allowing each person to have only a set amount of something.

Settler

Someone who settles on land that isn't theirs.

Site Advantages of Jamestown

Geographic benefits of the Jamestown peninsula, including water on three sides for defense against Spanish naval attacks, deep water along the shore allowing ships to dock next to land, and an expected abundance of fresh water and natural resources.

Site Disadvantages of Jamestown

Geographic challenges of the settlement, including marshy, swampy land that served as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes, and unsafe brackish water.

Brackish Water

Salty river water that was contaminated and unsafe for the colonists to drink.

"No work, no eat"

The rule enforced by Captain John Smith that established discipline and contributed to survival at Jamestown.

Early Powhatan Cooperation

Initial cooperative trade in which Chief Powhatan's tribe provided corn, meat, crops, and furs to the English in exchange for tools and pots.

Pocahontas

An Indigenous woman who served as a contact person, facilitating positive communication and survival support between the Powhatan and the English colonists.

John Rolfe

The Jamestown colonist who introduced tobacco as a cash crop, providing profit and economic stability that led to the colony's survival.

Shift to Conflict

The transition from cooperation to armed conflict and the destruction of Powhatan villages caused by colonists seizing more Indigenous land as tobacco farming expanded.