Elizabeth I
religiously united England through the Anglican Church. She also encouraged exploration of the New World and reigned from 1558 to 1603.
John Rolfe
an English colonist who married Pocahontas. His marriage to her fated peace at the end of the First Anglo-Powhatan War
John Smith
led Jamestown out of starvation by his method of “Don’t work, Don’t eat.” He also was captured by the Pohatans, but Pocahontas saved him before he was killed.
Lord Baltimore
made Maryland a place for anyone to practice any form of Christianity without persecution. He passed the Maryland Act of Toleration to ensure this.
Pocahontas
married John Rolfe at the end of the First Anglo-Powhatan War. This settled peace between the Natives and the English. She also saved Captain John Smith from being killed. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, and a peacekeeper between the Natives and the English.
The Act of Toleration
was an act allowing anyone in Maryland to practice any type of faith as long as they believed in Jesus. This law also saved these people from being persecuted
Anglo-Powhatan Wars
caused by the English raiding the Natives food supply. The First Anglo-Powhatan War ended with Pocahontas and John Rolfe getting married. The Second Anglo-Powhatan War was the Natives last attempt at getting their land back. This result of this war completely separated the Powhatans and the English.
House of Burgesses
the first English government set up in the New World. The Virginia Company allowed the colonists to set up a small, representative government in the settlement.
Indentured servants
poor English people who got sponsored to come over to North America. They had to work for their sponsor for an allotted amount of time to pay off their voyage debts.
The Iroquois Confederacy
a strong group of Natives made up of 5 different tribes. They settled in what is now New York, and they were fierce warriors.
Joint-stock company
a company set up by a group of people. These companies were short-term , and they wanted to go to the New World in hopes of the colonists finding gold, land, or other riches. Many of the men in these companies were younger sons, who lost out on their father’s land because of primogeniture laws.
Primogeniture
an English law in which father’s could only give their land to their oldest son. Younger sons were given money, so they had to earn their fortune somewhere else. Many of these younger sons joined joint-stock companies.
Roanoke Island
an early English settlement. The colonists settled there, but they all mysteriously disappeared. Sir Walter Raleigh led this settlement.
Royal charter
a document from the King to allow citizens to settle somewhere else for the British crown. This document laid out rules for the settlers and told them where to settle. This charter also guaranteed the settlers the same rights as British citizens.
Slave codes
laws guiding the treatment of slaves. They included harsh repercussions for slaves, but not for the master’s mistreatment of their slaves. These were later used in the American plantation system.
Squatters
farmers who were illegally on land. They would take other people's land or be on the land before it was legally allowed. Many farmers in North Carolina did this.
Starving time
a time of starvation in Jamestown. The men did not know how or want to farm, so they starved instead. Many of the settlers died during this cold winter. They resorted to eating dogs, cats, mice, rats, and even dead humans.
Virginia Company
a joint-stock company that was granted a royal charter from King James I to settle in Virginia.
rice
staple crop in Carolina
tabacco
staple crop in Maryland