Early English Colonization and Early American Settlements

Vocabulary flashcards covering early English expeditions, the Roanoke and Jamestown settlements, colonial labor and governance, Plymouth, and the settlement and legal institutions of Carolina.

Northwest Passage

A hoped-for water route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean that would allow Europeans to trade with Asia without sailing around Africa or South America.

Sir Walter Raleigh

An English nobleman granted permission by Queen Elizabeth I to begin a colony in the New World who funded multiple colonization attempts at Roanoke Island.

Colony

A group of settlers who are governed or ruled by a distant parent country.

Lane Colony

An expedition on Roanoke Island aimed at finding a location for a permanent English colony; it resulted in significant scientific exploration before being abandoned due to supply shortages and soured relations with native populations.

White Colony

An attempted settlement on Roanoke Island intended to be the first permanent English colony; it vanished after its governor was delayed in England for three years due to war with Spain.

John White

An artist who mapped the New World during the Lane expedition and later served as governor of the White Colony, returning in 1590 to discover the colony missing.

Croatan Indians

Native Americans living around Cape Hatteras and Roanoke Island; the letters 'CRO' carved into a tree suggested the White Colony settlers may have gone to live with them.

Joint-Stock Company

A business organization in which a group of investors pool their money to back a project in hopes of sharing profits and dividing potential losses.

Charter

A written contract issued by a government giving the holder the legal right to establish a colony.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in the New World, founded along the James River off the Chesapeake Bay by the Virginia Company of London.

John Smith

A soldier and adventurer who led Jamestown through early hardship by reinforcing settlement defenses and imposing the policy 'He who works not eats not.'

Starving Time

A severe winter period of famine in Jamestown following John Smith's departure, caused by native trade boycotts and attacks that forced colonists to eat rats, mice, snakes, and dogs.

Lord De La Warr

The new governor whose arrival in Virginia brought strict discipline and ended the Jamestown starving time.

Chief Powhatan

Leader of the Powhatan tribe and father of Pocahontas who traded with early Jamestown settlers but later initiated attacks after English land encroachments and food raids.

John Rolfe

An English colonist who cultivated a high-grade strain of tobacco in Virginia, transforming the colony's economy while accelerating soil exhaustion, native conflicts, and the demand for labor.

Indentured Servant

A laborer who contracted their labor for a set number of years to pay for their passage to the New World, gaining personal freedom and often moving to the backcountry afterward.

House of Burgesses

Created in Virginia in 1619, it was the first representative assembly in the American colonies, establishing elected local self-government.

Bacon's Rebellion

An armed 1676 uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon and former indentured servants against Virginia Governor Berkeley, resulting in the seizure of the legislature and the burning of Jamestown.

Pilgrims

A group of English Separatists who sought complete religious separation from the Church of England, fleeing first to Holland before establishing Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 agreement signed by Pilgrims blown north of Virginia that established colonial laws and served as the first written plan of government in the New World.

Squanto

An English-speaking Native American who acted as an interpreter between the Pilgrims and Chief Massasoit, negotiated a peace treaty, and taught colonists hunting, fishing, and planting skills.

Lords Proprietors

A group of eight loyal noblemen who received a royal charter from King Charles II in 1663 to establish and govern the Carolina colony.

Carolana

The name, meaning 'land of Charles,' given to an initial 1629 land grant issued by King Charles I that was later nullified after colonization efforts failed.

Carolina Gold

A staple rice crop developed in colonial South Carolina that brought immense wealth to Charles Towne planters and greatly expanded plantation slavery.

Stono Rebellion

A major 1739 slave revolt near Charles Towne, South Carolina, where enslaved individuals attempted to reach Spanish Florida, sparking severe colonial crackdowns.

Slave Code of 1740

Comprehensive legislation enacted in South Carolina following the Stono Rebellion that strictly restricted enslaved people's assembly, movement, literacy, and ability to earn money.