Vocabulary: Jamestown and the Southern Colonies

10 vocabulary terms from the Jamestown and Southern Colonies notes, with concise definitions.

charter

A formal certificate of permission from the Crown to establish a colony or trading enterprise.

joint-stock company

A business venture run by a group of investors who share profits and losses.

Powhatan

A powerful Algonquian-speaking chief who led the Powhatan Confederacy in the Virginia region.

John Smith

English explorer and leader of the Jamestown settlement who helped ensure its early survival.

House of Burgesses

The first representative assembly in colonial America, where male landowners elected Burgesses to govern.

royal colonies

Colonies that were governed directly by the English Crown.

proprietary colonies

Colonies owned and governed by powerful individuals or companies granted control.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley, highlighting frontier tensions and conflicts with Native Americans.

Lord Baltimore

Founder and proprietor of Maryland, established as a colonial refuge for Catholics; governed Maryland.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia; led the Georgia trustees and established Georgia as a haven for debtors, later becoming a royal colony.