The jamestown and Plymouth colonies unit 1 apush
England’s Entry into North American Colonization
Delayed Imperial Expansion
England entered New World exploration later than Spain, whose empire already dominated much of the Americas, extending from South America to Florida.
Domestic Constraints (1500s)
Internal turmoil, particularly Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church and the English Reformation, diverted political and economic resources away from overseas expansion.
Shift to Maritime Power
Following religious stabilization, England adopted an outward, expansionist orientation.
Under Queen Elizabeth I, England asserted naval power and embraced privateering.
Challenge to Spanish Supremacy
English privateers, notably Sir Francis Drake, targeted Spanish vessels and settlements.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588) marked a decisive decline in Spanish naval dominance and elevated England as a maritime contender.
Early Colonial Failures
Sir Humphrey Gilbert attempted settlement in Newfoundland; expedition ended with his death (1583).
Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored colonies on Roanoke Island; the 1587 settlement vanished, becoming the Lost Colony.
Motivations for English Colonization
Early Colonial Failure
Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke expeditions (1585, 1587) failed to establish a permanent English presence in North America.
Economic Dislocation in England
Widespread economic instability displaced large segments of the population.
Enclosure movement forced small farmers off common lands for sheep grazing, particularly damaging the wool-producing regions.
Many displaced farmers, including numerous Puritans, fell into poverty, prompting migration to colonial territories.
Primogeniture and Social Mobility
The law of primogeniture concentrated land ownership in eldest sons, leaving younger sons landless.
Figures such as Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh exemplified elite younger sons seeking wealth and status abroad.
Joint-Stock Companies
Joint-stock companies pooled investor capital to finance colonial ventures and mitigate individual risk.
These enterprises pursued rumored American resources while advancing English imperial power.
Jamestown and Plymouth were both founded through joint-stock company sponsorship.
The Jamestown Colony
Royal Authorization
The First Virginia Charter (April 10, 1606), issued by King James I, sanctioned two English colonization ventures and delineated their territorial claims along the North American coast.
Virginia Company of Plymouth
Granted territory north of the Potomac River.
Established a short-lived settlement at Sagadahoc (present-day Maine).
Colony failed due to conflict with the Abenaki, internal discord, and severe climatic conditions.
Settlers ultimately abandoned the site and returned to England.
Virginia Company of London
Assigned lands just north of Spanish Florida, a strategically defensive location.
Founded Jamestown (1607).
Endured extreme hardship including disease, starvation, and leadership instability.
Survived narrowly and lacked economic viability for nearly a decade before securing a sustainable colonial foothold.
The First Virginia Charter
Purpose and Expectations
The charter assumed short-term profitability, anticipating that the Virginia joint-stock companies would dissolve after generating returns.
Functioned as a legal framework defining governance, economic organization, and England’s authority over colonial production.
Colonial Governance
Established a Council (“Counsell”) to administer colonial affairs, reflecting early attempts at structured self-government under royal oversight.
Economic Provisions
Required the provision of “sufficiente” goods to sustain colonial settlers, indicating recognition of logistical and subsistence challenges.
Resource Extraction
Granted rights to mine gold, silver, and copper, with explicit expectations of annual yields, underscoring England’s extractive, mercantilist objectives.
Monetary Authority
Authorized the minting of local coinage for colonial transactions, suggesting limited economic autonomy to facilitate commerce.
Instructions and Significance of the First Virginia Charter
Supplementary Instructions
Colonists received detailed directives upon arrival, reinforcing England’s close administrative control.
A sealed list designated members of the governing Council, limiting local autonomy.
Instructions emphasized mineral extraction and the search for a passage to the Pacific, termed “the other sea.”
Imperial Control
The specificity of the instructions illustrates the tight political and economic linkage between the colonies and the English Crown.
Expansion of English Rights
The charter granted colonists all the rights of English subjects, establishing a precedent applied to future colonies.
Long-Term Consequences
These guaranteed rights later became the ideological foundation for colonial resistance, as settlers increasingly demanded self-government independent of royal authority.
Composition of the Jamestown Settlers
Departure and Expedition (1606)
Approximately 150 English settlers departed for North America aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.
The expedition targeted territory north of Spanish Florida, reflecting strategic imperial positioning.
Arrival and Settlement (1607)
In May 1607, 104 settlers landed and established Jamestown, England’s first permanent colony.
Logistical Decisions
The Discovery remained in the colony to support settlement operations.
The Susan Constant and Godspeed returned to England with crew members, reducing manpower but maintaining transatlantic connections.
Early Struggles of the Jamestown Colony
Chronic Instability (1607–1616)
Jamestown teetered on collapse during its first decade due to economic misdirection, poor labor practices, and environmental challenges.
Many settlers, including gentlemen elites, lacked agricultural skills and prioritized gold prospecting over subsistence farming.
Environmental and Geographic Factors
The settlement’s swampy, disease-ridden location hindered agriculture but offered military defensibility.
These conditions contributed to widespread disease, famine, and high mortality rates.
Labor Discipline and Leadership
Captain John Smith imposed strict labor expectations, famously enforcing the principle that nonworkers would not eat.
His authority temporarily stabilized the colony but weakened during his absences.
Relations with Native Americans
Relations with Powhatan and the Algonquian peoples were intermittent and fragile, oscillating between alliance and conflict.
Colonists failed to acquire reliable agricultural knowledge from Native groups.
Under Governor Lord De La Warr (1610), aggressive policies escalated tensions into two Anglo-Powhatan wars.
Demographic Collapse
By January 1608, only 38 of 105 settlers remained.
Following the Starving Time (1609–1610), survival dropped to 60 of 400 settlers.
Economic Turnaround
Stability emerged around 1616, when John Rolfe developed a profitable method of curing tobacco.
Tobacco monoculture generated wealth but created economic vulnerability and increased demand for cheap labor, laying groundwork for plantation agriculture.
Jamestown Arrival (May 1607)
Departure and Sponsorship
On December 20, 1606, approximately 150 men departed England aboard the Susan Constant, Discovery, and Godspeed under the Virginia Company of London charter.
Transatlantic Journey
The expedition endured a five-month voyage, arriving on May 14, 1607, in an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay (Virginia).
Roughly 40 settlers perished during transit, underscoring the hazards of early Atlantic crossings.
Initial Settlement
104 surviving men initiated the Jamestown settlement amid severe hardship.
The colony pursued wealth generation and national prestige for England.
Return of Ships
Two vessels returned to England shortly after arrival, leaving one ship behind to support the fledgling colony.
1607–1608: Early Ups and Downs at Jamestown
Initial Settlement
Following their May 1607 arrival, colonists constructed a defensive fort.
Early mortality was evident, with several deaths by August 1607.
Leadership of John Smith
Captain John Smith, a council member and de facto leader, played a central role in survival efforts.
Captured during a hunting expedition after his companions were killed.
Later claimed intervention by Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, prevented his execution.
Demographic Decline
By early 1608, only 38 of the original 105 settlers remained alive, highlighting extreme mortality.
Native Assistance and Recovery
In 1608, Smith negotiated Algonquian aid, securing food supplies.
As a result, the winter of 1608 saw markedly improved survival, with only 12 of 200 colonists dying.
Winter 1609–1610: The Starving Time
Leadership Vacuum
Jamestown entered crisis after John Smith’s departure in 1609 due to injury, removing its most effective organizer.
Catastrophic Famine
The winter of 1609–1610, later termed the “Starving Time,” produced extreme hunger, disease, and social breakdown.
Smith’s later account, incorporating multiple testimonies, describes gruesome survival conditions, underscoring the colony’s fragility.
Demographic Collapse
Of approximately 400 settlers present by 1609, only 60 survived by the spring of 1610.
Imposition of Military Rule
Survivors attempted to abandon the colony but were intercepted by Governor Lord De La Warr.
De La Warr enforced martial discipline and pursued aggressive policies toward Native peoples.
Escalation of Conflict
These actions directly precipitated the First Anglo-Powhatan War, marking a shift from unstable coexistence to sustained armed conflict.
1610–1614: First Anglo-Powhatan War
Origins of Conflict
Under direction from the Virginia Company, Governor Lord De La Warr initiated open warfare against the Powhatan Confederacy.
Military Strategy
De La Warr employed scorched-earth tactics modeled on English campaigns in Ireland, including the destruction of villages and cornfields.
These methods aimed to destabilize Native subsistence systems and assert English dominance.
Temporary Resolution
The marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas (1614) functioned as a diplomatic alliance.
This union produced a fragile peace that endured for approximately eight years.
After 1612: Tobacco and Labor Systems in Virginia
Tobacco as Economic Foundation
Jamestown’s survival hinged on the development of a tobacco monoculture.
John Rolfe improved curing techniques, producing a milder product that gained massive European demand.
Land and Labor Demands
Tobacco cultivation required extensive landholdings and a large, low-cost labor force.
These needs were institutionalized through the headright system, granting 50 acres to those who financed an immigrant’s passage.
Indentured Servitude
Arriving laborers became indentured servants, binding them to landowners for fixed terms.
This system enabled elite planters to accumulate vast estates while supplying the colony with labor.
By the mid-1600s, over 100,000 indentured servants worked in Virginia.
Transition Toward Slavery
In 1619, the arrival of 20 Africans introduced chattel slavery as an alternative labor system.
This event foreshadowed the entrenchment of racialized plantation slavery in colonial Virginia.
1624: Revocation of the Virginia Charter
Colonial Self-Government
In 1619, the Virginia Company authorized the creation of the House of Burgesses, granting colonists an early representative assembly.
Royal Opposition
King James I viewed the Burgesses as a challenge to royal authority and feared the expansion of colonial autonomy.
Corporate Failure
The Virginia Company suffered financial collapse, exacerbated by corruption and mismanagement.
Transition to Royal Colony
In 1624, James I revoked the charter, dissolving company control.
Virginia became a royal colony, governed directly by the Crown.
1644–1646: Second Anglo-Powhatan War
Rising Tensions
Expanding English land encroachment increasingly threatened Powhatan survival.
Cycles of reciprocal violence culminated in renewed large-scale conflict.
Escalation of Violence
A major Native attack (1622) killed 347 English settlers, symbolizing the depth of resistance.
English forces responded with systematic raids, pushing surviving Powhatans progressively westward.
Final Conflict
The Second Anglo-Powhatan War represented the Powhatans’ last organized attempt to halt English expansion.
English military superiority and demographic growth ensured Native defeat.
Treaty and Consequences
The concluding treaty formalized Native dispossession and separation from occupied lands.
By 1669, only ~10% of Virginia’s 1608 Native population remained.
The Powhatans were declared extinct by 1685, reflecting the devastating impact of warfare, displacement, and disease.
The Plymouth Colony
Founding Motive
Established thirteen years after Jamestown, Plymouth was founded primarily for religious refuge, not economic profit.
Settlers sought freedom to practice a distinct form of Protestantism without persecution.
These migrants became known as Pilgrims, reflecting their repeated religious migrations.
Religious Identity
The Pilgrims were Puritans, committed to reforming the Church of England.
Rejected episcopal (bishop-led) authority in favor of congregational governance.
Aimed to “purify” Anglican worship by removing Catholic-influenced rituals.
Theological Emphases
Opposed practices such as:
Use of holy water
Veneration of saints
Elaborate clerical vestments
Emphasized prayer, sermon-centered worship, moral discipline, and self-examination as paths to godliness.
Pilgrims as Separatists and the Road to Plymouth
Separatist Beliefs
Unlike other Puritans, the Pilgrims were Separatists, rejecting reform from within the Church of England.
Concluded the Anglican Church was irredeemable and established independent congregations.
Persecution and Exile
English authorities imprisoned and executed Separatist leaders, viewing separation as political and religious rebellion.
To escape persecution, Pilgrims fled to Holland in 1608.
Decision to Colonize
Dissatisfaction with cultural assimilation and economic conditions in Holland prompted plans for a separate godly society.
In 1620, Pilgrims returned to England and secured financial backing for colonization.
The Mayflower Voyage
The Mayflower (1620) carried 102 passengers, including Pilgrims, hired laborers, and non-Pilgrim “strangers.”
This diverse passenger makeup necessitated new forms of colonial governance upon arrival.
Plymouth Settlement and the Mayflower Compact
Unplanned Settlement
Pilgrims initially secured permission from the Virginia Company to settle north of Jamestown.
Severe storms diverted the Mayflower northward, landing the settlers outside the company’s jurisdiction.
After reconnaissance, settlers established Plymouth Colony on Plymouth Bay (present-day Massachusetts).
Need for Governance
Settlement beyond legal authority created a political vacuum.
To maintain order, colonists drafted the Mayflower Compact (1620).
Mayflower Compact
Signed by 41 adult men (37 Pilgrims, 4 non-Pilgrims).
Did not enumerate specific laws but asserted that governance would be based on majority rule.
Declared the colony’s right to self-government under biblical principles.
Historical Significance
Established a precedent for social contract theory and consent of the governed.
Often regarded as an early foundation of American constitutionalism, influencing later documents such as the U.S. Constitutiongrease
Early Hardships and Survival at Plymouth (1620–1621)
Severe Initial Conditions
Plymouth settlers arrived in late December 1620, unprepared for winter.
Despite minimal loss during the voyage, by spring 1621 only 44 settlers survived, reflecting extreme environmental hardship.
No survivors chose to return to England, indicating strong religious resolve and communal commitment.
Native Assistance
Survival was aided by cooperative relations with local Native groups.
Squanto (Wampanoag) and Samoset (Abenaki) served as critical intermediaries.
They provided food and taught colonists corn cultivation, hunting, and fishing, enabling long-term subsistence.
Gradual Economic Stability
Colonists established a diversified subsistence economy based on farming, hunting, and fishing.
Engaged in transatlantic trade, exporting furs and lumber in exchange for tools and manufactured goods.
This balanced economic model fostered incremental prosperity and sustainability.
Expansion and Legacy of Plymouth Colony
Demographic and Economic Growth
Plymouth’s early success attracted additional Puritan migration.
Within a decade, hundreds of settlers founded nearby towns.
The colony eventually exceeded 7,000 inhabitants and achieved economic self-sufficiency.
Absorption into Massachusetts Bay
Plymouth lacked an official royal charter.
It was eventually absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a larger, chartered Puritan settlement.
Massachusetts Bay was founded by non-Separating Puritans who initially sought reform within the Church of England.
Puritan Orthodoxy and Dissent
Massachusetts society was shaped by strict Puritan religious norms.
Tensions emerged between religious conformity and individual liberty.
Roger Williams, a Separatist critic of Puritan orthodoxy, was banished from Salem.
Legacy of Religious Freedom
Williams founded Rhode Island, instituting legal protections for religious liberty.
His settlement marked an early American experiment in church–state separation.
Myles Standish and Secular Leadership at Plymouth
Non-Religious Leadership
Although collectively called Pilgrims, roughly half of the Mayflower passengers were neither Puritans nor Separatists.
Myles Standish, a professional English military officer, represented the colony’s secular leadership.
He was recruited to serve as military advisor and defense organizer for Plymouth.
Military Conduct and Controversy
Standish’s leadership often emphasized force and intimidation.
His actions toward Native groups were at times brutal, generating hostility and internal criticism.
Despite long service to the colony, he never embraced Separatist religious beliefs, highlighting ideological diversity within Plymouth.
Cultural Legacy
Standish’s historical image was later romanticized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s The Courtship of Miles Standish.
The poem blends real figures with fictionalized romance, lacking historical verification.
The famous line, “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?”, reflects literary invention rather than documented history.
Historical Significance
Standish illustrates the tension between religious idealism and pragmatic governance in early New England.
His legacy demonstrates how myth-making shaped popular memory of colonial history.
Jamestown vs. Plymouth: Differences in Settlement
Motivation
Jamestown (1607): Founded primarily for economic profit by the Virginia Company; settlers sought gold and wealth.
Plymouth (1620): Established for religious freedom by Pilgrims seeking to practice Separatist Puritanism.
Settlement Organization
Jamestown: Organized as a joint-stock company venture under a royal charter; run initially as a business.
Plymouth: Settled without a charter; governed through a social contract (Mayflower Compact).
Geography & Environment
Jamestown: Located in a swampy, disease-ridden area; poor for farming but defensible.
Plymouth: Settled in a colder but healthier climate with access to farmland and fisheries.
Labor & Society
Jamestown: Dominated by gentlemen elites unfamiliar with manual labor; later relied on indentured servants and enslaved Africans.
Plymouth: Comprised mainly of families who valued communal labor and self-sufficiency.
Relations with Native Americans
Jamestown: Marked by unstable alliances and violent conflict, culminating in the Anglo-Powhatan Wars.
Plymouth: Benefited from cooperation with Native peoples, especially through Squanto and the Wampanoag.
Economic Development
Jamestown: Survived through tobacco monoculture, tying its economy to global markets and labor exploitation.
Plymouth: Maintained a diversified subsistence and trade economy (farming, fishing, furs).
Governance
Jamestown: Developed representative government with the House of Burgesses (1619) but remained under royal authority.
Plymouth: Practiced early self-government based on majority rule and biblical principles.