Governance & Founding
This joint-stock company received a charter from King James I in 1606 to establish the Virginia colony.
The Virginia Company of London.
In what month and year did the first group of settlers arrive in Virginia?
May 1607.
Who led the Native American confederacy near Jamestown?
Chief Powhatan.
What crop developed by John Rolfe in 1612 became Jamestown’s profitable export?
Tobacco (a sweeter/smoother strain developed by John Rolfe).
He was elected president of the governing council and chose the Jamestown site.
Edward Maria Wingfield.
Name one major health problem caused by Jamestown’s swampy location.
Dysentery or typhoid fever from bad/ brackish water and disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Approximately how many Powhatan people lived in the region when the English arrived?
About 14,000.
From where did Rolfe obtain the seeds or plants for his successful tobacco strain?
The Caribbean.
The three-sided shape chosen for Jamestown’s fort is this geometric figure.
Triangular.
Captain John Smith enforced this rule often summarized as a proverb to ensure labor.
"He who does not work, shall not eat."
What key difference in land use or ownership existed between Powhatan practices and English ideas?
Powhatan practiced communal land use—land shared by the community.
Define “indentured servant” as used in early Virginia.
Poor English individuals who agreed to work for a set number of years in exchange for passage to America.
In 1619 colonists created this representative assembly, the first of its kind in English America.
The House of Burgesses.
About how many of the roughly 200 residents survived the “Starving Time” of 1609–1610?
About 60-100 survivors.
Identify one immediate cause for the breakdown of peaceful trade between the Powhatan and the English in 1609.
John Smith was injured and returned to England, disrupting trade relationships.
State one reason demand for labor increased after tobacco became profitable.
Tobacco cultivation was labor-intensive, requiring more hands for planting, harvesting, and processing.
Explain why the Virginia Company used a joint-stock model and how that influenced who settled in Jamestown.
Joint-stock companies pooled investor capital to fund colonies; investors expected profit and influenced recruitment of settlers seeking wealth.
Describe two practical reasons many original settlers struggled during the early months
Many were “gentlemen” untrained in farming or building; they expected to find gold rather than perform manual labor.
Explain how the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas affected English–Powhatan relations.
Their marriage helped create a period of relative peace between English colonists and the Powhatan.
Describe two long-term economic or political effects that Jamestown’s success had on English colonization.