...regardless of its severity. Although America is the land of the free today, its past reveals that it was, in fact, the land of the enslaved. Thousands of innocent individuals were robbed of their freedoms, and given the name “slave.” Many historians have versatile perspectives on the causation of slavery, however there is one similar contributor: economic prosperity. Because of the cultivation of cash crops, creation of the headright system, and greed of individuals, slavery was introduced to America, and to this day, will never be forgotten. As America expanded, the minds and skills of those living in Jamestown did as well. When John Rolfe introduced the tobacco crop, he commenced a cash crop phenomenon. Crops began sprouting at all corners of Jamestown which placed a high demand for land, and laborers. As an incentive for new farm hands, and other workers, a system was formed that gave 50 acres of land to any persons that immigrated into Virginia, also known as the “Headright System.” This system also gave pre-existing settlers double the headrights, and headrights to anyone that paid for the immigration of settlers. As a result, families began to form large plantations. Rolfe later witnessed what is considered to be the primary step toward slavery: a Dutch ship importing “20 and odd Negros.” Africans were not put to hard work right away, but instead, given false hope of working a term as an “indentured servant,” earning compensation, and being released. Another economic related...
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...the people who came, to the obstacles they had to overcome, and how the colony became successful. In the year of 1605 a company made of British merchants asked King James I for the right to create an establishment in North America in the region of Virginia. One year later, the king granted this request. The investors in this journey formed a joint-stock company, which they called the London Company. On April 26, 1607 the first group of one hundred five colonists from the London Company arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. Most of the people who came were adventurers with little or no farming experience or other useful skills. This led to the first major problem in the colony of Jamestown. Life in the colonies was extremely hard and these problems only made life worse. Because of the lack of people with farming experience there was a lack of food for the settlers. There was a lack in preparation for the trip in other areas as well, especially in the area that they chose to settle in. Jamestown was fifty miles away from the coast, and located in a very marshy area. Because of this location, mosquito carried...
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...convicted the solely of the murder of his wife not the cannibalism, Percy sentenced the man to burn at the stake. The location of Jamestown contributed to the hardships of the early settlers, The Virginia company gave instructions to locate the settlement along the Hudson River, hidden from the Spanish but accessible to ship trade. The soil at Jamestown is sandy and a poor choice for crop growth, also the river in which they drew their drinking water from would turn brackish at high tide. But this was of little concern to Captain Newport, of the Susan Constant, the location of the settlement was not meant to be ideal for agriculture. “The colonists were not meant to be self-sufficient; they would be regularly resupplied. Their job was to look for gold and to buy goods...
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...Joint-stock company: A joint-stock company was a group of people that, through a system of exchanging capital and shares, were able to finance the colonies. In the system, if one company bought ten shares out of a hundred from another company, then the company that bought those shares would get 10 percent of the other’s profit. The same goes for losses. Charter: A charter is an official granting of permission to do something like an expedition. In colonial times, the charter issued by King James I acted as the first and closest thing to a constitution for the two Virginia Companies’ proposed colonies. This is because it gave them granted them the right to settle in North America (by the Atlantic Coast) and gave them the rights and privileges that English people in England would have....
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...Although New England and the Chesapeake region were settled largely by people of English origin, by the year 1700, the regions had developed into two very distinct societies shaped by differing social, political, economic, and geographic factors. When the New England settlers first arrived, they had strong religious ties; they believed it was their responsibility to create moral a moral Christian community that would serve as a model of a perfect society for the world. Document A is a sermon that illustrates John Winthrop’s plans for the colony. The religious aspect of the New England society is reflected in this document with “We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God” and the repetitive mention of God. John Winthrop...
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...In 1614, the essential crop for the Chesapeake Region was perfected by John Rolfe. After two years of trial and error experiments of growing and curing tobacco leaves, Rolfe found the perfect way of preparing the tobacco to send to the Englanders who preferred the “sweet-scented leaf” of tobacco plants grown in Spanish-Florida to smoke as a leisure time activity (Boles 22). Because tobacco production became such a large business, a large reason of why the Jamestown Colony in Virginia shifted and expanded along the James River. By expanding and claiming more land with nutrient-filled soil, the colonists were, infact, shaping the land and region of the...
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...An important red-letter day in the history of America was the day England defeated the Spanish Armada in the English Channel. This event strengthened England’s confidence and marked the beginning of the end of Spain’s imperialism. While previously Spain was a dominant force of colonization and exploration, England finally began to gear up for an even more successful and lasting conquest of the Americas. England’s new sense of confidence, unity, and preparedness set the stage for colonization of what would eventually be the United States. The settlers of Jamestown had a difficult start in the New World. The settlers, mostly noble “gentlemen”, spent their time searching for gold instead of building shelter or looking for food. As a result,...
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... The first English settlement was Jamestown, Virginia, and it was massacred by starvation. It was also full of mosquitoes carrying malaria and other parasite carrying diseases. With such a large amount of the population dying and the fact that women were not sent to the settlement until 1619 (12 years after its origin), moral was low. In 1616 the headright system was enforced, which gave 50 acres of land to everyone who pays his own way to Virginia, and another 50 for every person they bring along. Still the settlement was built upon indentured servitude, in which the company would pay the voyage for men who would then work for the company for 4-7 years. After the end of the 4-7 year contract, the men would receive their own land. In theory it was a good plan, but most men died before the end of their contracts. Mortality rates were so high because the main purpose of the settlement was to gain a profit for the company. the men spent the majority of their time digging for gold, searching for a northwest passage to Asia, and farming tobacco, and not enough time farming or hunting! the Virginia company was a joint stock company, so in order to raise money for colonization they sold shares of their company to willing investors. The Plymouth Company was also a joint stock company. The house of Burgesses was founded to govern the settlement of Virginia. It became a royal colony in 1624. In 1632, 10 million acres of land north of jamestown became Maryland, a possession of Calvert...
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...Encomienda: A system created by the Spanish in 1499 during the colonization of America. This system was a way to control native american labor and behavior. Under this conquistadors were given grants of Native Americans allowing the conquistadors to utilize them for labor. The purpose of this system was to regulate the use of Native Americans but instead they were enslaved and the natives land was taken by the Spaniards. Puritans: A group of dissenters sought out to reform the Church of England. Due to the monarchs Charles I and James I who held a strong disdain for this group leading to many persecutions. Which in term led the group to seek religious freedom in 1629 by leaving on a charter from the Massachusetts Bay Company to the new world...
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...own land. Both had harsh conditions on the way over to the New World as well as when they arrived. Indentured servants were young European men and women and even families who signed a contract that they agree to work for a certain amount of years in return for transportation, food, clothing, water, and shelter. The adults typically worked for four to seven years but the children worked for many more years, usually in plantations. If a woman got pregnant while she was an indentured servant, she and her child would also have to work for many more years to make up for lost time. Indentured servants could be sold like slaves. The Virginia Company of London paid to transport servants across the Atlantic, but the established law of the headright system in 1618 gave settlers who paid their own way 50 acres of land once their contract of labor was up. As a result, the...
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...To my best friend, I hope everything is well with you back home. I miss you and regret not taking your advice for adventuring into the New World without you. It has been five years since I have last spoken with you before I have gotten on the three ships with 105 others to come across the ocean to the New World. Sad to say only 38 out of the 105 colonists who have settled in Jamestown have managed to survive. I have many things I have to share with you about the New World I am living in. I am currently in the Virginia Colony located by the Chesapeake River. This is one of the two main colonies that have been established under England’s rule. The other colony is the New England colony located up North of here. I have managed to travel there several times with my master and have been exposed to an environment that is much different from my Virginia colony. It shocks me greatly that another colony under the same rule of our mother country can be so different. I would like to tell you about the great differences I have come to observe between our two settlements in terms of settler’s reasoning for immigrating to the new world, the development of settlement’s societal structure, and the settler’s relationship with the Native Americans. Unlike many of us (Virginians) who have come to the new world to make large sums of profits, the settlers in New England have come for a different purpose. The New England settler’s have come to the New World for religious purposes.The New Englanders...
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...into west africa. the demographics for africa’s people was exceeded to 12 million shipped cross sea and they were dehumanized but their living and working conditions. they were regarded as property. Encomiendas-grants of Indian land, labor, and tribute for wealthy colonists. this created many native american deaths from overworking, disease, and malnutrition. the hate from this inspired native americans to the Pueblo Revolt English “sea dogs”- Queen Elizabeth’s way of recognizing the sailors that defended England. she used them to fight the Spanish. some that followed her orders were John Hawkins, MArtin Frobisher, and Francis Drake Jamestown- the first English colony in America on the James River Virginia.during the first winter many lives of colonists were taken because of unprepared farming. John Smith look control over the colony Headright System- a way to attract settlers to Virginia for more labor workers. each new worker got 50 acres of land therefor promoting families to move together. the wealthy got land when they paid for the passage of the poor Mayflower Compact- Plymouth Colony’s first governing document signed previous to the colonists arrival, written by separatists or Pilgrims trying to get away from the religious persecution of King James and promote self-government and the favor of the majority. The pilgrims used this to show they were under english rule 1. France, Spain and England tried to settle in the New World. The Spanish conquered the Aztecs and INcas and...
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...AMH 2010 Homework 1 Mark your response for each item on the scantron and turn in only the scantron after being sure your name is on the form. The completed scantron is due by the date indicated by your instructor. Scantrons turned in late for any reason will be accepted but will be granted only 50% credit. 1. Scholars estimate that human migration into the Americas over the Bering Strait occurred approximately ______ ago. A. 2,000 years B. 5,000 years C. 9,000 years D. 11,000 years E. 18,000 years 2. The first truly complex society in the Americas was that of the A. Maya. B. Aztecs. C. Incas. D. Pueblos. E.Olmec. 3. Cahokia was a large trading center located near what present-day city? A. St. Louis B. Memphis C. New Orleans D. Baton Rouge E. Detroit 4. Regarding knowledge of the Americas prior to the fifteenth century, most Europeans A. were aware of the travels of the Norse seaman Leif Eriksson in the eleventh century. B. believed the Americas to consist of little more than several small islands. C. were entirely unaware of the existence of the Americas. D. assumed that the Americas were largely unpopulated. E. had only heard of America from the travels of Marco Polo. 5. The preeminent European maritime power in the fifteenth century was A. Spain. B. Portugal. C. France. D. the Netherlands. E. England. 6. Christopher Columbus A. was trained as a sailor through his long service to Italy. B. was a man of little ambition. C...
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...worked as indentured servants for seven years. Indentured servants received food and shelter during their term and sometimes received land plots. Virginia and Maryland made this indentured servitude more attractive to landowners by instituting the headright system. Under the terms of this system, anyone who paid for the crossing of a laborer earned 50 acres of land. Encouraged by this system, landowners brought 100,000 to Virginia by 1700. Three quarters of all white European immigrants were indentured servants. As land grew scarcer, conditions of servants worsened. Service terms could be extended if servants misbehaved, and even after formal freedom, workers were hired by their former masters on low wages. More and more unemployed and penniless freemen accumulated in Virginia. This social tensions were transmuted into physical triggered Bacon’s Rebellion. Many frontiersmen disagreed with Virginian governor Berkeley’s pro friendly Indian policies. Berkeley capitalized on the Native Americans’ fur trade. When Berkeley refused to retaliate to a series of Indian attacks, 1,000 freemen led by 24-year old Francis Bacon went rogue. Bacon’s band of rebels killed both friendly and hostile Indians. They chased Berkeley out of the capital Jamestown and burnt down the city. This civil war raged on until Bacon died of disease. The tides turned and Berkeley crushed the opposing forces and hanged more than 20 rebels. The Salem Witch Trials were the result of religious and economic tensions in...
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...gatherings at the large plantation homes. As for family life it was very hectic. The life expectancy for those living in the Chesapeake was not very good. ON top of having high infant mortality rates, families would also likely see half their children die at a young age. Most men only lived to be about 48 years old and women lived to be 44 years old. Households often became very complicated because of this. Households in the Chesapeake could be filled with many stepchildren and stepparents. SInce they could not depend on having children for a labor force they relied heavily on indentured servants and slaves. At first the use of indentured servants was very popular in the Chesapeake. Indentured servants worked under the headright system. Under the headright system the Virginia Company would grant 50 acres of land to those who paide for a servants travel costs. Many men and women came to work as servants because they saw it as an economic opportunity that could improve their lives. 90% of people who migrated from England between 1630 and 1700 were indentured servants. Some aspects of life for indentured servants were hard. Most servants were men which made starting families very difficult and about 40% died within the first 6 years. Indentured servants were also treated very poorly. Most of them would work for about 4-7 years and maybe at the end would receive some supplies and land. At the end of their service many were very poor and in many cases still worked on land owned by...
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