england in america

• England and Spain had been heading toward war for years

  Trading rivalry and religious differences divided the two countries
• King Philip II


  Ruled Spain from 1556 to 1598, was a powerful monarch and a strong defender of the Catholic faith
• King Philip II


  Wanted to put a Catholic ruler on the throne of England and bring the country back to the Catholic Church
• King Philip II


  Did not consider Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, the rightful ruler of England
• Attacks on Spanish ships and ports by English adventurers like Sir Francis Drake

  Angered King Philip II
• King Philip II


  Thought Queen Elizabeth should punish Drake for his raids
• Queen Elizabeth


  Honored Drake with a knighthood instead
• King Philip II


  Sent the Spanish Armada to conquer England, but it failed completely
• The defeat of the Spanish Armada marked the end of Spanish control of the seas
• The way was now clear for England and other nations to start colonies in North America
• In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth
• In 1584 Queen Elizabeth gave Sir Walter Raleigh the right to claim land in North America
• Raleigh sent an expedition to Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina
• In 1585 Raleigh sent about 100 men to settle on Roanoke Island
• In 1587 Raleigh tried again, sending 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children to Roanoke
• John White, a mapmaker and artist, led the group to Roanoke
• Shortly after arriving, White's daughter gave birth to Virginia Dare, the first English child born in North America
• When White returned to Roanoke 3 years later, he found it deserted
• The only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved on a gatepost
• The Roanoke colonists were never seen again
• Roanoke was Sir Walter Raleigh's last attempt to establish a colony
• In 1606 several groups of merchants sought charters from King James I to organize settlements in North America
• Virginia Company of London


  Received a charter to "make habitation . . . into that part of America, commonly called Virginia"
• Virginia Company


  A joint-stock company, investors bought stock (part ownership) in return for a share of future profits
• In December 1606, the Virginia Company sent 144 settlers in 3 ships to build a new colony in North America
• The settlers were supposed to look for gold and attempt to establish trade in fish and furs
• 40 of the settlers died during the voyage
• In April 1607, the ships entered Chesapeake Bay and sailed up a river, naming it the James and their new settlement Jamestown
• Jamestown


  • Built on a peninsula to defend it from attack, but had major drawbacks - swampy land swarming with disease-carrying mosquitoes and lack of good farmland
• Many Native American groups lived near the first English settlements in the late 1500s and early 1600s
• Captain John Smith, an experienced soldier and explorer, forced the Jamestown settlers to work and helped the colony survive its first two years
• John Rolfe learned to grow a type of tobacco using seeds from the West Indies, the first crop was sold in England in 1614
• Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan


  Improved relations between the colonists and Native Americans
• In 1614 some colonists were allowed to rent plots of land, encouraging them to grow food crops to sell and work harder
• Private land ownership was expanded in 1618, with land grants given to those who paid their own way to America
• This system convinced thousands of people to move to Virginia
• In 1619 the Virginia Company agreed to let the colonists have some say in their government, with the House of Burgesses meeting for the first time
• In 1619 the Virginia Company sent 90 women to Jamestown to encourage marriage and families
• In 1619 a Dutch ship brought 20 Africans to Jamestown, who were sold to Virginia planters to labor in the tobacco fields
• Until about 1640 some African laborers in Jamestown were free and even owned property