england in america

Cards (42)

  • 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