This website will take you on a virtual field trip through the lives of Jamestown settlers and their interactions with the nearby tribes of Indians!
The Virginia SOL standards covered include:
VS.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by
a) explaining the reasons for English colonization;
b) describing how geography influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown;
c) identifying the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in
establishing the Jamestown settlement;
d) identifying the importance of the General Assembly (1619) as the first representative
legislative body in English America;
e) identifying the importance of the arrival of Africans and English women to the Jamestown
settlement;
f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to
ensure survival;
g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the native peoples, including
the contributions of Powhatan to the survival of the settlers.
The Virginia SOL standards covered include:
VS.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by
a) explaining the reasons for English colonization;
b) describing how geography influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown;
c) identifying the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in
establishing the Jamestown settlement;
d) identifying the importance of the General Assembly (1619) as the first representative
legislative body in English America;
e) identifying the importance of the arrival of Africans and English women to the Jamestown
settlement;
f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to
ensure survival;
g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the native peoples, including
the contributions of Powhatan to the survival of the settlers.
Where is Jamestown located?
Jamestown was originally settled by English colonists in 1607 and was the first permanent settlement of the New World. Jamestown is located on a peninsula about 40 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. The English settlers thought that this would be a good place to build a colony for defense reasons plus the river made it easy for ships to navigate. The settlers also found this location to their advantage because there were no Indian settlements nearby. This was for a reason, however. The environment on the Jamestown peninsula was swampy, isolated, full of mosquitoes and brackish water, and overall unfit for agriculture.
Take a look at a cool interactive panorama of what the Jamestown settlement would have looked like!
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/quicktime/jamestown.mov
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/quicktime/jamestown.mov
What was it like for the first settlers?
Life was difficult for the early settlers in the colony of Jamestown. They were plagued by disease, starvation, threats from the Indians, and unlivable conditions in the swampy region. The "starving time" was a particularly bleak period where many settlers died because of poor crop growth and overall lack of food.
Primary Source: The Indians Help the Colonists
Primary source journal entry: "George Percy's Account of the Voyage to Virginia and the Colony's First Days", 1607.
Thanks to God, our deadly enemies saved us by bringing food - great amounts of bread, corn, fish, and meat. This food saved all of us weak and starving men. Otherwise we would all have died. Leaders from other tribes also brought us food and supplies which made us comfortable.
A question to think about: Do you think the Native Americans were truly "enemies" of the colonists if they helped them survive?
Primary Source: Artifacts from Jamestown
What do you think these artifacts are? What purposes did they serve in colonial Jamestown? Brainstorm! Answers are below.
Artifact #1: The silver ear picker is in the shape of a "sea rhinoceros" or dolphin. This cosmetic implement has an ear scoop on one end and a tooth/nail cleaner on the other end. The owner of this ornate ear picker might have used the loop to hang it from a girdle or a chain around his neck as an indication of his status. It is possible that the owner was a gentleman who spent several years sailing across the Atlantic Ocean before he settled at James Fort. Surgeons also used ear pickers (made of either bone or a cheaper metal) in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Artifact #2: A buckler was a small leather shield that soldiers used from the thirteenth century to the late sixteenth century. A soldier held a buckler in his left hand and a sword in his right. Most bucklers were round and they measured between eleven and fourteen inches in diameter. The leather was reinforced with metal and had an iron boss with a projecting spike in the center.
Artifact #3: This green-glazed drinking jug (also known as a green beer pot) was made in a pottery located along the border between Hampshire and Surrey counties in England. A potter made the jug from white firing clay in the early seventeenth century. An olive green glaze covers the upper half of the vessel. The drinking jug dates from the early seventeenth century. Archaeologists found the jug in the bulwark of James Fort. It is rare because it is a complete vessel.
(Information via: http://www.virtualjamestown.org/images/artifacts/jamestown.html)
Artifact #2: A buckler was a small leather shield that soldiers used from the thirteenth century to the late sixteenth century. A soldier held a buckler in his left hand and a sword in his right. Most bucklers were round and they measured between eleven and fourteen inches in diameter. The leather was reinforced with metal and had an iron boss with a projecting spike in the center.
Artifact #3: This green-glazed drinking jug (also known as a green beer pot) was made in a pottery located along the border between Hampshire and Surrey counties in England. A potter made the jug from white firing clay in the early seventeenth century. An olive green glaze covers the upper half of the vessel. The drinking jug dates from the early seventeenth century. Archaeologists found the jug in the bulwark of James Fort. It is rare because it is a complete vessel.
(Information via: http://www.virtualjamestown.org/images/artifacts/jamestown.html)