Life in the Chesapeake Colonies
Life in the Chesapeake Colonies
The first successful British colonization of the Americas was in the Chesapeake area and anchored by Jamestown which was founded in 1607. The original colonists nearly didn’t make it, as it was a very difficult life for them. Moreover, the colonists founded many relationships that were both good and bad with various other groups so that they could make it through those first years. With great will and sheer luck the area has thrived, becoming the heart of the United States gov- ernment today.
When you think of early America what comes to mind? Do you think of Christopher Columbus, or George Washington? Many people don’t realize that the first European settlers were actually from present day Norway through the adventures of Leif Ericson (Jones 2011). It was a very brief stay in the Newfound- land area and the settlement was abandoned as quickly as it began. Although Columbus never made it to North America, his impact on the western hemisphere is seen throughout North and South America today (Klein 2012). Few realize that Jamestown was the first successful colony of the United States founded in
1607 on the James River about 100 miles inland from Chesa- peake Bay. With the blessing of the British Crown through a charter with King James I and the Virginia Company of London. Despite the lack of gold, which was the original sought after bounty, they instead found an abundance of natural resources in which the company investors and King James I could exploit. The position of the town allowed ships to trade goods but more importantly it gave a natural defensive perimeter for the colonist to defend themselves against the native Indians. With the lack of gold, the colony was on the verge of failure but the soil in the area was found to be very fertile for tobacco farming. Being the cash crop of the period and the towns easy access to shipping, the town began to boom and became a major hub for trading and commerce
The first successful British colonization of the Americas was in the Chesapeake area and anchored by Jamestown which was founded in 1607. The original colonists nearly didn’t make it, as it was a very difficult life for them. Moreover, the colonists founded many relationships that were both good and bad with various other groups so that they could make it through those first years. With great will and sheer luck the area has thrived, becoming the heart of the United States gov- ernment today.
When you think of early America what comes to mind? Do you think of Christopher Columbus, or George Washington? Many people don’t realize that the first European settlers were actually from present day Norway through the adventures of Leif Ericson (Jones 2011). It was a very brief stay in the Newfound- land area and the settlement was abandoned as quickly as it began. Although Columbus never made it to North America, his impact on the western hemisphere is seen throughout North and South America today (Klein 2012). Few realize that Jamestown was the first successful colony of the United States founded in
1607 on the James River about 100 miles inland from Chesa- peake Bay. With the blessing of the British Crown through a charter with King James I and the Virginia Company of London. Despite the lack of gold, which was the original sought after bounty, they instead found an abundance of natural resources in which the company investors and King James I could exploit. The position of the town allowed ships to trade goods but more importantly it gave a natural defensive perimeter for the colonist to defend themselves against the native Indians. With the lack of gold, the colony was on the verge of failure but the soil in the area was found to be very fertile for tobacco farming. Being the cash crop of the period and the towns easy access to shipping, the town began to boom and became a major hub for trading and commerce
Cited: Allen, Joseph 1852) Battles of the British Navy. London: Cox American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau Kulikoff, Allan. 1986. Tobacco and Slaves: The Development of Southern Cultures in the Chesapeake, 1680–1800 Meyer, Eugene L. 1990. Chesapeake Country. New York: Abbeville, 1990. Morgan, Phillip D. 1998. Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake and Low country Ransome, David. 1991. Wives for Virginia, 1621. The William and Mary Quarterly. January 1991 The Maryland Biotechonology Center. 2011. Maryland’s Bioscience Environment 2009. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2012. Local Area Unemployment Statistics. United States Department of Labor. On-line. Available from internet http://bls.gov/lau/ accessed 30 September 2012. Tayac, Gabrielle, et al. 2006. Colonial Indian-White Relations. On-line. Availible from the internet, http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/native-chesapeake/1804. 30 September 2012. Author Unkown. 2009 Britain in the New World On-line. Available from internet, http://www. ushistory.org/us/2.asp, accessed 29 September 2012