Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the Settlement of Colonial New England and Virginia

108 Pages·2016·3 MB·English

by  Charles River Editors

Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and
Legacy of the Settlement of Colonial New England and Virginia
By Charles River Editors
Statue of John Smith in Jamestown
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Introduction
Jamestown
Silver dollar commemorating the 400th anniversary of Jamestown
"When you send againe I entreat you rather send but thirty Carpenters,
husbandmen, gardiners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons and diggers up of trees,
roots, well provided; than a thousand of such as wee have: for except wee be
able both to lodge them and feed them, the most will consume with want of
necessaries before they can be made good for anything." – John Smith
John Smith is one of the most common names in the English language and
akin to the use of John Doe, but every Briton and American is familiar with the
explorer and mercenary Captain John Smith, who helped found the first
permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown in 1607. Jamestown
is fondly remembered today for being the first permanent English settlement in
the colonies, but it was not fondly remembered by those who lived and died
there. The English quickly learned it would be difficult to establish a permanent
settlement because of the poor weather, the swampy terrain, the hostile natives
living nearby, and the general inexperience and ineptitude of the English settlers.
During their first winter, everyone nearly starved, and more than half of the
settlers died. By the end of the winter of 1609-1610, known as the “starving
time”, barely 10% of the settlers were still alive.
Nevertheless, Jamestown is remembered today because the settlement did
survive through the hardships and go on to serve as the capital of the English
colony for much of the 17th century. At the same time, one of the biggest reasons
for its survival and fame today can be attributed to the local Native Americans,
particularly Pocahontas, who has added both a human and romanticized,
mythological element to Jamestown. She was the daughter of the paramount
chief (mamanatowick) Powhatan, leader of an Algonquian-speaking native
group in eastern Virginia. It was this group that Smith and the other English
settlers came into contact with, and Smith credited her with saving him from
being killed by the Native Americans. After that, Smith was able to establish
relatively friendly relations and trade with the local inhabitants, ensuring
Jamestown’s survival.
Jamestown has often been cast as the backdrop of this unique relationship, one
that the colonists sought to portray as representative of relations with Native
Americans. Subsequent retellings of the story have often fictitiously cast Smith
and Pocahontas lovers and even husband and wife, portraying both characters in
a more romantic and positive light. While their relationship has been the subject
of countless historical texts and even children’s books, it has no historical basis
in fact, and there is still even some doubt over whether she saved Smith’s life in
the famous encounter that has ensured her name remains instantly recognizable
nearly 400 years after her death.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony
The flag of the colony
Though the Virginian colonists had difficulty in the beginning, by the late
1620s the Chesapeake area was thriving, having become a haven for those
seeking economic opportunity in the new world. Pressures in England were
growing as King Charles I was on the throne. Though Charles I himself was an
Anglican, many suspected him of Catholic sympathies, a suspicion not alleviated
by Charles I marriage to a French Catholic princess. Many Protestants had a
growing desire to practice their faith and conduct their lives away from the
mother country, and sought refuge in a destination called New England.
The land chosen by this group, who “could pay their own way across the
Atlantic” in contrast to the poorer settlers of the Chesapeake region was “colder,
less abundant, but far healthier” than Virginia. Alan Taylor sees this decision as
one in “classic Puritan fashion”, citing one settler’s view: “If men desire to have
a people degenerate speedily, and to corrupt their minds and bodies too...let them
seek a rich soil, that beings in much with little labor; but if they desire that Piety
and Godliness should prosper…let them choose a Country such as [New
England] which yields sufficiency with hard labor and industry.” The Puritans
who came to America were, therefore, primed for hard work, discipline and the
independent life, unlike their English counterparts who “preferred Anglicanism
and the traditional culture characterized by church ales, Sunday diversions,
ceremonial services, inclusive churches, and deference to the monarch.”
Ultimately, the men of the New England Company decided that the time had
come to remove themselves from England, and to pursue their lives in the
Americas. The Dorchester Company was founded by a group of investors with
an interest in settlement in the New World. This settlement would be a for-profit
venture, but it would have as its two main causes the spreading of the Gospel to
the Indian population and the stop of the spread of Roman Catholicism in the
American colonies. John White, the company’s leader, also wanted to compete
with the separatists who had begun the Plymouth colony in 1620. Cape Ann, a
promontory very near to Cape Cod was established by the Dorchester Company
as an early settlement. The fishing was excellent, but Cape Ann proved unable to
provide the farm goods needed to sustain the Puritan settlers who came to the
New World. The Dorchester Company was dissolved, but investors seeking to
salvage its aims formed the New England Company or Massachusetts Bay
Company and secured a charter just before King Charles I dissolved the
Parliament in 1629.
Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the
Settlement of Colonial New England and Virginia comprehensively analyzes the
history of the settlements and their famous inhabitants. Along with pictures and
a bibliography, you will learn about Jamestown and colonial New England like
never before.
Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the
Settlement of Colonial New England and Virginia
About Charles River Editors
Introduction
Jamestown
Chapter 1: A Spanish Jamestown?
Chapter 2: England’s Motives for Settling in the Region
Chapter 3: Founding Jamestown
Chapter 4: Pocahontas and the Powhatan
Chapter 5: Boom and Bust
Chapter 6: Stabilizing the Situation
Massachusetts Bay Company
Chapter 1: The Massachusetts Bay Company
Chapter 2: Starting a Settlement
Chapter 3: John Winthrop
Chapter 4: The Great Migration
Chapter 5: Economy
Chapter 6: Family Life
Chapter 7: Indian Relations
Chapter 8: Memoir of Roger Clap
Chapter 9: Dealing with Dissent
Chapter 10: Anne Hutchinson
Chapter 10: Roger Williams
Chapter 11: The End of Massachusetts Bay
Online Resources
Bibliography
Bibliography
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Jamestown
Chapter 1: A Spanish Jamestown?
Jamestown would become the first permanent English colony in North
America when it was founded in 1607, but the English were not the first to
attempt a settlement in the area that would become the colony of Virginia, and
the activities that took place before the arrival of the English had a critical
influence on the fate of the English settlement. In 1561, a Spanish ship was
blown off course from their location along the coast of present-day South
Carolina, and when the crew were able to get their bearings, they found
themselves near a bay that they named the Bahia Santa Maria (which the English
would subsequently call Chesapeake Bay). The Spanish made their way to the
southern shore, where the crew found “many fine harbors,” as well as lush
vegetation and friendly Native Americans (Horn, p.1). The ship’s captain,
Antonio Velazquez, even took two Native Americans on board, and after
exploring a bit of the area, the ship returned home.
Once Velazquez landed in Spain, he made his way to Madrid, where he
planned to present one of the two Native Americans, a boy named Paquiquineo
(renamed Don Luis by the Spanish after the viceroy of Mexico) to King Philip
II. Don Luis would become one of Philip’s favorites at court, but after about a
year in Spain, Don Luis began to speak of a desire to return home, and
eventually Philip granted him permission to return to the Chesapeake. Don Luis,
accompanied by Velazquez, sailed first to Mexico City to meet the viceroy, and
when they arrived, it was decided that Don Luis would travel overland to his
home in the region of Cheapeake Bay. Unfortunately, Don Luis became
seriously ill during his stay in Mexico City, so he was sent to a Dominican
convent to recuperate. As he recovered from the illness, he was baptized and
then chose to stay at the convent to learn the Catholic faith. Don Luis remained
in Mexico City for several years, but he eventually asked once more to return
home, where he stated his desire to establish a Catholic mission. This idea of
starting a mission in his homeland overlapped with Spanish desires to establish a
colony in North America, and with the help of Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the
captain-general of the Indies convoys, plans were made to establish the mission
in the Chesapeake.
Unfortunately, the ships Menendez sent for the colonial venture failed to find
the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, and rather than continuing to search for the
entrance to Don Luis’ homeland, the fleet instead returned to Spain. Back in