- 1587-1590: First attempt at English colonization of North America by Sir Walter Raleigh at Roanoke, VA.
        o The colonists mysteriously disappeared and the colony vanished
- King James I issued a charter (license to develop a colony) for the Virginia Company
        o Original goal of the colonists was to get gold and silver from the colonies
        o 1607: a ship led by Capt. John Smith landed at Jamestown, VA.
- Beginnings of Jamestown
        o Beginning of the colony was a disaster
                § Colonists refusal to clear fields and farm led to starvation of most colonists
        o Winter 1607: Smith proclaims “He who does not work, does not eat”
                § Held colony together by forcing people to farm
- 1612: Tobacco is discovered
        o Becomes the cash crop of Jamestown
        o High labor crop causes a search for a labor supply
                § Headright System: new arrivals would get 50 acres of land and another 50 acres for each family member that migrated
                § Indentured Servants: servant agrees to a period of servitude in exchange for a passage to America
                        · Term was usually 4-7 years
                § African Laborers
                        · Originally arrived in 1619 on a Dutch merchant ship as indentured servants
- Clashes with Native Powhatan Indians led to the harassment of colonists and killing of livestock
        o Beginning of poor relations w/ Indians
- House of Burgesses 1619
        o First legislature in the United States
        o Consisted of two official representing each Virginia colony
        o Governed local matters and made colonial laws
- Bacon’s Rebellion 1676
        o Rebellion by former indentured servants to gain rights for the people of the lower classes
        o Causes
                § Conflicts between former servants and Chesapeake planters
        o Results
                § Bacon captures & burns Jamestown
                § Bacon dies and his people’s property is confiscated and some are executed