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Struggles and Turmoil |
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Struggles and Turmoil |
Objectives:
Students will:
1. Record notes of three main obstacles faced by early Jamestown colonists.
2. Discuss within groups the problems an individual colonist would face.
3. Assume the perspective of a colonist and write a short paper describing the obstacles found in Jamestown from this point of view.
Relevance:
Studying struggles and turmoil of early settlers in Jamestown will help students personalize and imagine in detail conditions of the colonies in America. It will also allow them to understand the cycle of failure of companies such as the Virginia and the London companies, the need for propaganda to encourage immigration, the importance of tobacco and Native American tensions. Finally, understanding these initial problems will give the background knowledge for further studies of Virginia colonies and the problems yet to come.
Involving Learners:
Have students imagine the Jamestown colony in their minds. What does it look like? Who lives there? What crops are growing? Are people happy? Would you like to live there? Where have these images come from, previous classes? media? books? How accurate are these images?
1. Begin by asking student volunteers to explain the colony that they imagined to the class. Write on the board any problems or difficulties the students mention in their descriptions. List these problems on the board in categories of Starvation, Disease, Native American tensions and other. These categories are deemed the three most devastating problems colonists of Jamestown encountered and were the cause of most initial losses.
2. Once the three categories are specified with examples provided by the students, use direct instruction strategy to explain each concept. Refer to overhead projector or chalkboard (which has outline written on it) so that students can follow along while taking notes.
A. Starvation
1. Reasons
a. Crop Failure
i. Colonists lacked motivation and ability in agriculture
b. Tobacco Discovered
i. Boom/Bust Economy
ii. Complete Dependence on one cash crop
iii. Over planting tobacco pushed prices down and ruined land
2. The Starving Time 1609-1610
B. Disease
1. Hot, humid conditions bred diseases
2. Unsanitary conditions allowed them to spread
a. Major Diseases
i. Typhus
ii. plaque
C. Native American Relations
1. Background
a. Friendship with Pocahontas was a time of peace and mutual trading between settlers and Native
Americans
2. Clashing of two cultures over land ownership
a. Settlers decided upon complete separation and used forceful removal to secure land
b. Native Americans retaliated
ii. the Indian Massacre of 1622
Key points on starvation: Many settlers starved to death because the food, that was moved from England, spoiled quickly in the Virginia hot, humid summers. Most of the colonists were gentleman who lacked agriculture skills. They felt that farming was a profession below them, therefore they took little initiative to plant crops and become self sufficient. When they did successfully plant corn many of the crops were destroyed by fire in the beginning of 1608. This lead to the most desperate starvation during the 1609-1610 winter, later termed the Starving Time. Colonists traded arms and tools to the Native Americans for any small piece of food, and they used their houses for fire wood and many turned to cannibalism to survive. In this winter the population of original settler plummeted from 500 to 60.
Pivotal Questions:
1. What conditions lead to starvation and what characteristics of the colonists contributed to this problem?
2. How did the colonists combat starvation?
Key points on Diseases: Hot, humid conditions bred diseases such as typhus. Englishmen were unconditioned to these new diseases, therefore the diseases spread rampantly. It was rumored that a ship which previously wrecked in Bermuda, carried the plaque to Jamestown. Diseases can also be attributed to unsanitary conditions. The colonist relied on brackish, unclean, salty water from the ocean, as their water source. Colonists died daily. One colonist wrote The sixt of August there died John Asbie of the bloudie Flux. The ninth day died George Flowre of the swelling. The tenth day died William Bruster Gentleman, of would given by the Savages--George Percy. This is an example of the plethora of diseases and how common they were.
Pivotal Questions:
1. Why did disease spread so quickly?
2. What means could have been taken to slow down diseases?
Key points on Native American: Native America and English relations took many different forms. Initially the colonists relied on the Native Americans for knowledge of agriculture and other aspects of survival. This dependence lead to resentment and relations became strained. The colonists wanted to be independent yet other conditions made this impossible. For example, during the Starving Time colonists traded anything they could to earn pittance of food. Uniquely a special friendship with Pocahontas keep relations relatively friendly for a while. With the discovery and success of tobacco the colonists desired more and more land to plant this cash crop. Thus violence increased. The colonists decided they wanted complete separation from Native Americans and implemented a forceful removal policy. The Native Americans retaliated in ways such as the Indian Massacre of 1622, when over 300 colonists were killed on Good Friday.
Pivotal Questions:
1. Initially why did the colonists need the Native Americans?
2. How did the unique relationship with Pocahontas improve relations with the Native Americans?
3. What resource did the colonists desire from the Native Americans, and how was this problem seen in future relations between settlers and Native Americans?
1. Have students break into group of 3 or 4 each and as a group select a name, from the attached list of Original Settlers found at www.apva.org/history/orig.html, that they wish to image. Accompanying the name should be an occupation. Try to have the different groups chose settlers with as many different occupations as possible. Based on the occupation of the settler, have students brainstorm about the life of the settler. As they invent the story or their settler orally, have one student write down the key points to later share with the class. Important questions for the groups to answer are: Why did he come to America? Was he prepared for the conditions? What problems did he encounter? How was his life different in America from his previous life in England? What were his chances of survival?
2. Have individual groups nominate a representative to share with the class what they have decided about their settler and tell his story. Have students concentrate on similarities and differences between other groupís settler and their own.
1. Ask the class to reflect and answer the following questions.
--What were the three major struggles that early colonists of Jamestown encountered?
--What caused these problems?
--What are examples of each problem?
--What were the colonists' and England's responses to these problems?
--What would you have done had you faced similar obstacles?
Assignment:
Ask students to write a one page diary entry or letter, to a friend or relative in England, from a settler described by another group. Include in the letter any problems he encountered and a description of his life and the colony.
Materials:
Overhead projector, overhead projector sheets, pens, or chalkboard and chalk, list of Original Settlers
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URL for this page: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu.