British Colonisation

Question 1

Why did Britain want to Colonise?

Answer 1

• They wanted to compete with Spain.
• They wanted to make profits.
• They wanted access to new raw materials.
• Impress the monarch(s)

Question 2

Who was Walter Raleigh?

Answer 2

He was an explorer who was favoured by Queen Elizabeth I.
He wanted to explore the Americas to find new land to claim for Elizabeth and England as well as compete with the Spanish.

Question 3

When and where did Raleigh establish his first settlement in America?

Answer 3

He (unsuccessfully) established a settlement in Virginia in 1584.
- He named it after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth.

Question 4

Who did he send to Virginia and why?

Answer 4

He sent a group of English settlers to Virginia to create a settlement called Roanoke but the settlement disappeared mysteriously and when the English travelled over a few years later, there was no sign of Roanoke.

Question 5

What was The Virginia Company?

Answer 5

It was a joint stock company (a group of people who came together to invest in something) that hoped to establish the first successful English settlement in America to grow tobacco for huge profits.

Question 6

When was The Virginia Company set up?

Answer 6

1606.

Question 7

What was the company made up of?

Answer 7

• Investors

- Planters (indentured servents)

Question 8

What settlement did The Virginia Company set up and when?

Answer 8

They set up their settlement at Jamestown, in Virginia, in 1607.

Question 9

Who inhabited the Americas before British Colonisation?

Answer 9

Native Americans.

Question 10

What were the Native Americans?

Answer 10

• Nomadic people (the moved around according to where they found hospitable conditions)
• They lived by hunting and fishing
• They had no knowledge of new technology, like guns
• They were divided into different tribes, and each tribe had a chief who led the tribe.

Question 11

What was the initial contact between the British and the Native Americans?

Answer 11

The settlers at Jamestown quickly realised that the area was part of a Native American territory known as the Powhatan Confederacy, which was made up of dozens of villages; Chief Powhatan was their leader.

Question 12

What did the Native Americans assume when they came into contact with the English.

Answer 12

They did not expect the English to want to control them; Chief Powhatan assumed that he would be their chief too.

Question 13

How did relations with the Native Americans begin?

Answer 13

The English began by trading copper pots and iron fish hooks for food and Native American acceptance.
This started a good relationship with the Natives.

Question 14

What did John Smith do?

Answer 14

He worsened the relations with the Natives by:

• Taking over more land than allowed by the Powhatans.
• He competed with the Powhatans over the production of food.

Question 15

Between which years were Britain and the Natives at war?

Answer 15

1609 to 1614.

Question 16

How did the British and the Powhatans gain a truce?

Answer 16

A marriage was arranged between a settler, John Rolfe, and the daughter of Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas, in 1614.

Question 17

What did Pocahontas end up doing with the British?

Answer 17

She converted to Christianity and returned with her husband back to England.

Question 18

Who were the Pilgrim Fathers?

Answer 18

They were a group of Puritans who established the second successful settlement in North America.

Question 19

When and why did the Pilgrim Fathers decide to leave England?

Answer 19

They left in the early 1600s to escape religious persecution.

Question 20

What did the Pilgrim Fathers name their settlement and they are they settled in?

Answer 20

They named the region ‘New England’ and named the settlement ‘Plymouth’ after their home town.

Question 21

How was life like initially for the Pilgrim Fathers?

Answer 21

It was difficult because many died from disease and they constantly fear attacks by the Native Americans.

Question 22

How many colonies were established on the East coast of North America by 1750?

Answer 22

Thirteen colonies.

Question 23

What was the Stamp Act of 1765?

Answer 23

It was where the British began taxing the American colonies.
It placed taxes on:
- Printed goods
- Documentation
- And various other items like playing cards.

Question 24

Why was the Stamp Act of 1765 created?

Answer 24

From 1756 to 1763, Britain fought the Seven Years’ War against France.
Although Britain was victorious, the war was very costly and it raised the British national debt to £133 million.

Question 25

How did the colonists react to the Stamp Act?

Answer 25

They were furious and forced Britain to cancel the tax.

Question 26

What was the Boston Massacre?

Answer 26

In 1770, protests in another tax in Boston led to the death of five colonists, which was known as the Boston Massacre.

Question 27

What was the Boston Tea Party?

Answer 27

In 1773, protests against tea taxes broke out. Colonists from Boston dressed as Native Americans and attacked British ships in the harbour that were carrying tea. They smashed the chests and threw the tea overboard.

Question 28

What were the Coercive Acts?

Answer 28

In reply to the protests in Boston, the British punished the colonists by closing down the port of Boston to stop trade coming in or out.

Question 29

When was the War of Independence?

Answer 29

1775 to 1783.

Question 30

What did the colonists initially demand in the War of Independence?

Answer 30

They initially demanded more autonomy (control) and did not want to become completely independent from Britain.

Question 31

What happened in 1776?

Answer 31

Many colonists were swayed by a political pamphlet called Common Sense, which was written by Thomas Paine.
This pamphlet said how the people should be free of the rule of the kings and be able to decide how they ruled themselves and the colonies.

Question 32

What groups were the colonists split into during the War of Independence?

Answer 32

• The Patriots; they wanted complete independence from Britain.
• The Loyalists; they were loyal to Britain and saw Britain as ‘the mother country’ but wanted more control and not to pay taxes to Britain.

Question 33

What happened on the 4th of July 1776?

Answer 33

The Declaration of Independence was signed which stated that they were fighting to be free from British rule.
America has been celebrating Independence Day on the 4th of July ever since.

Question 34

Who lost the War of Independence and why?

Answer 34

Britain was forced to surrender and lose the war by the colonists in the Battle of Yorktown in 1783.

Question 35

Who became the first president of America?

Answer 35

George Washington, one of the most prominent patriots.

Question 36

After the colonists won their independence, what did The Loyalists do?

Answer 36

They faced hostility from The Patriots and they migrated to Canada.

Question 37

Who owned Canada?

Answer 37

Britain owned Canada after The Seven’s Years War with France and took it from France.
This is why people predominantly speak English or French in Canada.