Colonisation Of Virginia Flashcards
Who became courtier and explorer during Elizabeth’s reign?
Whalter Raleigh
What did Elizabeth do for Walter Raleigh in 1584?
Gave him a grant to explore and settle in lands in North America
What did Raleigh have to do for his expedition?
Needed lots of money and had to try and convince English colonists to leave home and go to a random country
Why didn’t Walter Raleigh lead the colonisation?
He was one of Elizabeth’s favourite courtiers
Why was Walter Raleigh significant?
. Investigated and raised funds for establishment of English colony in Virgina
. Promoted the voyage
. Was apointed the governor of Virginia
. Developed a ‘blueprint’ for later English colonisations
When did Raleigh send a fact-findif expedition and what was discovered?
In 1584, found out the Indians were friendly and willing to trade
Why was it significant that the Indians were friendly and willing to trade?
Meant England believed they could have many economic benefits from colonising Virginia
Who were brought back from the 1584 expedition and how were they relevant?
Manteo and Wanchese,
. they were taught English and led to the creation of English-Algonquian ‘dictionary’ and
. Helped initially establish contact with their people
What were reasons to colonise Virginia?
. Could have new supplies and foods that could be transported around England for money such as gold and tobacco
. Could create revenues for the English government
Why was there lots of funds needed to properly colonise?
It was expensive and needed to be a reliable colonisation
Why didn’t Elizabeth fund the colony?
She was already in financial concerns
What did Elizabeth give to help the colonisation and what did this encourage?
Gave £400 worth of gunpowder and a ship. The royal backing encouraged others to invest
How did Raleigh encourage merchants to invest?
Promised investors he would take any Spanish ship
Why did Raleigh invest money himself?
To show he believed the colonisation could work
How would a successful colonisation benefit England?
England’s influence would be expanded and possibly start to pose a threat to large powers like Spain
How many colonists were in the colonisation of Virginia?
300
What types of people were in the first colonisation?
Landowners, farmers, artisans, hunters, fisherman, clergy, soldiers and enough farmers to feed colonisation
When must the colony set sail and with who?
In enough time for sowing crops but have to go with right colonists
What was there enough food and water for on the colony?
Food to last till harvest
Fresh water, tools and materials for artisans
Seeds
Weapons
Salt for preserving food
What kind of shipped went on the colony?
Large, well-armed ships
What had to be considered for the colonisation?
Spanish control of Carribean and Florida
Having to buy animals in Carribean
Building fort on arrival
Needing to barter with Indians
Who will lead colony
How to raise money
What was hard about colonising?
Finding people willing to cross atlantic. Raliegh only had 107 in colony in the end
What was half of Raleigh’s first colony made up of?
Soldiers
What were the colonisers attracted to?
The promise of making fortune in Virginia
Why couldn’t Raliehg lead the colonisation?
Elizabeth deemed it too dangerous for her favourite courtier, especially with growing threat of Spanish invasion
Who did Elizabeth choose for colonisation?
Richard Grenville - expedition commander
Ralph Lane - governor of Virginia
Did Grenville and Lane get on well?
No
Who was the translater and cartographer and why?
Thomas Harriot: skilled at navigation and making maps
How many ships did Raleigh send?
5
Which ship carried all the perishables?
The Tiger
When did ships leave for firs attempt at colonising Virgina?
April 1585
What was April 1585 too late for?
To plant crops needed through winter
When did colonisers land and where?
Late in 1585 on Roanoke Island
Where did the first English colonists settle?
Roanoke Island
How many attempts were there at colonising?
2
What was one reason for the failure of the first colony?
The voyage:
. Not enough time to plant crops
. Climate hot and humid, food rotted
. Colonists fell ill
. Tiger became damaged as there was a breach in the hull that let seawater in, ruining food
What did colonists have to rely on for food in first attempt?
Native Americans
What was another reason for the failure of the first colonisation?
Expectations of fortunes wasn’t true and led to wrong selection of colonists:
. Merchants wanted to get rich quick and didn’t realise work needed to establish economy
. Colonisers wanted riches, not picking berries to replace lost food
. Merchants ans gentlemen expected Native Americans to do the work
. Farmers left England to get own land, not become labourers
. Soldiers didn’t have skills to farm land and were poorly disciplined
. Too many crafstmen and not enough farmers
. Wasn’t stone to build a fort so made out of wood
. English fishing techniques didn’t work in shallow waters
How was inexperience a factor into the first colonies failure?
. Colonists relied on Native Americans
. Raleigh didn’t get the right people in the right numbers
. English didn’t take into account that colony had to be established before thriving
Who did colonists use to establish relations with natives?
Manteo and Wanchese
Who ruled Roanoke?
Wingina
Why did Wingina turn against English after their demands?
He was suspicious of English
What did Wingina believe about the English?
That they had superpowers from God as many natives started to die from strange causes after English came in but it was just English diseases
What did Wingina do by Spring 1586?
Asked other chiefs to attack English
Why did Lane kill Wingina?
After finding out Wingina asked chiefs to attack English
When did Lane and remaining colonists leave Virginia after first attempt?
In July, returning to Portsmouth
When was the second colony?
1587
Why were many of the second colonist’s in poverty?
As they would be willing to work much harder
What were the impoverished colonists each promised in second colony?
500 acres to farm
Who was Lord of Roanoke and who oversaw the expedition in the second colony?
Lord of Roanoke: Wanchese
Oversaw expedition: John White
Who was different in the second colony?
There were some women and families on board and many colonists were in poverty
Why were the Indians hostile on the second colonisation?
Because of the first colonisation
Why did English rebel against the Indians on the second colonisation?
George Howe, White’s advisor was found dead
Who did English accidentally kill when rebelling against Indians?
Friendly natives
What did Raleigh ask White to do in 1590?
Return and give updates. Roanoke left deserted
What is the mystery in Roanoke?
After second colony left, word Croatan found on a post, possibly hinting that colony moved to that settlement but nobody knows.
How did the colonisation of Virginia provide a good base to attack Spanish colonies in the New World?
Virigina was close to Florida and Carribean but far enough away to be safe
What did England hope to achieve from the colonisation of Virginia?
To rival Spain’s overseas empire and undermine its influence
What did the colonisation of Virginia offer native Americans?
Alternative to Spanish dominion
How did the colonisation of Virginia provide an opportunity to learn from mistakes and established the roots of the British empire?
English didn’t succeed in establishing strong presence in North America
What trade was too risky by the 1560s?
Trade with Netherlands
How was the colonisation of Virginia significant for trade?
. Elizabeth hoped to encourage English merchants to find new markets as conflict with Spain made European trade hard
. Sugar cane and tobacco were popular and brought in from Virginia, removing reliability on Europe for trade
