Elizabethan society in the Age of Exploration 1558-88: Raleigh and Virginia Flashcards
1
Q
Sir Walter Raleigh as an explorer and colonist
A
- Nobleman and courtier, became explorer during Elizabeth’s reign
- 1584, Elizabeth gave Raleigh grant to explore and settle lands in North America
- Raleigh needed to raise huge amounts of money and encourage potential English colonists to leave home and settle in an unknown land
- Raleigh didn’t lead coonists, but significant because he raised funds and persuaded people to leave England and settle in Virginia
2
Q
Timeline of the colonisation of Virginia
A
- 1584- Raleigh plans colonisation of North America and sends team to explore virginia and report back to him
- 1585-English colonisation of Virginia begins; 107 men set out to Roanoke, Virginia
- 1586- Surviving colonists abandon colony, struggling to feed themselves and facing hostile Natives, return to England
- 1587- New English colonists return to Virginia and set up colony at Roanoke
- 1590- Colony found abandoned and colonists disappeared
3
Q
Reasons to colonise Virginia
A
- Trade- Explorers and colonists could barter ironware, woollen cloth, and hunting knives for animal skins, gol and other commodities for profit. colony would produce crops, sugar cane and tobacco
- England would be less dependent on Spain, France and Italy for imported goods
- Welcoming and friendly natives, 2 Algonquian Indians travelled back to England encouraging English to go there
- Raleigh able to persuade investors trip would be profitable attracting investors
- Colonising Virginia would give base to attack Spanish settlements and colonies providing loot and booty, also demonstrate Natives that English better than Spanish
- A successful colony would make funding other ventures easier opening the New World
4
Q
Who went to Virginia
A
Richard Grenville led a group of 107 colonists, mainly men, made up of sailors and soldiers with some craftsmen, landowners, merchants, and farmers.
5
Q
What did the colonists take
A
- Food, and salt to preserve it- for voyage and afterwards
- Fresh water- for voyage
- Tools and equipment, including ploughs and seeds- to farm and build forts and homes
- weapons to protect from attack
6
Q
Reasons the colonisation of Virginia failed
A
- Lack of food
- poor leadership
- Lack of skills and experience
- Native american attack
- war with Spain
7
Q
Reason for lack of food in Virginian colony
A
- First colonists left England too late to plant crops in Virginia
- One of the five ships let in sea water, ruining the food it was carrying
8
Q
How lack of food led to the failure of the colony in Virginia
A
- Unable to provide for themselves, those in first expedition simply abandoned the colony 1586
- second “lost” colony may have struggled to feed itself, making colonists dependent on local Indian tribes
9
Q
Reason for Poor Leadership in Virginian colony
A
- Leader of first expedition Richard Grenville, hot headed and didn’t get on with Ralph Lane governor of the colony
- Leader of second expedition, John White, abandoned colony 1587
10
Q
How poor leadership led to failure of the colony in Virginia
A
- poor leadership meant those involved had little direction or purpose
- may explain subsequent decision to abandon first colony 1586 and the fact the second colony was found abandoned in 1590
11
Q
Reason for Lack of skills and experience in first Virginian colony
A
- Lacked experience and skill sets needed to make expedition a success
- meant both expeditions doomed from the start
12
Q
How lack of skills and experience led to the failure of the colony in Virginia
A
- Mercahnts and landowners lacked physical capacity for manual work
- Lack of stone meant a stone fort never built leaving colony vulnerable to attack
- Soldiers could defend the expedition but lacked ability to farm land
13
Q
Reasons for Native American attack on Virginian colony
A
- 1586 angered by constant demands for food handouts from settlers and diseases they brought, Algonquian Chief Wingina led attack on colonists supported by chiefs of other tribes
- At some point 1587-90 second colony abandoned
14
Q
How Native American attacks led to the failure of the colony in Virginia
A
- Wingina’s attack beaten off but led to crisis with first expedition, forcing colonists to abandon Roanoke
- Possible second expedition wiped out by Native attack led by Chief Powhatan
- Alternatively, attack may have led to some settlers becoming slaves or being assimilated into local tribes
15
Q
How the war with Spain led to the failure of the colony in Virginia
A
- From 1585 England effectively at war with Spain
- Threat from Armada meant few ships available to visit or resupply colonists
- Colonists increasingly isolated and vulnerable to attack
