The attempted colonisation of Virginia

Question 1

What were the two main reasons why Sir Walter Raleigh wanted to colonise Virginia?

Answer 1

Undermining Spain

Economic benefits

Question 1

In what year did Raleigh send an initial fact-finding expedition to Virginia?

Answer 1

1584

Question 2

What did Raleigh’s fact-finding mission to Virginia report about the conditions there?

Answer 2

Fertile land, full of animals that could be hunted for food

Question 3

Who returned back from Virginia to England with the 1584 fact-finding expedition?

Answer 3

Two Native Americans, Manteo and Wanchese

Question 4

What did Thomas Harriot do to communicate with Manteo and Wanchese?

Answer 4

Learned their language (Algonquian) and taught them English, then made an English-Algonquian ‘dictionary’

Question 5

What did Elizabeth do to support Raleigh’s quest to colonise Virginia?

Answer 5

Gave him a ship and gunpowder worth £400

Question 6

What did Raleigh promise to investors that encouraged Elizabeth’s courtiers to invest in the expedition to Virginia?

Answer 6

He promised that he would take any Spanish ships he came across

Question 7

How many colonists sailed to Virginia in the first expedition in 1585?

How many had Raleigh hoped for?

Answer 7

108 set sail

Raleigh had hoped for 300

Question 8

What job did almost half the colonists on the first expedition do?

Answer 8

They were soldiers

Question 9

Who were the leaders of the first Virginia expedition? Did they get along?

Answer 9

Sir Richard Grenville and Ralph Lane

They did not get along

Question 10

How many ships were sent to Virginia on the first expedition?

Answer 10

Five

Question 11

How many ships carried the food for the colonists for when they arrived in Virginia in 1585?

Answer 11

Just one - the Tiger

Question 12

When did the ships leave England for the first Virginia expedition? Why was this a problem?

Answer 12

9 April 1585

Too late to plant the crops to see them through the winter

Question 13

What happened to the Tiger ship as it arrived in North America?

Answer 13

It hit rocks and seawater entered the hold

Question 14

Why did the running aground of the Tiger cause problems for the colonists?

Answer 14

It meant the supplies and food were damaged - the dried peas and beans were rescued but could not be planted - and made the English dependent on the Native Americans

Question 15

Why were the positive descriptions of Virginia found to be untrue by the 1585 expedition?

Answer 15

They had hoped to find precious metals, but there were none

Question 16

What did Sir Richard Grenville do two months after the 1585 expedition arrived in Virginia?

Answer 16

He went back to England for more settlers and supplies

Question 17

What problems did the hunters face in the 1585 expedition?

Answer 17

Most of the gunpowder was spoiled when the Tiger damaged its hull, so they could not shoot pigeon or deer

Question 18

What problems did the fishermen face in the 1585 expedition?

Answer 18

English fishing techniques did not work in the shallow waters around Roanoke Island

Question 19

What advantage did the 1585 colonists have in trying to build relations with the natives on Roanoke?

Answer 19

They had Manteo and Wanchese with them, who could help them to communicate

Question 20

Who was the chief on Roanoke Island?

Answer 20

Wingina

Question 21

What did Wingina believe about the English that scared the native Americans? Why did he believe this?

Answer 21

He believed the English had supernatural powers

The English seemed to have the power to kill the natives without touching them (they were actually bringing new diseases with them)

Question 22

What did chief Wingina decide to do by the spring of 1586 and why?

Answer 22

He asked other chiefs to help him attack the English

He had grown tired of demands for food from the settlers

Question 23

How did the people on the 1587 expedition to Virginia differ from those on the 1585 expedition?

Answer 23

They came from some of London’s poorest families and so they were used to hardship and would be willing to work on the colony

Question 24

How much land was guaranteed to each family on the 1587 expedition?

Answer 24

500 acres

Question 25

Why did the 1587 expedition aim to land further north than Roanoke Island?

Answer 25

They were told that there were gold mines further north

Question 26

Who led the 1587 expedition to Virginia?

Answer 26

John White

Question 27

Why did the 1587 expedition land at Roanoke again, despite aiming to land further north?

Answer 27

The master pilot was worried about hurricanes and refused to go further

Question 28

Why did John White have to abandon the 1587 colony?

Answer 28

All ships were needed for defence against the Spanish Armada

Question 29

Why was Manteo’s attack against local Roanoke native Americans misguided?

Answer 29

They ended up killing friendly native Americans from nearby settlements instead

Question 30

What nickname was later given to the 1587 expedition to Virginia?

Answer 30

The Lost Colony