Jamestown turned 400 years old on April 26, 2007! Why is this particular place so important to remember when it was founded? Because Jamestown was the first established settlement in America. In fact, the occasion was so important that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II came to visit Jamestown on May 3-4, 2007 to pay her homage to this historical town. She is actually the granddaughter (10th removed) of James I, who sent the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery to find Virginia.
While this is a joyous occasion today, it was not at all glamorous for the 144 passengers that set sail on December 20, 1606, to find this new land. They made their way from London, England in search of gold and riches, but what they found were many hardships and challenges.
The new inhabitants of Virginia quickly discovered that the water of the James River was not safe to drink. They were not equipped with how to find food, and found themselves starving. And, just after two weeks of getting acquainted with their new land, settlers were attacked by over 200 Indians! Was it worth it?
John Smith was put in charge of finding local Indian tribes who were willing to trade food, such as corn, fish, and game, for English copper and beads. They chose John Smith for this task because he was an experienced and brave military man.
The Englishmen soon befriended an Algonquin chief in the western Chesapeake area. He was a mighty chief who ruled 15,000 Indians known as the Powhatan. Their friendship was quite shallow, as sometimes they traded and sometimes they fought. But, in all in, the English managed to thrive in their new land.
What about the gold and riches? The settlers found none. But, they did discover the ground to be perfect for harvesting tobacco, which was used as a form of money in those times. It was not long before the settlers sent for slaves and servants to come work on the lands in Jamestown. Once there were enough inhabitants in Jamestown, a general assembly was formed and it was the beginning of the solid foundation that America still stands on today.
Putting it to use: There are so many terrific activities that could be used to supplement curriculum for this lesson. Here are a few that I have found particularly fun and interesting to kids:
- Develop a Jamestown Gazette newsletter. Assign one or two kids to a section of the newsletter, and then have them put it altogether to hand out to other students, family, and friends. It can include sections such as, games children played, relationships with the Indians, how to grow corn, interviews with John Smith and Pocahontas, etc.
- Act out a play about the first interaction with the Indians or how the general assembly was actually formed.
- Play a game of Jeopardy with facts about Jamestown.
- Use the links below to visit some great places that offer tons of information about Jamestown.
