Jamestown & Massachusetts Assessment

Questions 1-2 refers to the following passage by John Smith (1624) which describes the colony of Virginia.

“The mildness of the air, the fertility of the soil, and situation of the rivers are so favorable to the nature and use of man, as no place is more convenient for pleasure, profit, and mans sustenance, under that latitude or climate. Here will lie any beasts, as horses, goats, sheep, hens, etc. as appeared by them that were carried thether. The waters, Isles, and shores, are full of safe harbors for ships of ware or merchandise, for boats of all sorts, for transportation or fishing, &c. The Bay and rivers have much merchantable fish, and places fit for Salt coats, building of ships, making of Iron, &c.”

1. What was the primary reason Smith offered to justify colonization of Virginia?

• Exploitation of natural resources

• 1. Conversion of Native Americans to Christianity

• 1. The fame and glory of exploration and expansion

• The healthy climate

Which of the following was the settlement in Virginia colony that Smith helped found?

• Plymouth

• Massachusetts Bay

• Jamestown

• Boston

Questions 3-4 refer to the following passage by John Winthrop (1630):

Source: John Winthrop, lawyer and leader of the migration of English Puritans to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, sermon delivered aboard the ship Arbella to Puritan settlers traveling to New England, “City Upon a Hill,” 1630.

“…for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so  that if wee shall deal falsely with our god in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a byword through the world, wee shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of god and all professors for Gods sake; wee shall shame the faces of many of gods worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into Curses upon us till wee be consumed out of the good land whether wee are going…”

1. Why did Winthrop say the Puritans must be a city upon a hill?

• In order to have a more defensible position in case of an attack by indigenous peoples.

• 1. In order to build a lighthouse to help approaching ships navigate.

• 1. In order to serve as a religious inspiration to others.

• 1. In order to concentrate evil and sin and then separate it from the rest of society.

1. Winthrop’s purpose for delivering this speech was to...

• 1. Compel the Separatists to remain a part of the Church of England

• 1. Push listeners into strictly adhering to Puritan ways

• 1. Incite rebellion against the British monarch

• 1. Inspire anti-Native American sentiments 

Question 5 refers to the following image of enslaved African working on a Virginia Tobacco plantation c. 1700s. The picture shows the extent of...

• 1. Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

• 1. Columbian Exchange

• 1. Slave Trade in England

• Native American forced labor.

Question 6 refers to the excerpt below from a copy of a letter from Virginia to the Council in England, June 1607.

A river so full with sweet Fish as no mans fortune has ever seen before! The soil is most fruitful, laden with Oaks, Ashe, Walnut tree, Pine, sweet woods, Cedar and others yet without names that give sap which smells so pleasant, and experience amongst us for great virtue in healing wounds and aches,...

What is the purpose of this text?

• 1. to describe the negative aspects of colonizing the Americas.

• 1. to explain why Spanish colonization should occur

• 1. to raise support of English colonization of North America

• 1. to describe the need for Native American alliances.

This advertisement shows...

• 1. a reduction in sales of tobacco in Great Britain

• 1. the start of British colonization of the Americas

• the use of Native American forced labor

• 1. the acceptance of slave labor by the English

Our work this week focused on the settlement of the first English colonies in North America. Your job is to apply what you’ve learned creatively in one of three ways.

Select one of the three options below and craft your journal entry or letter.

• Option 1:  A diary entry of a young woman arriving at the Jamestown Colony in 1619. (Focus: What the colony was like/how it had become successful)

• Option 2:  A letter from a child in Puritan New England. (Focus: Reasons for coming to New England, and life in a Puritan village).

• Option 3:  A journal entry from a man during the Starving Time (Focus: What people experienced during the Starving Time – what contributed to the issues).