SSUSH1 – Lesson 1: European Settlements
1. Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery – The Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery were three ships that brought English colonists to Virginia in 1607.
2. Virginia Company of London – The Virginia Company of London was an English business owned by shareholders. It was established by King James I with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
3. King James I – King James I was king of England. The James River is named after him, it was near the settlement of Jamestown.
4. Jamestown – Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
5. Joint-stock Company – A joint-stock company is a business entity which is owned by shareholders, individuals or institutions that legally own a share of stock in a public or private corporation.
6. “Starving Time” – The “starving time” refers to the winter of 1609-1610 when about three-quarters of the English colonists in Virginia died of starvation or starvation-related diseases.
7. Captain John Smith – Captain John Smith was the leader of Jamestown. The people that lived and worked in Jamestown functioned under him. He made friends with Powhatan and Pocahontas and they offered supplies needed by the colony.
8. Powhatan – Chief Powhatan was the leader of Virginian Indian confederation of tribes called Powhatan.
9. Pocahontas – Pocahontas was a Virginian Indian noticed for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Powhatan. She married John Rolfe. It was the first recorded interracial marriage in American History.
10. John Rolfe – John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He was husband of Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan.
11. Burgess – A burgess is an elected or appointed official of a municipality, or the representative of borough in the English House of Commons.
12. House of Burgesses – The House of Burgesses was the first legislative assembly of elected representative in North America. House of Burgesses was the first representative government in America.
13. Representative Government – A representative government is a form of government where the powers of the sovereignty are delegated to a body of men to represent or benefit the whole nation.
14. Indentured Servants – Indentured servants was a form of debt bondage, a person’s labor in repayment for a loan or other debt.
15. Nathaniel Bacon – Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy Virginian planter. He led Virginians in raids against Native Americans living in western Virginia.
16. Sir Williams Berkeley – Sir Williams Berkeley was a colonial governor of Virginia.
17. Pilgrims – A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place.
18. Mayflower Compact – The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was signed on November 11, 1620.
19. John Carver – John Carver is suspected of writing the Mayflower Compact. He was the first governor of Plymouth Colony.
20. William Bradford – William Bradford was an English Separatist leader. He served as Plymouth Colony’s governor for 30 years. He is noted to have started what is now Thanksgiving in the United States.
21. Massachusetts Bay Colony – The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the East Coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England.
22. Puritans – Puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries.
23. King Charles I – King Charles I was king of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
24. John Winthrop – John Winthrop was leader of the Puritans. He was one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. He served as governor for 12 of the colony’s first 20 years of existence.
25. “Freemen” – A freeman was any established member of a colony who was not under legal restraint. Being a