Jamestown: Eternal Love or Eternal Struggle?

Roanoke may be famous for failing and being a mystery, but Jamestown is famous for surviving.  In 1606, the Virginia Jointstock Company asked for permission to try colonizing America again.  A jointstock company is a group of people, in this case all men, who gather their money and resources together to send an expedition in order to colonize.  If the group is successful, the jointstock company makes a profit.  If it fails, they have lost their investment. Anyway, the Virginia Company sent a group to colonize and in 1607 Jamestown was settled on the coast of Virginia on the James River. (By the way, are you seeing a pattern here of how things were named?) The group's main focus was gold, which meant planting stable crops for sustenance was not a priority.  As a result, LOTS of men died due to starvation (hence "Starving Time").  Read this little ditty about how desperate they were for food. (I apologize for the one curse word in the opening paragraph.  I did not realize that was in there until after the post went live. Just ignore it please.)

Another legacy of Jamestown is the relationship between John Smith (the man who got the colony on track) and Pocahontas.  We will be discussing this topic all week so I'm not going to get into it here.  What I want you to do is examine the four photos below and read this story.  Why do you think, out of all the important aspects of Jamestown and the beginnings of America, does this relationship capture out attention.  Especially when most people think it was romantic, thanks to Disney, when it really was not.  Do you have a problem with the Disney characters looking NOTHING LIKE the actual people from the 17th Century?

Roanoke: The Lost Colony

All of this exploration and European rivalry eventually trickled its way into the English bloodstream. After England defeated the Spanish Armada (most powerful navy in the world at that time) in 1588, they felt secure enough to travel across the Atlantic and try their hand at colonization.

One of the first major attempts was a colony off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island.  Set up by Sir Walter Raleigh, a group traveled to North America, survived for few years and then disappeared.  To this day no one knows what happened to this English colony.

Read this story about the possible theories explaining their disappearance.  In the comments section, choose the theory that makes the most sense to you and explain why.  Also, discuss what would have been some of the difficulties of living in a brand new land 3,000 miles away from home.

The Columbian Exchange: When The World Began To Come Together

Let's have a more pleasant topic this week shall we?

One of the effects of Columbus' voyages is the globalization of world resources.  This phrase indicates the goods, diseases, animals and other products from Europe, Africa and the Americas were now being carried back and forth due to the Age of Exploration.

Study the graphic below.  In the comments section, describe what you think are the most important items (whether positive or negative) that were being transmitted globally for the first time.