We have seen which European nations were first to encounter the native populations already living in the Americas. In fact, approximately one third of the United States has been under Spanish control longer than it has been "American" - and the influence is obvious throughout our country.
      But other Europeans came and were, eventually, able to successfully maintain a settlement in the "New World." They were English merchants who received permission from King James I  to establish a colony. In 1607 they settled Jamestown, Virginia in honor of the king and were led by Captain John Smith (link). The horrors of those first year included starvation, disease, murder, cannibalism and grave robbing. (Not the type of thing your typical high school text makes clear.) Under the tough leadership of John Smith perhaps half of the original 104 settlers who sailed upon the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed & Discovery survived. The fate of those who survived is unclear - though we know many deserted to live among the Indians. As for Smith himself, the story goes that he was saved from execution by Powhattan Indians by the beautiful Pocahontas who later married another colonist, traveled to London, was baptized and eventually died of smallpox. John Smith's own style of dealing with the Native Americans would become a blueprint for centuries to come for he befriended them when he needed their help, then challenged them and employed violence when he saw them as a barrier to his version of progress.
      Because of the demise of John Smith's Jamestown, most of us learned as children that America was settle by Pilgrims who sailed upon the Mayflower and landed on Plymouth Rock - or Patuxet as it was called by the Natives - in December of 1620. Arriving in December wasn't the smartest move as a harsh winter claimed fifty-two of the 102 settlers. Those that survived owed a great debt to both Squanto and Samoset,  Native Americans who taught the Pilgrims survival skills and were honored guests the following fall as the mythical first "Thanksgiving" was celebrated. Never mind that if you called these early settlers  "Pilgrims" they would have looked at you funny for the term was not first applied until some later and Thanksgiving wasn't celebrated as a national holiday until President Lincoln (in an effort to drum up patriotism) deemed it so in 1863.
      What you need to understand is that there are many myths surrounding the Pilgrims settlement in North America. One of the reasons the Pilgrims were able to survive had to do with the fact that approximately 90% of the Indian population had been eliminated through diseases for which they  had no natural immunity. Diseases brought by Europeans. Thus those aboard the Mayflower didn't arrive at a virgin wilderness which they needed to tame - the land was in many areas already cleared and ready for planting again. The natives who survived were so low in numbers that they would be foolish not to cooperate with the Pilgrims and work towards mutual survival. Early settlers praised God for the plagues of flu and smallpox which had decimated the Indians seeing them as a sign from God that they, the Pilgrims, were the chosen people. Of course that belief would be used over and over again as the "settlers" needed to justify the extermination of the native or indigenous populations they encountered.
     Nevertheless, each fall school children re-enact the mythical first Thanksgiving. A mural that rings the inside dome of our nation's capitol romanticizes Columbus' "discovery" and pretty Pocahontas' baptism. But in 1970, when the state of Massachusetts asked Frank James a member of the Wampanoag tribe to speak at a celebration commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock, they asked to read his speech before its delivery. Upon doing so they withdrew his invitation to speak for he had, in part, written: 

"Today is a time of celebrating for you but it is not for me. It is with heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my people. The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod four days before they had robbed all the graves of my ancestors, and stole their corn, wheat, and beans. Massasoit, the great leader of the Wampanoag, knew these facts; yet he and his people welcomed and befriended the settlers not knowing that before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag and other Indians living near the settlers, would be killed by their guns or the diseases that we caught from them."

Here is the reading you need for this assignment.

1. What happened to the colony of Roanoke?

2. Why was the settlement of Jamestown, VA unsuccessful?

3. Read the section "Raising tobacco" and explain its inherent inconsistency.

4. How were indentured servants different from slaves?

5. Your text writes that two things happened in 1619. What were they and how do they contradict each other?

Your text claims that the Mayflower was blown off course by a storm. This is most likely untrue. Some speculate that landing at Plymouth (Pantuxet) was intended since the area was known to the settlers. Some  speculate there was a hijacking by a small gang of Pilgrims who were seeking religious freedom (the Mayflower was supposed to land in the Virginia colony which was Anglican) while still others argue the ship had no specific destination.

6. What was the Mayflower Compact?

7. Who were Samoset and Squanto and how did they help the Pilgrims?

8. What three important things did the Puritans believe in?

9. Your text asserts that everywhere the colonists went they found Native Americans already living there. This is also untrue. For when Squanto returned to his village, (his life is an amazing story!), he found himself almost completely alone! So, by 1675, why might Metacom have been able to mount a war to recover lost lands? (Read up above on this page just below the picture of Pocahontas).

10. List and categorize the 13 original colonies (link) under the headings "New England," Middle," and "Southern."

11. How were New York and New Jersey established?

12. Who was William Penn and what did he believe in?

13. Of the New England, Middle and Southern Colonies, which region do you think was the most distinct (different) and why?

14. Do the 13 original colonies seem like they could ever become a unified country? Why or why not?

15. After reading the chapter, which colony would you have chosen to live in and why?

Your quiz will contain other terms and ideas contained in the chapters - pay special attention to words bolded in your text!