How did Virginia attract settlers?
The original settlers were owed their land and stock shares; initial investors at home were owed their dividends. The next year, the Company instituted the headright system, a way to bring more settlers to Virginia.
What was going on in the Virginia colony in the 1600s?
For most of the 1600s, white indentured servants worked the colony’s tobacco fields, but by 1705 the Virginia colony had become a slave society. Nearly all power was in the hands of white male landowners, who ran the government and, by law, belonged to the Church of England.
What did the Virginia colonists want?
With the experiments of John Rolfe, the colony finally discovered a staple product–tobacco. The colonists wanted to plant tobacco because it was a cash crop, even though the King opposed the use of the weed.
Why did so many people die in the Virginia Colony?
As a result, huge numbers of colonists perished from disease (many of which they brought with them), unsanitary conditions, and malnutrition. Between 1614 and 1618 or so, potential colonists were much more attracted to the West Indies and Bermuda than they were Virginia.
What did the colonists find in the Virginia Colony?
What was more, the colonists who did go to Virginia often did not have the skills and knowledge to help the colony prosper. The colonists not only found little of value, they were remarkably unable even to feed themselves.
What was the royal colony in the 1600s?
Our second look at the royal colony in 1600s Virginia begins with a look at how the English immigrants in the Chesapeake built their society.
Why was the Virginia Colony forced to change course?
Between 1614 and 1618 or so, potential colonists were much more attracted to the West Indies and Bermuda than they were Virginia. By 1618, the Virginia Company was forced to change course again. The Company had not solved the problem of profitability, nor that of settlers’ morale.