What makes a colony successful

They assumed the Indians were burning off a field for planting or signaling, which is what the English would do. They also did not understand how the Indians fought, at night. Why would the English expect the Indians to attack them?

The Indians had attacked before. We marched to those smokes and found that the Savages had been there burning down the grass, as we thought either to make their plantation there [to clear the land for farming], or else to give signs to bring their forces.

We coasted to their Town, rowing over a River running into the Main[land], where these Savages swam over with their Bows and Arrows in their mouths. He might wish to find out more about the whites — their intentions, strength, etc. He might also wish to open trade negotiations, or use his relationship with the whites as a sign of his strength within the Powhatan culture.

What does this passage tell us about European perceptions of Indians and their understanding of Indian culture? While the general tribe was welcoming, some of the older members were suspicious of the English.

It suggests that the two tribes were rivals. Why might the Raphanna chief have been displeased that the English visited the Paspihe village before visiting his? He might have thought it would give the Paspihe village an advantage over his own village.

Why might it have been advantageous to Powhatan to permit rivalries among the tribes in his confederation? If there were rivalries among the tribes, no leader within a tribe could become strong enough to challenge Powhatan. We entertained the said Messenger, and gave him trifles [trinkets] which pleased him. We manned our shallop with Muskets and Targatiers [foot soldiers armed with shields] sufficiently: this said Messenger guided us where our determination was to go.

When we landed, the Werowance of Rapahanna came down to the water side with all his train [followers]… playing on a Flute made of a Reed…. He entertained us in so modest a proud fashion, as though he had been a Prince of civil government, holding his countenance [keeping his bearing] without laughter or any such ill behavior. They may have seen the English as enemies, aligned with a rival tribe. What do the Apamatica demand of the English?

They may have displayed trinkets or other things to trade. Presently there was an alarm given; upon that the Savages ran away, and we [were] not troubled any more by them that night. Not long after there came two Savages that seemed to be Commanders, bravely dressed, with Crowns of colored hair upon their heads, he came as Messengers from the Werowance of Paspihae, telling us that their Werowance was coming and would be merry with us with a fat Deer.

See paragraph 5. What might account for the difference? These encounters are much more adversarial. The Paspihae may have realized that the English intended to stay. See paragraph 6. These encounters with the Paspihae reflect the war-like defensive poster of the Paspihae. The encourter with the Rapahanna reflected more a diplomatic trade meeting.

Why might the English suspect villainy on the part of the Paspihae? Since they had been attacked earlier they were suspicious. They feared that the Paspihae would remain in their fort overnight and attack them from within. Why might the Paspihae werowance offer the English as much land as they wanted? Can we be sure that he actually made that offer? He used the offer of land as a stall tactic.

He probably did not make the offer in the sense that the English understood the offer. Why would an Indian be interested in stealing a hatchet? What might the hatchet represent? A hatchet represents a warrior. By stealing the hatchet the Indian would remind the English that the Paspihae were the superior warriors.

Paspihae made great signs to us to lay our Arms away. But we would not trust him so far. He seeing he could not have convenient time to work his will, at length made signs that he would give us as much land as we would desire to take.

As the Savages were in a throng in the Fort, one of them stole a Hatchet from one of our company, which spied [noticed] him doing the deed: whereupon he took it from him by force, and also struck him over the arm. Presently another Savage seeing that, came fiercely at our man with a wooden sword, thinking to beat out his brains. The Werowance of Paspiha saw us take to our Arms, went suddenly away with all his company in great anger.

They faine would have lain in our Fort all night, but we would not suffer them for fear of their treachery. How do you think the Indians might have interpreted the English cross planting ceremony?

They would have been suspicious or curious. What implications does the ceremony hold for the Indians? Why might it have mattered to the Indians that the captain went onshore alone?

It did not represent an attack — it was only one man — so it was probably more a diplomatic effort. How valuable would the gift of the hatchet be to the chief? What might it suggest to him about the English and the potential of an alliance with them? What reasons might local tribes in the Powhatan Confederation have had for befriending the English? Might they be seeking allies?

Why would they need allies? They would be seeking allies against rival tribes. Allies would be useful for military or trading purposes. Why would local Indians be concerned that the English were planting?

It implies a permanence as well as exclusive use of the land. Debates include what force the English may use, their military strength, and their purpose — why they are there. As long as the English do not ask for anything valuable or pose a risk, the Paspihae can be accommodating. When we had finished and set up our Cross, we shipped our men and made for James Fort.

He presented the Commander of this place, with a Hatchet which he took joyfully, and was well pleased. They take but a little waste ground, which does you nor any of us any good. Rappahanna focused upon establishing a friendship with the English. The relationship with the Paspihae was more complicated and involved military elements.

Since the English settled in Paspihae territory their relationship was more direct. Percy believed that the Indians spared Jamestown because God put a terror into their hearts. What other reasons might they have had? The English settlement could represent a balance against other tribes. They could be a trading partner or a military buffer. Would you have predicted in that Jamestown would be a success? Answers will vary. Probably not, as the settlers were starving and knew little of the environment in which they found themselves.

The Natives were a major determining factor in their survival. At several points, the colony almost failed, whether because of starvation or sporadic war with the Indians.

But ships with food and settlers arrived each time the colony was nearly empty, and over time diseases that were previously unknown in the Americas dramatically decreased the Indian population. Jamestown was eventually abandoned, but the colony of Virginia thrived with the adoption of tobacco agriculture and slavery.

Why, on the whole, did Virginia survive? What made the difference? Right in the introduction they give a pretty good synopsis of the problems that faced every expedition.

No expedition could even leave Europe without securing funding. But how that funding was structured and the motives and plans of the investors would continue to have a major impact. Were they in it to make a quick profit or to establish a venture successful for the long term? Were they expecting as most did the colony to find gold, or some valuable but easily extractible natural resource to send back, to immediately be financially self sufficient?

Did they anticipate that colonists would need further resupply missions, and were they prepared to fit them out at their own expense? Without the right backing in place the fledgling colony would wither on the vine. Once the expedition reached the new world, they at some point had to pick a site for their settlement.

How long this took was an important factor, and that was based on how much knowledge they had of the area they were exploring. This varied vastly between expeditions and decades.

Once they decided on a spot, they could be helped or hurt depending on the decision they made. Was it an area good for trading with the natives and receiving supply ships, ideally near the coast on a navigable river? Was it good for defense, both from Indians, European enemies or pirates? Was the soil good for growing crops?

Was the climate healthy, or disease ridden swamp land? The answers to these questions were what made or broke many settlements. Food is a basic human need, so naturally it was a major hurdle for colonists as well. Trading with natives was a possibility, but between the threat of war and the lack of excess food in the local economy to give to strangers this was not sustainable.

Scavenging was also an option, and there were times when that needed to be resorted to, to survive. But colonies in it for the long haul needed to grow their own food. To survive, they needed to realize this quickly, and learn the best crops and farming methods for their area, as they were frequently different from what they were used to in Europe.

Another major factor that influenced whether colonies succeeded or failed is who the colonists were. Were they families or single men? Both had advantages and disadvantages. Bringing families at the beginning meant more mouths to feed that were not able to pull their weight. On the other hand, a colony of adventurers who had left their families, or any hope to build a family, behind, were far less likely to endure the hardship and put in the effort to create a lasting settlement.

But far more than just the demographics mattered. Were they the dregs of society, shipped abroad because they were unwanted at home — criminals, orphans and disgraced gentlemen, or were they hard working people looking for a chance to build a new life?

What was their work ethic? Were they trained in the trades or tasks that they needed to perform?