England's First Colony example essay topic

Jamestown In the sixteenth century, England was one of the most powerful countries in the world. England was also in dire need of money at this time. In an effort to alleviate the country's financial burdens, King Henry V decided to seize land owned by the Catholic Church. Henry then sold the already inhabited land to investors, and its residents were forced out. These people and their descendants would eventually become some of the fortune-seeking colonists that would settle America during England's try at Imperialism. In the early 1600's England need money once again, and this time it decided to by settling the new land to the west of them.

Instead of actually funding these colonial expeditions, England would issue charters to joint - stock companies. These companies consisted of wealthy English investors who would all give some money to finance the trips and would share in the riches if they succeeded or lost their money of they failed. Most of the time the benefits of their investments would outweigh the risks. For England, this was a win-win situation.

Since England did not pay for the voyages or the colonies themselves, England wouldn't lose the money if they failed. If the companies succeeded, England was entitled to a percentage of the profits and became its ultimate authority. England's first colony was established in 1607 by a joint - stock company, and was named Jamestown. Jamestown was a self-contained colony located near a river. It's triangular shape allowed it to be defended easily, since it was the colonist's responsibility to defend themselves. Although the colony was near water and had a good location for shipping goods, it was surrounded by a swamp and stagnant water.

This allowed disease to run rampant. Jamestown only lasted until 1700 when its settlers abandoned it, and moved Williamsburg. The colonist's primary objective, as mentioned before, was to make money, and also try and drive out Spanish colonies. None of the colonists concentrated on survival and focused on their search for prosperity. Because of all the time spent on looking for gold or the route to China, and their lack of skills, the colonists were not prepared for the harsh upcoming winter. The results were devastating.

During the winter of 1609-1610 almost ninety percent of the colony was wiped out, and only 50 out of the 500 colonists survived. The government of the colony consisted of a governor and 12 council members, all whom were appointed. The government, named the Virginia Council, had no decision making power at all. Everything was sent over to England, settled there, and then sent back. This system was outrageously inefficient and often took several years for anything to be resolved. This absurd and inept council was another reason the death toll at the colony was so high.

They couldn't force people to work on the colony. Finally, a man by the name of John Smith took control and opened the settler's eyes. They started to build adequate housing and started planting crops, and because of this they had a bid at survival. In 1620 an attempt to reform the government by adding the Burgess was made. The Burgess consisted of nineteen elected members and went under the council. Both the council and the Burgess could draft laws and would debate on them.

This gave the colonists at least some say in the government. The court was made up of thirteen members; the governor and the council. The most common punishment for most of the crimes committed in the colonies was public humiliation. Upper-class offenders would be locked into pillories and the lower class would be locked into the stockade. The punishment was quite effective.

Although the actually colony of Jamestown has long since been demolished, it will remain forever as the first successful colony of the United States of America. Its mistakes and accomplishments served future settlers of America valuable lessons..