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1. Interpretations in United States History, //Issue 4: Were the First colonists in **the Chesapeake Region** Ignorant, Lazy, and Unambitious?//
 * ​Chapter 2 Study Guide:**
 * Yes. (Edmunds S. Morgan)

Here's my notes, you can keep what's good and take out what's unnecessary, or add to it:** - Virginia was very prosperous, and English could not take advantage of it. Had not: o planted corn by the third year there (The Natives have even given them food and shown them how to grow it) o Hunted, despite abundant game and the tools necessary to do so o Rivers are full of fish in summer and have plenty of ducks and geese in winter, yet they do not fish or hunt. o Even by the tenth year, still not growing their own food - Instead of any of this, they search for roots, berries, and nuts, and when there is not enough, they resort to cannibalism. - The English strangely destroy Indian crops, when it is the Indian food that keeps them alive - Colony leadership was poorly organized: o Names of leaders were kept secret, even from the leaders themselves - Indians who brought food to the colonists were treated as spies and were killed. - No real incentive to work hard, someone who worked hard would get just as much of a profit as a lazy man. - After the system was reformed, some men were given plots of land to use to grow their own food, plus two and a half barrels for the community, and therefore only worked for one month out of the year. - Far too many gentlemen came to Virginia, they were unwilling to work and therefore were largely useless. - The company put out advertisements for the kind of skilled craftsmen they wanted, thinking this would make the settlement able to thrive. - The skilled craftsmen only created problems, they would not do any work unless it was what they were hired for. - The company never considered the problem of selecting men who would be able to stay alive in the New World, England had a population that allowed them to send as many men as they wanted. - Much of the promised riches of Virginia were not found, leaving the colony with little to export, until they began growing tobacco. - The workers were not expected to work long hours (6-10 AM, then 2-4 PM) - Growing enough corn to feed the colony would have only taken a fraction of the mandatory working time, but it still wasn’t done. -JT

__The Jamestown Fiasco__

//The people of Jamestown were…//


 * Smart????:**
 * Picked a spot on a peninsula
 * Land easily defensible
 * Navigable by oceangoing ships
 * Away from the Spanish
 * Tried to create peaceful relations with Indians at first
 * Settled a long a river

//And it’s all downhill from there…//


 * Lazy/ Unambitious:**
 * Depended on the Indians for food
 * Community effort
 * People who didn’t work as hard got just as much (Like communism)
 * Even when men were given their own land, they didn’t want to work
 * Most of them were gentlemen
 * Could not be expected to do normal labor
 * Craft smiths were more likely to focus on their craft rather than to work on crops to feed themselves and others
 * Would only spend a little time working during the day
 * Had plenty of time to plant… yet they did not
 * Rivers had fish… yet they did not fish
 * family
 * The woods were full of game… yet they did not hunt
 * There were geese and ducks in the winter
 * They even resorted to cannibalism


 * Ignorant:**
 * They chose their councilors before they arrived… relations between people changed over the trip
 * Angered the Indians by multiple unauthorized attacks
 * Killed the Indians who brought them food
 * Called them spies
 * Set the Indian crops on fire… when that was how they were surviving
 * They didn’t realize that by needing gentlemen to pay, they were in a serious lack of people willing to work
 * They were supposed to create a more complex economy than England… when they are starting from scratch
 * They sent a lot of men over to Virginia… not thinking about how hard to was to stay alive in the New World
 * Tried to send cedar wood over to England… but it was too costly
 * Didn’t plant corn… they didn’t want to seem like the Indians-Hals

-MATT'S STUFF __First impressions are often wrong…__
 * site for settlement: warning of Spanish invasion by sea, defensible by land, and river access to sea ships
 * had enough time to plant a harvest and began planting
 * tried to be friendly with Native Americans
 * **Forgot to unpack the guns for defense… and were attacked… oops!**

__If they seem stupid, then most likely they are__
 * Did not plant anything **->** relied on corn from Indians and supplies from England
 * Wild game available + guns = search for berries in the woods or eat people!
 * Native – If we leave you die. English - …
 * Could easily get land to plant on **->** do nothing
 * Government **->** argue and bicker **->** do nothing **->** no food
 * Natives come with food = spies = dead
 * English attack when they should not have to make Natives… Happy??? **->** Natives got mad
 * English burn land so the Natives will… give them more food???
 * English fail at doing things for themselves = take it out on the Natives

__Lazy people never get anywhere because they starve and die__
 * Settlers work together **->** community effort **->** no incentive to work **->** all men get equal share
 * System failed **->** reorganization **->** people given small plots of land **->** enough to grow food for themselves and more
 * Private enterprise to grow crops **->** yay! food + surplus **->** run out of food again
 * Lots of the settlers were gentlemen = no skill + no work + attendants to help them
 * Skilled people **->** if you can’t do your craft then… help? Wrong! Do **nothing** of course!
 * Allotted enough time in work day to get enough food = not enough food

__Need more people so… send everyone… even if you are **not** prepared?__
 * Company sent lots or men not prepared to tackle the work
 * But whatever you do… do not send farmers that might be helpful

__Instead of spending time working on getting food… lets look for riches to export!__
 * No riches **->** try cedar wood **->** too heavy
 * Cant find riches **->** do **nothing**

__We need food = we need labor = some labor + lots o’ free time__ __ The Slackers of Jamestown __ __ First impressions are often wrong… __ __ If they seem stupid, then most likely they are __
 * Work for 4 hours a day and then u get to play!
 * Or they tried work till 10 **->** break until 3 **->** work until sunset
 * If you have a craft (even if it is useless) these hours include work spend on your craft
 * No one worked during free time
 * Sometimes they trained during their work time
 * Picked a spot on a peninsula
 * Land easily defensible
 * Navigable by oceangoing ships
 * Away from the Spanish
 * Settled a long a river
 * had enough time to plant a harvest and began planting
 * tried to be friendly with Native Americans
 * **Forgot to unpack the guns for defense… and were attacked… oops!**
 * Did not plant anything **->** relied on corn from Indians and supplies from England
 * Wild game available + guns = search for berries in the woods or eat people!
 * Native – If we leave you die. English - …
 * Could easily get land to plant on **->** do nothing
 * Government **->** argue and bicker **->** do nothing **->** no food
 * Natives come with food = spies = dead
 * English attack when they should not have to make Natives… Happy??? **->** Natives got mad
 * English burn land so the Natives will… give them more food???
 * English fail at doing things for themselves = take it out on the Natives
 * They chose councilors before they arrived… not really the best of ideas since they got mad at each other
 * They were supposed to create a more complex economy than England… that didn’t work out
 * They sent a lot of men over to Virginia… forgetting to fact in whether they would be able to survive
 * Tried to send cedar wood over to England… but it was too costly
 * Didn’t plant corn… they didn’t want to seem like the Indians

Were the Jamestown colonists lazy, unambitious and ignorant? YES! Winter 1609-1610 troubles
 * Fought with Native Americans instead of planting crops before winter
 * Colonists had guns, but did not use them for hunting game and wild birds
 * Did not recieve corn from Native Americans
 * Did not recieve supplies from England
 * Turned to Cannibilism to survive
 * When winter ended, colonists still **did not** plant crops

Leadership = Problem
 * Colony was poorly organized
 * Led by a "secret" council
 * Council had poor, violent relationship with Native Americans
 * Killed the Native Americans in unjustified attacks, and the Natives were supplying the colonists with food
 * The plots of land given to colonists were not big enough to to grow food for the colonists, let alone the colony
 * With ten years gone by, the the colonists still did not grow enough food to survive

Labor Woes
 * Lack of profits = lack of incentive to work
 * Colonists supposed to work in groups, but each member payed the same
 * Lazy man payed as much as hard worker
 * Large majority of colonists were gentlemen
 * Gentlemen were not expected to do manual labor, and in turn did no manual labor
 * Colonists worked much longer than needed
 * Could grow corn in much less time then the colonists spent, yet colonists failed to grow adequate amounts
 * Colonists did not want to stoop down to the Native Americans' level and grow corn
 * Growing corn meant tarnishing their image of being civilized

Who Cares about Survival?
 * Virginia Company of London sent people with special skills for profitable purposes only
 * These skills included jewel makers, glass makers, salt makers, etc.
 * Did not send adequate supplies of carpenters, masons, etc.
 * VA Company cared more for potential treasures then keeping the colonists alive
 * Would only send very small amounts of food