WEEK 6

READING SUMMARIES AND COOL FACTS FOR FAMILY DISCUSSIONS

HIGHLIGHT ON AMERICAN HISTORY

FASCINATING FACTS: Virginia’s House of Burgesses

In 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses became the first popularly-elected legislature in America. It was
the beginning of representative self-government in the New World-- for Europeans. Certain Indian tribes had
representative governments before the colonists ever arrived.

AMAZING NATIVE AMERICANS: Chanco

Chanco was a Christian Powhatan Indian boy employed by Richard Pace, a colonist who lived on the south
shore of the James River. The Powhatan chief, Opechancanough, hated the settlers and planned a surprise attack
and massacre for March, 1622. Chanco’s chief gave him the task of killing his employer and his family, but instead
Chanco warned Richard Pace of the planned massacre.
Pace rowed across the river to Jamestown to warn the colonists of the coming attack. The warning came too
late to save three hundred forty-seven men, women and children who were still outside the fort, about a third of the
colonists. Without Chanco’s warning, however, all of the English might have been slain.

FASCINATING FACTS: The Sea Venture

On June 2, 1609 the Sea Venture set sail from England on her maiden voyage for Jamestown. Part of a
seven-ship fleet carrying a total of 500 people, she carried supplies plus 150 new colonists bound for Virginia. On July
24, a hurricane struck and the fleet became separated. The Sea Venture was so new that the timbers had not set,
and after three days of hurricane-force winds and rain, the ship began to leak badly. When the grateful crew finally
spotted land at Bermuda, Admiral George Somers drove the ship onto the reefs and landed all of his people safely.
Over the next nine months, the survivors managed to build two smaller ships using lumber from Bermuda and
salvaged material from the Sea Venture. They set sail for Virginia on May 23, 1610. Arriving at Jamestown, the
survivors of the Sea Venture discovered that only 60 of the Jamestown colonists remained alive.

TOBACCO IN VIRGINIA
The Virginia Colony was a money-making venture for the Virginia Company, which had sponsored the
founding of Jamestown. In their first years at Jamestown, the colonists attempted to create a variety of products for
sale including silk, soap ashes, glass and others. They had no success until the arrival of John Rolfe with the survivors
of the Sea Venture.

AMAZING AMERICANS: John Rolfe (1585-1622)

John Rolfe arrived in Jamestown in 1610, a survivor of the ill-fated Sea Venture. He was grieving the losses
of his wife and newborn baby girl, both of whom had died in Bermuda. Rolfe was shocked to
discover how poorly the colonists were faring in Jamestown.
Rolfe had brought with him two kinds of tobacco seeds, and after studying the planting
methods of the Native Americans, he began to experiment with his own seeds. In 1611, he had his
first crop of tobacco, which was tested and deemed pleasant to smoke. The crop was shipped to
England, where it was received with great excitement. By 1612, the Virginia Colony had found its
money crop.
During this same time Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, was kidnapped by some
of the English colonists. She was held at a nearby settlement, where she learned English. She became a baptized
Christian and re-named herself Rebecca. John Rolfe fell in love with her and asked the governor for permission to
marry her. They married in 1614, and their marriage was the beginning of a short-lived peace between the colonists
and the Powhatan Indians.
Two years later, Rolfe took his wife and his infant son, Thomas, to England to visit. Pocahontas became ill
and died as they set out to return to Virginia seven months later. Stricken with grief, Rolfe left Thomas in the care of
a guardian and returned to Virginia. He eventually married a third time to Jane Pierce, became a prominent member
of the colony and sat in the House of Burgesses.
Rolfe died in Virginia in 1622, possibly as a result of the Indian Massacre.
FASCINATING FACTS: John Rolfe’s tobacco
Sir Walter Raleigh first introduced tobacco into France and Spain in 1565. By the early 1600s, Spain had a
monopoly on tobacco trade because most Spanish colonies were in the southern climates that favored tobacco.
Spain wanted very much to protect its tobacco revenue: death was the penalty for anyone who distributed Spanish
tobacco seeds to non-Spaniards. How John Rolfe obtained his seeds is unknown, but they were probably some of the
forbidden Spanish seeds. They may have come from Trinidad and Orinoco (the Orinoco River in Venezuela), where
the tobacco was sweet.

FASCINATING FACTS: Smoking in England

By 1590, smoking was an established habit among Englishmen. It was an expensive
pleasure requiring elaborate smoking paraphernalia. A smoker would carry a clay pipe and an
ivory box containing a pound of tobacco, silver tongs, a pick, a knife and a small scoop.
Servants often carried smoking equipment for their masters.
King James denounced smoking and placed a duty on tobacco, but the habit’s
popularity continued to grow. When Virginia tobacco hit the market, tobacco consumption
increased considerably, and even poorer Englishmen began to buy it. King James received
immense revenue from tobacco trade because of the duties he had imposed. By 1620, forty
thousand pounds of tobacco had already reached England; and by 1625, there were more
tobacco shops in England than taverns.

As tobacco production grew, so did the Virginia colony. Tobacco was used as currency to settle debts, as
wages for soldiers, government officials and indentured servants, and even for the purchase of wives.
But growing tobacco required vast amounts of land and labor. Planters would start their seeds in early
January and harvest in September. Everything was done by hand, including planting, weeding, pruning, picking,
hanging and drying. Dried tobacco was packed in barrels and shipped to England. At first indentured servants did
most of the tobacco work; but they were freed after only six or seven years, and the tobacco farmers soon found a
cheaper source of labor.

SLAVERY IN VIRGINIA
In 1619, the first 20 African slaves arrived in Jamestown on a Dutch trading ship. By the 1700s slavery was
part of colonial life. Slaves were bought and sold at auction and remained slaves for life, unless set free by their
owners. Slaves planted and harvested the crops and performed all of the labor on the tobacco plantations. They
worked long hours with no pay except basic food, clothing and shelter.

HIGHLIGHT ON WORLD HISTORY

FASCINATING FACTS: Triangular Trade Route

The Portuguese began the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the fifteenth century, and by the seventeenth
century, it was at its peak.
Slave ships sailed around the Atlantic in a triangular route. They
sailed the first leg of the triangle, from Europe to Africa, carrying cloth,
alcohol, tobacco, beads, shells and guns. They exchanged these goods for
African slaves. On the second leg, they carried slaves from Africa to the
Americas. The third leg of the triangle was from the Americas back to
Europe; on this home journey, they carried cotton, sugar, tobacco and
alcohol purchased with the money they got for the slaves.
Conditions on the slave ships were appalling. As many as 10-30% of
the slaves died on the voyage from Africa to the Americas. Male captives
were often chained together by the legs in order to save
room, and the slaves received only one meal per day.

ANGOLA AND QUEEN NZINGA - 1583-1663

When the Portuguese arrived in Ndomba (now Angola) in 1575 , their primary objective
was to establish slave trade. They met resistance in Ndomba, but eventually they formed an
uneasy alliance. In 1590, with Britain and France encroaching on their slave trade, the
Portuguese decided to invade Ndomba in order to solidify their source of slaves. The next 27
years saw battle after battle between Portugal and Ndomba.
In 1617, after an aggressive Portuguese campaign, the Ndomban king was forced to flee
and thousands of Ndomban subjects were taken prisoner. In 1621, the king’s son and successor
Mbandi sent his sister Nzinga to negotiate peace. Her mission was to regain the Ndomban land and prisoners and to
stop the ravage of Ndomba by mercenaries.
Born in 1583, Nzinga was her father’s favorite. He had allowed her to sit with him in court and would even
carry her into battle. The Ndomba of her childhood was in constant conflict, and she learned to take part in the
fighting, training women warriors to fight with her against the Portuguese. She was considered brave but cruel, with
a haughty demeanor.
When Nzinga met with the Portuguese governor, she refused to sit on the mat he had placed on the floor
for her, which would have meant that she was his vassal. Instead, she ordered her servant to kneel, and Nzinga sat on
the servant to indicate that she was the governor’s equal.
The governor agreed to her terms in word, if not in deed. In order to strengthen the treaty, Nzinga
converted to Christianity, adopting the name Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande in honor of the governor’s wife (who was
her godmother). Nzinga’s sisters were also baptized. Unfortunately, the Portuguese did not honor the treaty. The
prisoners were not returned, the mercenaries continued to attack and the Portuguese never withdrew.
Soon after the failure of the treaty, Nzinga’s brother suddenly died. Some believe he killed himself,
convinced that he would never be able to recover what was lost. Others believe that Nzinga poisoned him in order to
take the throne. His son succeeded him, but the son also died, again possibly at the hands of Nzinga.
For the next 33 years, Nzinga led the war against Portugal. For most of those years she was driven out of
her land and lived in the neighboring kingdom of Matamba. She personally led her troops into battle and forbade
her subjects to call her Queen, preferring to be called King. One of her sisters was captured and drowned by
Portuguese. In 1657, at the age of 74, Nzinga signed a peace treaty with Portugal. She died in Matamba on
December 17, 1663. After her death, the Portuguese took over Kongo, Matamba and Ndomba.
Not until November 11, 1975 did Angola finally gain its independence from Portugal.

MUSICAL MASTERS

George Friderick Handel (1685-1759)

George Handel was born in Germany in the Brandenburg-Prussia province. His father wanted him to be a
lawyer, not a musician, and went so far as to forbid him to play. Handel was forced to practice
in secret. After he impressed a duke with his playing at the age of 7, his father allowed him to
study with a famous organist. By the time he was eleven years old, he had composed six
sonatas and could play the harpsichord, oboe, organ and violin. In 1702, he entered Halle
University and began to study law, but after a year he left and joined an orchestra in
Hamburg. He composed his first opera in 1705.
Around 1710, Handel moved to England. In 1714 he composed “Water Music” for a
festival on the Thames River, which pleased the King George I so much that he gave Handel a
yearly salary for the rest of his life. Handel’s most famous work was the “Messiah,” which he
wrote in 24 days during the summer of 1741. King George II was present for the opening
performance. When they reached the now well-known “Hallelujah Chorus,” the king stood up
in reverence. Since that time, it has been traditional to stand during the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus.