Historic outlook

Text A: Reading for meaning.

It’s All Began There…

Only an extremely lazy and ignorant person knows nothing about Christopher Columbus, a courageous man and a useless governor of Spanish colonies in the New World, who managed to discover a new continent which is proudly called after another famous discoverer Amerigo Vespucci. The New World was called America in his honor.

Many of European powers were lucky in turn to explore new and rich lands of the New World. Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Russia succeeded a lot in exploring these new but attracting lands. Colonists from Spain, France, Holland, England and other countries came to the New World for many different reasons: trade, freedom of religion, political freedom and economic reasons.

The British were the most successful and efficient in colonization of the New World. Great Britain started its colonial history with its first British colony that was called after the king James. They founded 13 colonies along the eastern coast of North America.

Text B: Reading for meaning.

Jamestown – the First British Colony

At first, the crew of the British ship “Mayflower” was enjoying good and quiet weather at sea. People were full of hopes and dreams on the best possible future. On the way to the New World too many storms were taking place in the Atlantic Ocean and during one of them the main beam of the ship collapsed. There were also some leaks on the ship. Several members of the crew even expressed the wish to return back to England, but the rest insisted on going further.

Eventually, in May of 1607 one hundred and five people from the British ship ‘Mayflower’ landed on the most unacceptable, swampy and unsecured land. Many people of the crew were pilgrims and they decided on changing their lifestyle by immigrating to the New World in a life expectancy of freedom of religion and better life.

As the Pilgrims[2] looked around the shore, they were watching their new country covered with dense and wild forests. Endless lawns were covered with thousands of bluebells, chamomiles and forget-me-nots. Many of swamps around the place were distributing such disgusting smell which could not encourage new colonists. The whole place seemed extremely strange, savage and unfriendly. But looking behind, the Pilgrims could watch only the great and endless ocean separating them from the well-known civilization.

Colonists started building their houses and soon after noticed that they had been watched by Native Americans. This was the first meeting with people who eventually received the name of Indians. At first Indians and colonists managed to cope and live together peacefully. Indians were much surprised of many things never seen before like riffles, alcohol liquors, leather boots and watches. In their turn new colonists were carefully and friendly instructed on using many herbs, shown eatable plants and berries never seen before. Despite of different gods and cultures the British and Native American kept living together peacefully.

Then the first winter arrived and it was very severe and frosty. The colonists were not properly organized and prepared for such an unusual and severe winter and many of serious problems began starting with unseen before deceases and sickness. Another and the most hard difficulty was in a shortage of food that eventually led to death of an overwhelming number of colonists. By the end of the first winter only 50 colonists survived.

Later on when the survived colonists wanted to leave the Jamestown Colony for good, a supply ship with a new governor Lord De La Ware (compare Delaware) arrived to the American continent and initiated the colonists to stay in the colony and organize the colonial establishments up to the better standard.

Captain John Smith was appointed to the Council of Jamestown in 1609. Since that time the council policy in Jamestown became hard and strict and due to it the colony could survive. The colonists constructed and fortified the fort to prevent any attacks of the Native Americans; soon the first Anglican Church in America was built. The colony was expanding in size and improving its living conditions. Colonists began to feel their muscles. Colonists started cultivating tobacco and since 1609 the colony was exporting tobacco to England.