Early Colonies | BJU Press Summer History eCamp

Early Colonies

The First English Colony

One hundred five men came to live in the Virginia Colony. They called the place they lived Jamestown

The men told each other, “We don’t have time to plant gardens and build houses in Jamestown. We must hunt for gold. Finding gold will make us rich.”

The men did not find gold. But they did find something that made them rich. They found a plant that the Indians grew. The men planted it in their gardens. They sold the plant to people in England. Do you know what the plant was? It was tobacco.

Do you think everyone was happy about the new plant? Some people were not. King James said, “Smoking is harmful to the brain and to the lungs. The smoke makes me think of the pit of Satan.” Most men and women did not listen to King James. But today we know that King James was right.

A Trading Post Colony

A few years later, men from another country sailed across the ocean. They sailed north of the Virginia Colony.

The men came from the country called the Netherlands. Why do you think they came to America? They came to trade with the Indians.

These men called their colony New Netherland. Trading with the Indians made some men rich. What kinds of things do you think they traded? Often the Indians traded piles of furs.
The men from the Netherlands traded things like beads, knives, and tools.

One man named Peter Minuit made a special trade with the Indians. He gave the Indians beads, knives, and tools. But they gave him something much bigger than a pile of furs. The Indians gave him a whole island! Peter built a town on the island. He called the town New Amsterdam.

Today, we know New Amsterdam by a different name. Men from England changed the name when they came to take over the colony. The men named it for their leader, the Duke of York. We now call the town New York City.