Spanish, French, Dutch and English claims, and the first English colonies

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Why Jamestown? Card A, the First Charter of Virginia (April 10, 1606; King James I to the Virginia Company; spelling modernized; cuts marked): "… propagating of Christian religion to such people, as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God … to dig, mine, and search for all manner of mines of gold, silver, and copper …" Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: no gold was found at Jamestown. In the winter of 1609 to 1610 most of the settlers lost their lives. By about 1612 John Rolfe was growing a new kind of tobacco, which became the colony's cash crop. Card C, a summary in our words: the Plymouth voyage of 1620 carried Separatists who sought freedom to worship, and also other passengers. Merchants who paid for the voyage expected to make a profit.

2. 1.

   To answer 'What did the Virginia Company hope for?', which source is better, and why, Ari asks?

   • Card B, because a later summary reports the real aims
   • Neither, because a charter lists just what a king wanted
   • Card A, since it states the company's aims in its charter
   • Card C, because merchants' profit shows what Virginia hoped
3. 2.

   How do cards A and B partly conflict, and what does the conflict show, Bo asks?

   • B shows the charter's writers lied about wanting gold
   • B shows the religion aim in card A was fully met
   • A and B agree, since both say gold was found at Jamestown
   • A names gold as a goal; B says none was found
4. 3.

   Which three-step chain across cards A and B is best supported, Esme asks?

   • Tobacco became the profit, gold was hoped for, and none was found
   • No gold was found, so the Starving Time was caused by that
   • Gold was hoped for, none was found, and tobacco became the profit
   • Gold was found, tobacco was dropped, and the colony grew rich
5. 4.

   A student says Plymouth was founded for religion alone. How strong is that claim, given card C, Jun asks?

   • Strong: card C shows religion mattered more than profit
   • Weak: card C says the voyage's merchants expected profit
   • Weak: card C shows no Separatists were on the voyage
   • Strong: card C shows Separatists and no other passengers
6. 5.

   A student says 'the failure to find gold caused the Starving Time.' How strong is that claim from cards A to C, Luz asks?

   • Weak: card B says the Starving Time did not take place
   • Weak: B lists both events but does not say one caused the other
   • Strong: B puts the two events in the same chapter of Jamestown's story
   • Strong: card A says the gold would feed the settlers

7. Use this

   Manhattan, 1626. Card A, a letter in our words: on November 5, 1626, Pieter Schaghen, a Dutch official, wrote home that the Dutch had bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians for goods worth 60 guilders. It is the only surviving record of the deal. Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service and Lenape history: the Lenape, who lived in the region, did not see land as something one person could own to the exclusion of others. They granted rights to use land and its resources. Many historians doubt that both sides saw the exchange as a permanent sale. Card C: the Dutch West India Company ran New Netherland to profit from furs. It built trading posts along rivers, where Native trappers, including Lenape and Haudenosaunee people, brought furs to trade for cloth and metal goods. England took the colony in 1664 and renamed it New York.

8. 6.

   How do cards A and B partly conflict about the Manhattan exchange, Milo asks?

   • B shows Schaghen did not write the letter in card A
   • A says the Lenape kept Manhattan; B says the Dutch bought it
   • A says 'bought'; B says the Lenape granted use
   • A and B agree that the exchange was a permanent sale
9. 7.

   Which card is better for what the Dutch thought happened, and which for what the Lenape understood, Noah asks?

   • A for the Dutch view; B for the Lenape view, as a summary
   • B for the Dutch view; A for the Lenape view, since A names them
   • A for both views, since it is the sole record of the deal
   • Neither, since a summary and a letter cannot show any view
10. 8.

    A student says 'the Lenape sold Manhattan in 1626.' How strong is that claim from the cards, Pia asks?

    • Strong: card A says the Dutch bought the island for 60 guilders
    • Strong: card B says the Lenape saw land as theirs alone
    • Weak: the sole record is Dutch, and B doubts a permanent sale
    • Weak: card C shows the Dutch did not trade at Manhattan
11. 9.

    Which three-step chain across card C best explains Dutch profits, Ren asks?

    • Trappers sold furs to England, which took the colony in 1664
    • The Company farmed the rivers, sold crops, and furs followed as a bonus
    • The Company sold cloth to trappers, who bought furs, and profits followed
    • Trappers brought furs to posts, took goods, and the Company profited
12. 10.

    Which claim about Manhattan's ownership is best supported by all three cards, Zee asks?

    • Contested: a purchase, another view, then English rule
    • It was settled in 1626 by a sale that both sides accepted
    • It stayed with the Lenape until England bought it in 1664
    • It belonged to the Dutch, whose letter is the sole evidence