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

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Four nations, four aims, 1565 to 1630 (summaries in our words from the National Park Service). Card A, Spain: in 1565 Spain founded St. Augustine in Florida as a military base to guard the route of its treasure ships and to hold its claim. Priests built missions to convert Native peoples to Christianity. Card B, France: in 1608 France founded Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. Few French settlers came. The colony lived by the fur trade, and French traders depended on alliances with Native nations such as the Wendat and the Algonquin. Card C, the Netherlands: from 1614 the Dutch built trading posts on the Hudson River. The Dutch West India Company ran New Netherland as a business for furs. England took it in 1664 and renamed it New York. Card D, England: in 1607 the Virginia Company, a company of investors, founded Jamestown to make a profit. In 1620 Separatists seeking freedom to worship, and other passengers, founded Plymouth.

2. 1.

   A student says all four nations founded colonies mainly to make money. How well do the cards support that, Bo asks?

   • Strongly: each of the four cards names furs or profit
   • Weakly: Spain's base and England's Separatists do not fit
   • Strongly: companies founded each of the four colonies shown
   • Not really: no card mentions money, furs or profit
3. 2.

   Cards A and D both involve religion. How do their religious aims differ, Esme asks?

   • Card A mentions religion; card D names profit as the sole aim
   • Both aimed to convert Native peoples, one by priests, one by settlers
   • A: freedom for one's own worship; D: converting Native peoples
   • A: converting Native peoples; D: freedom for one's own worship
4. 3.

   These cards were written long after, as summaries. What can Jun not learn from them, as the sources stand?

   • The main business that each of the colonies was set up for
   • The European nation that built and ran each of the colonies
   • What Native peoples themselves said of the colonies
   • The year in which each colony was first founded by its nation
5. 4.

   Suppose the fur trade collapsed. Using card B, which prediction is best supported, Kira asks?

   • The French colony would grow rich from its many large farms
   • The Spanish base at St. Augustine would lose its main income
   • The French colony would end at once and its settlers would leave
   • A colony living by furs with few settlers would struggle
6. 5.

   Which statement is supported by cards B and C together but not by card A, Luz asks?

   • Their colonies lived on furs from Native trappers
   • A military base guarded the route of treasure ships and the claim
   • Separatists sought freedom to worship in a new colony in 1620
   • Priests built missions to convert Native peoples to Christianity

7. Use this

   Whose land? Jamestown, 1607 to 1610 (summaries in our words from the National Park Service). Card E: Jamestown was built on land the Powhatan Chiefdom used. The chiefdom had thousands of people in more than 30 tribes. Card F: in the early years the Powhatan sent gifts of food to the English. In the winter of 1609 to 1610, the "Starving Time", about 60 settlers were still alive by spring. Accounts differ on how many had been there in the fall: about 500 by one count, about 300 by another. Card G: European rulers claimed land under what is now called the Doctrine of Discovery, the idea that a Christian nation could claim land not already held by a Christian ruler, even where Native nations lived.

8. 6.

   Card E says the Powhatan used the land at Jamestown. What does that mean for the idea of 'empty land', Milo asks?

   • The land was part of Virginia, a state since 1607
   • The land was theirs by law, so the English had no claim
   • The land was empty until the English cleared it
   • Many people lived there, so 'empty' is not accurate
9. 7.

   Card F says about 60 settlers lived to spring, of about 500 or about 300 in the fall. What share lived under each count, Noah asks?

   • About 88 percent or about 80 percent, the share who did not live
   • About 12 percent or about 20 percent
   • About 8 percent or about 5 percent, from dividing the wrong way
   • About 60 percent under either count, since 60 settlers lived
10. 8.

    Card E says the Powhatan used the land. Card G says rulers claimed land 'not already held by a Christian ruler.' What does the conflict show, Pia asks?

    • The claim rested on European rules, not an empty land
    • The claim was void, so the English had no basis to settle
    • The claim showed the land was empty, so the Powhatan had left
    • The claim covered just land that the Powhatan did not use
11. 9.

    Card F gives two counts for the same fall. What does that tell Ren about the evidence for the Starving Time?

    • Sources disagree on a basic number, so claims need a range
    • The counts agree, since each puts the survivors near 60
    • Both counts are wrong, so nothing is known about that winter
    • The higher count is right, since it shows more suffering
12. 10.

    Which question would best help Tala learn how the Powhatan saw the English arrival?

    • How many settlers were still alive in the spring of 1610?
    • What did Powhatan people record or say about the English?
    • How many English settlers lost their lives in the Starving Time?
    • Which nation claimed land under the Doctrine of Discovery?