I. Native Women
II. First Women
III. More Women
IV. Cash Crop
V. Women's Lives
VI. Indentured Servant
VII. Wives
VIII. Living Condition
IX. Family Life
X. Women's Work
XI. Fate of Jamestown
XII. Sources
The Beginning of British North America
The first English attempt at settlement was in July of 1587, when a group of English men and women landed at Roanoke in present-day North Carolina. Elenor White Dare sailed while heavily pregnant. Shortly after the ship’s arrival, she gave birth to the first English child on American soil, Virginia Dare. While the disappearance of the colony has remained a mystery, the inclusion of women and children shows that Roanoke was intended as a permanent settlement where families would grow and claim the land.
The establishment at Jamestown was different, as Jamestown included no women for over a year. The original 108 men came in the hope of finding gold and silver and then return to England. However, Virginia had neither gold nor silver and the settlers struggled for survival. Many of the men died of disease or starvation, and most were convinced that the colony was doomed to fail.
Queen Elizabeth I sponsored the voyage to Roanoke
Credit
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