STEP 1 Planning your Colony

 

1) As a joint-stock company, your investors will want to know the main reason for starting this colony. Common motives include searching for gold, raising cash crops, religious freedom, adventure, and criminal deportation. Keep in mind that your investors will be primarily interested in making a profit.

 

Purpose of our Colony:         

 

____Search for Gold               ____Raise Cash Crops           ____Religious Freedom

                                   

 

2) How will your colonists afford passage? You may offer free passage for your colonists to the New World. Doing so will cost your company a lot of money, but you’ll get many volunteers to go to your colony.

            Instead, you may require each person to pay his or her own way. Those who can pay for their own ticket will receive a “Headright” which is fifty acres of land in the New World. Those who can not afford passage may become Indentured Servants, giving 4 – 7 years of service to whomever paid their way across. This system of headrights and indentured servants will save your group money.

 

____Offer Free Passage          -or-      ____Headright/Indentured Servants

 

3) How many colonists do you want to take to the New World? A small number such as 50 people will be inexpensive to support, but the colony will be less likely to survive. On the other hand, a large number of colonists such as 400 will be costly to support, but increases the chances of survival for your colony.

 

Number of Colonists I want:_____________________________ 

 

4) The amount and quality of supplies with which you choose to furnish your colony will influence the strength of your colony. The better equipped that your colony is, the more likely your colony will be to survive. Also, better equipped colonies will tend to attract more potential colonists. However, you will have a limited amount of money; perhaps you should save money by going with bargain prices. Determine how well supplied your colony will be:

                                                                       

____Exceptional Quality Supplies    

____Sufficient Quality Supplies       

____Meager Quality Supplies           

 

5) At what latitude will you place your colony? Captain John Smith is mapping the Virginia colony, but much of the North American coastline remains unknown. You must choose a latitude for your colony between 31o N and 40o N. The Spanish are in the Florida territory, just below 30o N, and close proximity to the Spanish may lead to war; however, the lower latitudes may also be better suited for raising cash crops or finding gold. Do not choose the same latitude as Jamestown.

 

London is at 52 o North.

Jamestown is at 37 o North.                           

The Spanish are below 30 o North.

 

Your colony will be at __________North.

 

6) One thing for sure, your colony will encounter the native people known as Indians. How do you plan on dealing with the local tribes? On one hand, the Powhatan tribe helped the people of Jamestown not to starve, but later on, fighting broke out with the Indians and hundreds of colonists have been slain.

 

Your policy towards the Native Americans will be one of:

 

____Friendly Cooperation                 ____Indifference                     ____Aggression

 

 

 

STEP 2  Logistics

 

1) Starting Money

 

You must now determine the starting money you’ve gathered from investors. Refer to Question #1 under Step 1 of the simulation, and check off the appropriate box. You started your colony for . . .

 

____Religious Freedom:         25,000 British Pounds

____Cash Crops:                    30,000 British Pounds

____Search for Gold:              35,000 British Pounds

 

Your starting money is ________________ British Pounds.

 

2) How many people signed up for your colony

 

            The amount of people that signed onto your colony is determined by the quality of the supplies and the system of payment for passage across to the New World.

 

                                                   Free Passage                         Headright/Indentured

Exceptional Supplies:                         300                                          250

Sufficient Supplies:                             200                                          150

Meager Supplies:                                100                                            50

 

According to the chart above, how many colonists signed on? (a)________________

According to #3 of Step 1, how many colonist did you initially want? (b)__________

Did enough people show up to go?    ____Yes                      ____No

How many colonist are you now actually taking? ________________________________

         (choose the smaller number from line a and b above)

 

3) Price of  the Passage across the Atlantic

 

            If you are paying for the passage of your colonist (they get to go free) then you must pay a price of 20 British pounds per colonist. If you are using a system of Headright/Indentured Servants then the cost to your company will be zero British pounds.

 

Total cost for Passage of the Colonists:________________________________

 

4) Price of Leasing the Ships

 

            Your company must lease ships for the journey to the New World. A ship can hold up to 100 colonists. Each ship will cost your group 5000 British pounds.

 

How many ships:__________________

Total cost of ships:________________

 

 

5) Crop Expense

 

            If your colony is growing cash crops, you will need to buy seed. The tobacco seed will cost 1000 British Pounds. Any colony may choose to purchase seeds.

 

Are you buying seed:  No ____0 British pounds       Yes ____1000 British pounds

 

 

6) Cost of supplies

 

Check off the supplies that your company decided to purchase. You’ll find this decision recorded  in #4 of Step 1 of the simulation.    

                                                                                    COST

____Exceptional Quality Supplies                 16,000 British Pounds

____Sufficient Quality Supplies                    14,000 British Pounds

____Meager Quality Supplies                        10,000 British Pounds

 

Your supplies will cost __________________ British Pounds.

 

 

7) Soldiers

 

In a new world, do you choose to bring soldiers? Or is it just asking for trouble.  If you chose to hire soldiers then you must hire 20 soldiers (1 squad). Your cost to hire and equip soldiers will be 500 British pounds.

 

Hiring soldiers:  No ____0 British pounds                 Yes ____500 British pounds

 

 

8) Tradesmen

 

            In order to get skilled tradesmen to your colony, you will have to employ them for their first year. You may hire as many from each profession as you think necessary for the success of your colony. Each skilled tradesman will take the place of a unskilled laborer already signed up to go. Their salaries are as follows:

 

                                                                                    How Many

                                    One Year’s Wages                   You Want                    Cost

Surgeons:                     60 British Pounds

Blacksmiths:               40 British Pounds

Carpenters:                 40 British Pounds

Coopers:                     30 British Pounds

Animal Handlers:        20 British Pounds

Skilled Farmers:          30 British Pounds

Veteran Navigators:    500 British Pounds

 

Total cost of all skilled tradesmen hired for the year:___________________________

 

 

 

9) The Budget

 

            Add up all the money that your joint-stock company has spent. Now subtract this from your starting money. If you have any money left over, then you have a surplus.

If you get a negative number, then you must rethink your colony and repeat Step 2 and Step 3 again.

 

 

Do you have a surplus? ____Yes                   ____No

 

You must have a surplus to set sail for the New World. If you have a negative number above, you must go back and cut your spending until you can afford your colony.

 

 

10) What is the name of your colony? ____________________________________

 

 

STEP 3  The First Year

 

            What will happen to your colony during its first year? Go to the link below and find out. Record the PAGE TITLE from every event (web page) that your colony experienced.

 

https://sunclaw.tripod.com/p1.html

 

Page Titles

Event Title 1: ____Atlantic Voyage_______________

Event Title 2:  ________________________________

Event Title 3:  ________________________________

Event Title 4:  ________________________________

Event Title 5:  ________________________________

Event Title 6:  ________________________________

Event Title 7:  ________________________________

Event Title 8:  ________________________________

Event Title 9:  ________________________________

Event Title 10:            ________________________________

 

 

Last Sentence:___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Now that you’ve finished the simulation, feel free to run it again for fun using different decisions. Answer the questions below in complete sentences?

 

 

STEP 4  Conclusions

 

1) Why did your colony survive OR why did your colony fail?

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) When your group originally planned your colony, did you have a surplus, or did your joint-stock company have to go back and re-budget? What changes, if any, did you have to make?

 

 

 

 

 

3) What was the most crucial (important) decision your joint-stock company made before you left for the New World?

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) What was the biggest surprise you faced after landing in the New World?

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) How did your interactions with  the Native Americans help or hurt your colony?