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1

An expedition under Captain Christopher Newport began the Jamestown settlement in May 1607. In June, Captain Newport sailed for England, leaving behind 104 settlers. In September, only forty-six of them were still living. One of the survivors, George Percy, wrote an account of the terrible time at Jamestown.

George Percy

2

Having read Document 1, examine the excerpt from a letter from one John Pory, written from Virginia in 1619 and printed below. What obvious changes had taken place between the times the two accounts were written? What caused these changes? In answering this question, reread the section in the text on Jamestown and Virginia, paying special attention to the incentives offered at various times by the company. How does the comparison and contrast of these two documents help to explain what was needed to succeed in Virginia? Do you feel that Pory's letter is an accurate description of what really existed in Virginia? Explain your answer.

John Pory

3

In 1679, a formal synod (church council) made up of the leaders of the Puritan oligarchy under Increase Mather met in Boston and, after examining the conditions of the colony, issued the report that historian Perry Miller describes here. What conditions gave rise to the synod's attack on the way the people in Massachusetts were living? Were these Puritans concerned only with religious failings, or was there something else behind their actions? What was happening to the Puritan oligarchy at this time?

Perry Miller






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