Unit 2- Chapter 5
                    5th Grade SS
                    Vocabulary Words

Roanoke Island - An island off the coast of North Carolina , site of England’s first attempt at a permanent settlement in the Americas, known as the “Lost Colony”.

Virginia - An area settled in 1607 in the southeast region.

Jamestown -First permanent English colony in North America, founded in 1607; located in eastern Virginia

Queen Elizabeth I - 1533-1603 Queen of England during the English defeat of the Spanish Armada and the founding of Roanoke, England’s first colony in the Americas.

Walter Raleigh -1552-1618 English explorer and soldier who explored North America in the 1580s and founded the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke in 1587

John White -1540-1593 Leader of the English Colony of Roanoke in 1587

Francis Drake -1540 -1596 First English sea captain to sail around the world in 1577

King James I - 1566-1625 King of England who, in 1606 gave the Virginia Company of London a charter to set up a colony in Virginia.

John Smith -1580-1631 Leader of the Jamestown Colony

Chief Powhatan -1550-1618 Leader of the Powhatan people and father of Pocahontas

Pocahontas -1595-1617 Daughter of Chief Powhatan, she helped establish a time of peace between the Powhatan and the English colonists in Jamestown

John Rolfe -1585-1622 Jamestown colony leader who showed that tobacco could be grown successfully in Virginia

charter -Official document giving a person or group permission to do something

stock - Share in a company

cash crop - Crop grown to be sold for a profit

indentured servant -Person who agreed to work for someone for a certain amount of time in exchange for the cost of the voyage to North America

House of Burgesses -Lawmaking assembly in colonial Virginia

Quebec -Capital of the Canadian province of Quebec, the first French Colony in the Americas

St. Lawrence River -River in northeastern North America, forms part of the border between the United States and Canada


New France -Name given to the French colonies in North America, including large part of present-day Canada and the United States

Hudson River -River in eastern New York that flows into the Atlantic Ocean

New Netherlands - Dutch Colony in North America, included parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut

New Amsterdam - Settlement founded by the Dutch on Manhattan Island; became present day New York City

Samuel de Champlain -1567-1635 French explorer who founded Quebec, the first permanent settlement in North America

Henry Hudson -1565-1611 English sea captain who explored North America in search of the Northwest passage in the early 1600s

Northwest Passage -Water route that explorers hoped would flow through North America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean

New England - Name given by John Smith to the Northeast region of North America; present-day name for part of the Northeast region of the United States

Plymouth -town in southeastern Massachusetts founded by the Pilgrims in 1620.

Massachusetts Bay Colony  -Colony founded by the Puritans in New England in 1630.

Boston-Capital and largest city in Massachusetts

William Bradford- 1590-1657 leader of the pilgrims who came to North America on the Mayflower and founded Plymouth colony in 1620.

Samoset- 1590?-1655? Wampanoag man who helped the Pilgrims in 1620.

Squanto-  1590-1622 Pawtuxet Native American who helped English settlers at Plymouth by teaching them key survival skills, such as how to grow corn.

Massasoit-  1580?-1661 Leader of the Wampanoag who signed the peace treaty with the Pilgrims at Plymouth.

John Winthrop- 1588-1649 Puritan leader and first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Pilgrim - Person who travels to a new place for religious reasons

Separatist- Group of people who wanted to separate themselves from the Church of England.  Some traveled to North America in search of religious freedom.

persecution- Unjust treatment because of one’s beliefs

Mayflower Compact- Plan of Government written by the pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower


Puritan- Group of people who wanted to “purify” the Church of England.  They established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.

New England Colonies- Region of the 13 Colonies that was located north of the Middle Colonies.

Middle Colonies- Region of the 13 Colonies, located between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies.

Southern Colonies- Southernmost region of the 13 colonies.

Roger Williams- 1604?-1683 Puritan minister who founded Rhode Island as a place of religious freedom in 1636

Anne Hutchinson-  1591-1643 Puritan leader banished from Massachusetts for her religious views.

Thomas Hooker-  1586-1647 Puritan minister who founded the colony of Connecticut.

William Penn- 1644- 1718 Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681

James Oglethorpe - 1696-1785 English leader who founded the colony of Georgia as a place where debtors from England could begin new lives.

Tomochichi - 1650-1739 Yamacraw chief who agreed to give James Oglethorpe land to found the new colony of Georgia.

dissenter -Person who views differ from those of his or her leaders.

proprietor - owner

debtor - Person who owes money