Understanding the Main Ideas
From the box below, choose the main idea that best fits each paragraph. Write the letter
of the answer in the space provided.
a. The First English Colony
b. Survival in Jamestown
c. Representative Government
d. New Arrivals
__1. Harsh laws and a military structure kept new settlers from joining the colony.
The Virginia Company changed the colony's government. Male settlers gained
the right to elect burgesses who met in assembly and made laws for the colony.
__2. Sir Walter Raleigh transported colonists to North America to establish a set-
tlement called Roanoke. The colonists' food supply dwindled, and they had
conflicts with Native Americans. John White brought additional settlers.
__3. The first colonists were mostly men. Gradually more women were sent to the
colony by the Virginia Company. They survived the hardships, but life was
very difficult. Africans were brought to the colony in its early years.
__4. The Virginia Company established a colony along the James River. Colonists
did not plant enough food crops because they wanted to search for gold.
Colonists seized food from the Indians, which led to warfare. After several diffi-
cult years, the colony's economy improved because of the export of its tobacco
crop to England