Social Studies Lessons 6 - 9

The first permanent English settlement in North America was Jamestown, Virginia. Jamestown became the capital of the Virginia colony. People would meet in the Jamestown statehouse to discuss problems and make laws. Fire destroyed the statehouse in Jamestown twice. After the second fire, the capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation. Middle Plantation was later renamed Williamsburg.

If you drove through Williamsburg, Virginia, today, you’d see a town that looks like many others in the United States. People drive cars, shop at malls, and go to movie theaters. There are traffic lights, fast-food restaurants, and cell phone stores.

Who were the native people who lived near Jamestown? There were many different Native American cultures in Virginia. One of the tribes who live in Virginia were united under the leader, Powhatan. We call them the Powhatan tribes.

The Powhatan tribes lived in villages. Families built wood and reed houses, where they lived in a group. Family members included everyone from the oldest grandparents to the youngest babies. The Powhatan tribes grew corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins. Men hunted deer. They also fished from canoes and gathered shellfish. The people ate well!

People and companies who make goods need three kinds of resources: natural resources, human resources, and capital resources. Natural resources come from nature. Human resources are people who do jobs. Capital resources are things people make to produce other goods. Tools, machines, and buildings are all capital resources.