8th Grade Leadership in Jamestown

Leadership in Jamestown

Assignment:
Picture yourself in Tower of London, in the court of James I. You are a member of the Privy Council, an adviser to the king. The English crown government wants to help the men in the Virginia Company establish a colony in the Chesapeake region of the New World, in a place they had named Virginia. The English government will raise the necessary money and supplies for the first colonists and help advertise in order to attract people to live there. James I, the English king, will also be the ruler of the colony; however, Jamestown lies across the Atlantic over 2000 miles away from London and the king. He will be too far away from the settlers to be an effective leader. The colony will be impossible to control from London alone. In order for the colony to be successful, Jamestown needs its own leader, a strong authority. Another problem is that the Virginia Company has never attempted to colonize the New World before. They expect to find gold and lots of free, farmable land. (But Virginia in the 17th century was a wilderness with no roads, and populated with native Americans people who had already lived there for about 400 years!) If the colony is to survive, there must be able leadership. The leader should be an experienced person, someone who can make good decisions--lifesaving decisions. The leader must be able to lead (and sometimes discipline) men. He should also have vision, and be loyal to the mission of the company and its goals. Last but not least, the leader must be a person who could be diplomatic with the native peoples or know how to defend the colony if they became hostile.

Your group's mission is to select the first leader of Jamestown settlement. Debate the relative merits of each applicant, and make a ratings analysis chart for the three candidates. Then defend your selection in front of the king (or your teacher). You must give at least one reason why you chose your selected leader. Remember, you are responsible for picking a leader who will get the settlers through the hardships of the first years of the colony.

Candidate A:
served as an apprentice to a merchant
read books on warfare and leadership
survived a shipwreck
served several years in the English army--was taken into slavery but killed his master to escape
had contempt of men who could not work and pull their own weight
traveled to the Netherlands, France, Egypt, and Austria (and joined the Austrian imperial army)
was captured by the Turks and escaped
killed three Turks at one time in hand to hand combat

Candidate B:
sailed with Sir Francis Drake as a freebooter who raided Spanish ships
searched for gold and the nonexistent Anian Strait for England
survived a shipwreck
has great skill in maritime matters
was a soldier in the English army
has a financial stake in the colony because he is a member of the Virginia Company
was knighted by the Queen for service provided to England
has traded goods with native American indians

Candidate C:
served in the English army
fought in Ireland (which was colonized by the English long before the New World)
served on the King's Privy Council (The Privy Council is similar to the American president's cabinet but it could also issue executive orders)
studied at Oxford University
is a nobleman (he inherited his title from his father)
had served in Parliament
is distantly related to James I on his father's side