Essay: Pocahontas
Pocahontas, daughter of the powerful Virginia Indian leader, Chief Powhatan, was born about 1596. Pocahontas was a nickname meaning “playful one,” given to her by her father. Learn more about this famous Virginia Indian woman and her relationship with the English settlers in Virginia.

Essay: Who Were the Powhatan Indians and How Did They Live?
The Powhatan were one of the most notable tribes to ever exist in the Virginia area. Learn about their culture, social norms and way of life.

Henry Spelman
When Henry Spelman was 14 years old he left his home in Norfolk, England and sailed to Virginia as a boy laborer. Arriving at Jamestown in 1609, Henry soon traveled with Captain John Smith, on an expedition of a lifetime.

Quiz: A Day in the Life of a Powhatan Woman
The Powhatan used objects that they made from materials in the world around them. Take this fun, interactive quiz to test what you know about the objects a Powhatan woman would use during the day.

What Did the Powhatan Know About Europeans Before the English Landed?
Powhatan was certainly aware of the English prior to their arrival at Jamestown. Discover what was known and how this may have affected the relationship between the English and Powhatan people.

What Happened When the Three Cultures Made Contact at Jamestown?
Learn about how the Powhatan, English, and West Central African people interacted in the 1600s, and how this impacted history forever.

What Was the Relationship Between the Africans and the English in Early Virginia?
The West Central African people were forcibly brought to Jamestown in 1619, which would be the beginnings of slavery in 17th century Virginia. Learn how the lives of the African people were forever changed by the English and other European groups.

What Were the Roles of Women and Children at Jamestown?
In 1620, approximately 90 women arrived with the clear intention of bringing a sense of permanence to the Jamestown colony. Learn about the important roles of women and children to the success of Jamestown colony.

The Legacy Wall
Explore the various legacies of Jamestown and uncover their impacts on modern-day America.

Essay: Why Did the English and the Powhatan go to War in 1622?
For years there had been an uneasy truce between the English and Virginia Indians. Learn what caused this peace to be broken and began an ensuing decade of conflict.

Essay: Who Were the Powhatan Indians and How Did They Live?
The Powhatan were one of the most notable tribes to ever exist in the Virginia area. Learn about their culture, social norms and way of life.

Essay: What Was the Stamp Act?
The Stamp Act of 1765 was an act of the British Parliament which imposed a direct tax on the colonies in America. Learn about the significance of the Stamp Act and how it galvanized the American people.

Essay: Angelo and the first Africans in Virginia
In 1619, the first Africans arrived in Virginia. They had been brought against their will from West Central Africa. One of this original group was a woman named Angelo. Learn her story and that of other Africans forced to the shores of Virginia.

Essay: Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco was the seat of power of the Powhatan paramount chiefdom. Learn about the leader Wahunsenacawh, whom the English called Powhatan, the people he ruled, and the land they called Tsenacommacoh.

Essay: John Smith
John Smith was an adventurer with extensive military experience before arriving in Virginia in 1607. Learn about his early life, his leadership at Jamestown, and his exploration of the Chesapeake Bay.

Anna’s Adventures Videos
Join Anna on an exploration of Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown as she learns all about life in colonial and Revolutionary America! Each episode of the series features content that is suitable for in-school or after-school programs, and is paired with a hands-on activity.

Liberty Tree
What does liberty mean to you? Share your thoughts with the world by posting a message on the Liberty Tree, which is rooted in the galleries at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

African Americans and the American Revolution
By the end of the American Revolution, thousands of Africans and African Americans had become involved in the war. Throughout the struggle they refused to be mere bystanders and gave their loyalty to the side that seemed to offer the best prospect for freedom.

Essay: How Did the Allied Victory at Yorktown Help Win American Independence?
While the British Army under Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781, the Revolutionary War didn’t end until the fall of 1783. Learn about the impact the American Victory at Yorktown had on ending the War.

Anna’s Adventures Videos
Join Anna on an exploration of Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown as she learns all about life in colonial and Revolutionary America! Each episode of the series features content that is suitable for in-school or after-school programs, and is paired with a hands-on activity.

Essay: Angelo and the first Africans in Virginia
In 1619, the first Africans arrived in Virginia. They had been brought against their will from West Central Africa. One of this original group was a woman named Angelo. Learn her story and that of other Africans forced to the shores of Virginia.

Essay: How Did the Virginia Company Deal with Challenges of the New Colony?
When the Virginia Company of London began planning for its new colony in Virginia, leaders developed a “wish list” for the new land. Learn about the earliest years in the Virginia Colony including the failed economic endeavors and relations with the Indigenous Powhatan Indians.

What Was the Relationship Between the Africans and the English in Early Virginia?
The West Central African people were forcibly brought to Jamestown in 1619, which would be the beginnings of slavery in 17th century Virginia. Learn how the lives of the African people were forever changed by the English and other European groups.

Essay: Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco was the seat of power of the Powhatan paramount chiefdom. Learn about the leader Wahunsenacawh, whom the English called Powhatan, the people he ruled, and the land they called Tsenacommacoh.

Essay: John Smith
John Smith was an adventurer with extensive military experience before arriving in Virginia in 1607. Learn about his early life, his leadership at Jamestown, and his exploration of the Chesapeake Bay.

Essay: King James I
James was born in 1566. He was King of Scotland (as James VI) for 36 years before becoming King of England in 1603. Learn about his important role in the founding of Jamestown.

Essay: What Was Life Like for Enslaved People on Farms in Colonial Virginia?
Throughout the colonial period, Africans were brought to the colonies as enslaved labor. Learn about the jobs they performed and their lives.

Essay: What Was the Olive Branch Petition?
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted and signed by the Second Continental Congress inJuly 1775. Learn more about this final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America.

Essay: What Was the Proclamation of 1763?
King George III issued the Proclamation of l763 following the French and Indian War in an attempt to control settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Learn why and the response of the Colonies.

Essay: What Were the Currency Act and the Sugar Act?
The Currency Act was passed by the British Parliament on September 1, 1764 as part of Prime Minister George Grenville's plan, along with the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act , to reduce the British national debt. Read how the colonists viewed these acts.

Who Were the Africans that Came to Jamestown?
Evidence shows that the Africans who arrived in Virginia were captured as slaves during the Portuguese wars in West Central African Angola during the previous year. Learn about their culture and way of life.

Essay: Why Did the English and the Powhatan go to War in 1622?
For years there had been an uneasy truce between the English and Virginia Indians. Learn what caused this peace to be broken and began an ensuing decade of conflict.

The Legacy Wall
Explore the various legacies of Jamestown and uncover their impacts on modern-day America.

What Happened When the Three Cultures Made Contact at Jamestown?
Learn about how the Powhatan, English, and West Central African people interacted in the 1600s, and how this impacted history forever.

African Americans and the American Revolution
By the end of the American Revolution, thousands of Africans and African Americans had become involved in the war. Throughout the struggle they refused to be mere bystanders and gave their loyalty to the side that seemed to offer the best prospect for freedom.

Essay: How Did the Allied Victory at Yorktown Help Win American Independence?
While the British Army under Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781, the Revolutionary War didn’t end until the fall of 1783. Learn about the impact the American Victory at Yorktown had on ending the War.

Essay: What Was the Seven Years War?
The Seven Years War was a global conflict which ran from 1756 until 1763 and pitted a coalition of Great Britain and its allies against a coalition of France and its allies. The war escalated from a regional conflict between Great Britain and France in North America, known today as the French and Indian War.

The Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party
In 1773, a relative calm existed between the British government and her colonial subjects. British soldiers remained in America after the tumultuous years of the Stamp Act, and the Boston Massacre, and the Townshend duties had been repealed, except for the tax on tea. A new act of Parliament, designed to help a struggling trading company, would fuel the next growing conflict between the American colonies and the British government.

Quiz: How Revolutionary Are You?
Determine your Revolutionary Match in this fun, quick quiz.

Essay: What Was the Stamp Act?
The Stamp Act of 1765 was an act of the British Parliament which imposed a direct tax on the colonies in America. Learn about the significance of the Stamp Act and how it galvanized the American people.

Liberty Tree
What does liberty mean to you? Share your thoughts with the world by posting a message on the Liberty Tree, which is rooted in the galleries at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Primary Documents: A History of Bacon’s Rebellion in Six Sources
In September 1676, Jamestown went up in flames. Nathaniel Bacon, along with an army of about 150 colonists, gleefully watched it burn to “cinders and ashes.” How did the situation in Virginia get so bad that the king’s subjects set fire to the colony’s capital?

Essay: How Did Slavery Develop in Colonial Virginia?
In 1501, shortly after Christopher Columbus discovered America, Spain and Portugal began shipping African slaves to South America to work on their plantations. In the 1600s, English colonists in Virginia began buying Africans to help grow tobacco. Learn about the lives and experiences of slaves in colonial Virginia.

What Was the Relationship Between the Africans and the English in Early Virginia?
The West Central African people were forcibly brought to Jamestown in 1619, which would be the beginnings of slavery in 17th century Virginia. Learn how the lives of the African people were forever changed by the English and other European groups.

Essay: What Happened to the Powhatan Culture by the End of the 17th Century?
Despite the loss of power, territory and population, Virginia Indians retained vestiges of their identity through the 17th century, but at what cost?

Essay: Phillis Wheatley
After being kidnapped from West Africa and enslaved in Boston, Phillis Wheatley became the first African American, and one of the first women, to publish a book of poetry in the colonies in 1773. Learn more about this remarkable woman.

Essay: What Was the Relationship Between the Powhatan and the English?
Learn about the nuanced relationship between the Powhatan and the English in the early years of European colonization.

Essay: What Was the Stamp Act?
The Stamp Act of 1765 was an act of the British Parliament which imposed a direct tax on the colonies in America. Learn about the significance of the Stamp Act and how it galvanized the American people.

Religion at Jamestown
Discover the importance of the Church of England to the establishment of the settlement at Jamestown.

Essay: Why Did the English and the Powhatan go to War in 1622?
For years there had been an uneasy truce between the English and Virginia Indians. Learn what caused this peace to be broken and began an ensuing decade of ongoing warfare.

Quiz: Artifactually Yours
Artifacts have personalities just like people. If you were a 17th-century artifact from Powhatan, Angolan, or English cultures, which would you be?

How Did the English and Powhatan Communicate?
The Powhatan and English interacted with each other for the purposes of trade or diplomacy. Learn how the English and Powhatan communicated and why this communication was important.

The Legacy Wall
Explore the various legacies of Jamestown and uncover their impacts on modern-day America.

What Happened When the Three Cultures Made Contact at Jamestown?
Learn about how the Powhatan, English, and West Central African people interacted in the 1600s, and how this impacted history forever.

Essay: How Did the French Alliance Help Win American Independence?
Often overlooked is the significance of the French Alliance in helping America achieve ultimate independence. Learn about the nuances of this relationship, and the role that the French played in the American Revolution.

Essay: What Factors Finally Pushed the Continental Congress to Declare Independence in July 1776?
By the spring of 1776 when the Second Continental Congress reconvened in Philadelphia, the patriots were winning the hearts and minds of many undecided colonists and more people were demanding a formal and complete break with the Mother Country England. What ultimately made independence possible?

Essay: What Was the Battle of Great Bridge?
The Battle of Great Bridge, fought on December 9, 1775, significantly influenced the impending war for independence in Virginia. Learn what unfolded.

Essay: What Were the Intolerable Acts?
The Intolerable Acts consisted of a number of measures meant to punish the port of Boston and the people of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea party. Learn how these punitive acts influenced public opinion far beyond Boston harbor.

Essay: What Were the Townshend Duties?
The townshend duties required colonists to pay taxes on various items. Find out what those items were and how this structure set a dangerous precedent for taxation in America.

Artillery and the American Revolution
View a short animated video of the role of artillery in the American Revolution and the science behind things that go “boom.”

African Americans and the American Revolution
By the end of the American Revolution, thousands of Africans and African Americans had become involved in the war. Throughout the struggle they refused to be mere bystanders and gave their loyalty to the side that seemed to offer the best prospect for freedom.

Liberty Tree
What does liberty mean to you? Share your thoughts with the world by posting a message on the Liberty Tree, which is rooted in the galleries at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.