Acadia S.
2015

Role of Women
Source: Hakim, Joy. Making 13 Colonies. New York: Oxford UP, 1993.
Quote(s):

Those are the terms when a shipload of women arrives in Jamestown in 1629. These are poor women who are unable to pay the cost of their Atlantic journey. They want a new life in this new land. The lonely men want wives. There will be instant romances on the docks. What do you think of these crazy women? Do you think they are scared? Courageous? Crazy? A few white women have already been sent to Jamestown, but sending an entire boatload of them to be wives means that the English Plan to stay and make homes In america.The French, who are settling in the North, are less likely to send women. Still, in 1619, the men in Jamestown outnumber the women by eight to one.

Paraphrase:

• shipload of women arrive in Jamestown
• the women are poor and seeking husbands
• the men want the women to come so that they can have help around the house and so that they can start a family
• a few white women have already been sent over but never an entire boatload
• the French are not sending women over
• the women are still outnumber by the men 8 to 1

My Ideas:  The women that were coming over from England were poor, single and, seeking a new life. They wanted to come the Jamestown to start a new family and have a good life, they had know idea what would be in store with them with all the witch drama. These women had slim to no rights at all and, were just expected to have kids and take care of the men. Women were considered weak and helpless, so why would men and other women be accusing them of witchcraft? When the women came to the colonies they still had no rights, they still couldn’t work for themselves and build their own life without a man. That’s one of the reasons I think witchcraft was carried on and out for so long. In multiple resources such as, books, databases, websites and, more it says that people would call women who were widowers or single witches. But why, why single? Maybe it was because other women were jealous of all the freedom these single women were getting and, the more rights they were being offered. Maybe the men that were accusing these women were upset that the women got to have more rights and men didn’t want that. Did people really believe in witches or was it just a social or jealousy problem.