Breakfast:
Enjoy the enhanced continental breakfast at the hotel. Options will include cereal and oatmeal, fresh whole fruit, hard-boiled eggs, toast, muffins and breads with various spreads and hot sandwich options.
Morning:
Our first session today focuses on slavery in the 18th century. With a noted expert, we will examine the evolution of slavery from its introduction in the 17th century, from a form of indentured servitude to lifelong bondage. We will also consider the impact of the “peculiar institution” on families black and white, cultural influences brought to America from Africa, attitudes toward race in the colonial era including changes in laws that reflected and institutionalized the status of Africans in Virginia, and other facets of the lives of both masters and slaves. What better way to experience a different time than to meet someone who lived then? We will next engage in a conversation with Angela, the first named African woman in Jamestown, personified by a talented and knowledgeable costumed interpreter. You will quickly begin to feel that you are truly in the presence of one of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown as she reflects on her enslavement and life in early Virginia.
Lunch:
Enjoy a box lunch on site with your group at Jamestown Settlement.
Afternoon:
Following up on our Historic Jamestowne field trip, we’ll explore the adjacent Jamestown Settlement museum and its re-created early colonial environment. Here you will have opportunities to investigate exciting interactive exhibits in the newly renovated museum, stroll through a village of Eastern Woodland Indians, talk with “settlers” in the fort, and walk the decks of the three ships (replicas) that brought the first adventurers to Virginia in May of 1607. These reconstructed venues provide a colorful, compelling look at life in the early 17th century, illustrating the story you saw previously in artifacts and outlines at Historic Jamestown. You will have some free time at your own pace to see what interests you most, whether special exhibits, short films, or chatting with interpreters around the site.
Dinner:
Dinner is on your own this evening. This meal has been excluded from your program cost to explore the local fare on your own or with new friends.
Evening:
At leisure. Feel free to relax, spend time with new Road Scholar friends, or check out available activities from the information in your preparatory materials. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.