U.S. History Ch. 5

The 13 English Colonies

1607-1733

English Settlers in Virginia

n     England tried to settle in the Americas since the 1500’s

n     Sir Walter Raleigh tried in 1585 but failed.

n     He tried again In 1587 on Roanoke Island.

n    The leader on Roanoke returned to England for supplies.  When he returned there was no trace of any of the settlers.  The only clue was the word CROATOAN carved on a post.  This was a local Native American tribe.

n    This “lost colony” remains a mystery.

n     England couldn’t afford expeditions to the New World and private investors would not pay for them, so another way was created.

n    Two joint-stock companies were formed.  The Virginia Company of Plymouth, and the Virginia Company of London.  Investors paid a small price for shares in the company.  If it succeeded they made money, and if it failed they only lost their small investment.

n     The London Company created the colony called Virginia.

Jamestown

n      1607 the London Company established Jamestown, the first English colony in the Americas.

n      Most colonists were English gentlemen and weren’t used to hard labor.  Many refused to work & many died.

n      John Smith Takes Charge

n    Capt. John Smith took charge.  He forced the people to farm, build houses, dig wells, and other things.  If you did not work you did not eat.

n    He bargained with Native Americans for supplies

n    1609 a harsh winter arrived and killed over 400 settlers.  This is called “The Starving Time”

n      Colony was growing but not making money

n      In 1612 John Rolfe began planting tobacco.  He learned it from the Native Americans.  Tobacco was the money maker in the Virginia economy.

n      Tobacco farming needs labor.

n    Indentured servants – people that were brought to the New World to work on a plantation for 3 to 7 years to pay for their passage.  After this time they were free.

n    1619 20 Africans arrived at Jamestown.

Native Americans

n    Native Americans & John Smith were on good terms.

n    When Smith leaves & Pocahontas & her father die, relations fall apart between Natives & English.

n    Native Americans thought the English took to much land & they didn’t trust them

n    1622 some Native Americans attacked Jamestown and killed over 350 people.

n    Colonists retaliated & eventually gained control of the area.

Self Government

n    The London Company controlled Jamestown

n    A Governor ran the colony, but the people elected members (called Burgesses) to the House of Burgesses.  First sign of representative government.

n    The Burgesses could make laws, but the governor could refuse to approve them.

n    By 1624 King James I revoked the charter of the Virginia Company and made Virginia a royal colony under his control.

Puritans & Separatists

n    In 1534 King Henry VIII of England broke with the Catholic Church & formed the Anglican Church.

n    Some within the Anglican church wanted to purify it by eliminating all Catholic elements.  They were known as Puritans.

n    Some Puritans were so extreme that they left the Anglican Church.  They were called Separatists.

n    Separatists were treated poorly by the English Government.

Pilgrims

n    Separatists that left England called themselves Pilgrims, which meant travelers with a religious goal.

n    Pilgrims gained a charter to settle in Virginia.

n    They purchased a small ship called the Mayflower.

n    Mayflower got off course during the trip.  Nov. 9, 1620 arrived near present day Massachusetts

Mayflower Compact

n    Since they were outside of their charter area, they had to establish their own government.

n    The men joined together and agreed that they would obey laws passed by the majority (self government)

n    They signed the document and called it the Mayflower Compact.

Plymouth & Native Americans

n    Settled an area that they named Plymouth.

n    When the first winter came, many died.

n    Had good relations with the Native Americans

n    Samoset (Native American) greeted them and introduced them to Massasoit, the chief of the Wampanoags.

n    Squanto was a Wampanoag that taught the Pilgrims how to survive in the area.

n    1621 was an abundant harvest for the Pilgrims, and to thank the Natives for all of their help, the Pilgrims shared a feast with them.  This was the first Thanksgiving.

n    1621 Pilgrims were granted a charter for Plymouth.

Massachusetts Bay Company

n    Puritans became increasingly persecuted in England

n    John Winthrop received a charter from the King in 1629 to establish a Puritan colony.

n    Left in 1630 with 1,000 settlers and settled the area north of Plymouth.

n    Practiced their own religion

n    Boston was the capital

n    Had a General Court & Governor to govern the colony, but only church members could vote.

n    Did not practice Religious Tolerance (you had to follow their religion & beliefs or leave)

Providence

n    Roger Williams was a Puritan preacher that was banished from Massachusetts in 1635 b/c he preached of things considered unacceptable.

n    He bought land from Native Americans and established a town called Providence.

n    He allowed any person of any religion to come to his town and many did.

n    Similar towns developed nearby, and they all joined together to form the Rhode Island colony in 1644

Connecticut

n    Some Puritans pushed west to the Connecticut River Valley

n    Connecticut became a colony in 1622

n    In 1636 minister Thomas Hooker led his congregation to the area and built Hartford.

n    Hooker & other leaders wrote a Constitution.  First one in the Americas.  It was called “Fundamental Orders of Connecticut”

Native American Problems

n    As more English arrived, the Native Americans became more annoyed with the loss of land and the controlling ways of the English.

n    Some fought back

n    Pequot Wars

n   Pequot Indians and settlers fought one another, until the English killed most of the people to take their land

n    King Phillip’s War

n   War between the Wampanoag Indians and the English

n   English eventually won the war.

Middle Colonies (Dutch steal New Sweden)

n    The Dutch established New Netherland in 1621

n    The Swedish colonized south of New Netherland in 1638 and named it New Sweden.

n    Dutch seized New Sweden in 1655 from the Swedish.

New English King & New York

n    1642 England broke into Civil War.  Parliament was Puritan & others supported King Charles I.

n    Charles I was beheaded for treason.  Puritans ruled for 11 years until Charles II came to power.

n    Charles II concentrated on the colonies

n    1664 he had his brother James, Duke of York, seize New Netherland from the Dutch.

n    The Dutch capital New Amsterdam  was renamed New York.

n    James was made proprietor, or owner, or New York colony.

n    He gave a piece to two friends and it later formed into the New Jersey Colony.

Pennsylvania

n    William Penn was a member of a religious community called Quakers.  They were persecuted in England.

n    The King owed Penn’s family some money, and he repaid it by giving Penn land for a new colony.

n    1681 Pennsylvania colony was created.

n    Was a place of religious freedom for Quakers and other religions.

n    Pennsylvania was landlocked.  Three counties called Delaware were granted to Penn by James, Duke of York.  These counties later formed their own colony.

Maryland

n    English Catholics were looking for religious freedom.

n    They were rejected by Jamestown, but the 2^nd Lord Baltimore was granted charter for the Maryland colony

n    Settled in 1633 by 200 Protestant and Catholic settlers.

n    Prospered b/c of good soil and rivers

n    Toleration Act was passed to guarantee all Christians the right to worship in Maryland.

Carolinas

n    Tobacco success in Virginia and Maryland attracted rich proprietors to colonize the area south of them.

n    1633 King Charles II granted 8 English nobles a colony.  They named it Carolina in honor of the King (Latin for Charles)

n    Was divided into North and South

n    Population grew slowly

n    Tobacco, rice, and indigo were grown here.

n    Many African slaves worked in the colony

Georgia

n    Last English colony in Americas

n    Established by James Oglethorpe to help people out of debtor’s prison

n    1732 King George II granted Oglethorpe a charter.  Colony was named Georgia in honor of the King

n    King saw it as a buffer between Spanish help Florida

n    Many debtors refused to come b/c of strict rules and the risk of death.

n    After strict rules were removed, the colony prospered