1492- Discovery Period- Columbus , arrival of the Spanish
(people from Spain)
Spanish as in North America for over a century before
English.
1607-1763- The Colonial Period
1607- Jamestown (first English settlement)
1608- French people in Canada
1607- JAMESTOWN, VA
Named for King James I
Commercial venture (something for wealth)
Williamsburg, VA (near Jamestown)
College of William and Mary (2nd college founded in
US)
Virginia Company
Charter from the King
“joint stock company”
Capt. John Smith
John Rolfe
Made tobacco VA’s “cash crop”
European tobacco markets created because of New World
crop
Married Pocahontas
-converted to Christianity (Anglican)
-named Lady Rebecca
-had son- Thomas
- died at 20 in England
1622- Native American uprising in Jamestown vs. the English
1624- King takes over, Jamestown becomes a royal colony
where the KING appoints the Governor
By 1640- the Africans who came to the New World as
INDENTURED SERVANTS were beginning to be treated
differently.
-terms extended
-Children inherited their status (children were servants)
-bought and sold
1619- House of Burgesses
-representative govt
-make colony more appealing to settlers
-get accustomed to governing themselves
Maryland- 1634
Royal Colony- Lord Baltimore
Roman Catholic
Colony of Plymouth- 1620
Puritans/Pilgrims
“Mayflower”, Thanksgiving
William Bradford- Plymouth Plantation
1691- absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Present- day Boston, MA
John Winthrop
Public punishment (stocks, Scarlet Letter)
1636- Harvard founded- 1st university in the US
Pennsylvania
Given to William Penn (Penn’s woods) from King Charles II
Quakers (Society of Friends)
-no formal clergy
- emphasized simplicity
-pacifists (don’t believe in war, fighting)
Religious tolerance
Philadelphia- “city of brotherly love”
-well-planned
Characteristics of the Colonies in 17th and 18th centuries
English speaking, Christian
Common law, Represented government- House of Burgesses
RURAL- few cities; ties to Europe
Slavery in South AND North
Women- domestic roles
“femme coverte” (legal term)- woman’s identity is
attacked to her husband
Increasing population in the 18th century
More diverse (not just a bunch of English men)
Cities:
- Less than 10% of the population lives in cities
- Largest city- Philadelphia
o Important to American Revolution
- New York, Boston, Charleston
- Commerce- located on the coast or on rivers
- Class stratification
o Merchants
o Shopkeepers
o Unskilled workers
- Travel between cities is difficult (no/few/bad roads)
DIFFERENCE between the Colonies
New England
-
Settled in town
Church is the center of town
FAMILY is the center of life
Longer life span (healthier climate)
Religion is important
Puritans
o Original sin
o Accountable to God
- Poor farming, strong commerce/business, lumber,
shipbuilding, fishing
- Trade with British Isles and West Indies
- Emphasis on Family and Marriage
Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey)
- Great diversity (ethnic and religious groups)
o Germans
o Scotland
o Irish
o Dutch (NY)
o Quakers
o Huguenots (French Protestant)
- Good soil, trade, fur trade, diverse economy
- River system
- Moderate climate
- Big cities- Philadelphia, New York City
Southern Colonies (Virginia, Maryland, Carolinas, Georgia)
-plantations, everything is spread out
-few cities
-high death rates
-unsafe drinking water
-male dominated society
-staple crops: tobacco, indigo (dye), rice (S.C.), lumber
-market in England for these product
-indentured servants, then slaves
-by 1750- most slaves are in Virginia and Maryland
-Williamsburg (VA), Charleston (SC)
-