Colonial America
Chapter 3
Early English
Settlements
Chapter 3.1
England in America

The Spanish Armada
◦ Spain and England were close to war because
of trading and religious rivalries
 Spain = Catholic (Philip II)
 England = Protestant (Queen Elizabeth)
◦ Sir Frances Drake (England) attacked ships
◦ Philip sent the Spanish Armada to conquer
England, but failed
 Spain’s control of the seas disappeared
England in America

Lost Colony of Roanoke
◦ Sir Walter Raleigh granted right to settle land
for England
◦ Liked Roanoke Island, off North Carolina
◦ In 1587 a group led by John White settled and
met natives
◦ White left for more supplies in England
◦ Returned three years later to an empty island
 Croatoan carved into a tree, but no attempt to
reach Croatoan island
 Settlers never seen again!
Jamestown Settlement

Years after the Roanoke failure, several
groups sought charters from King James I
◦ Charter: document granting them right to
organize settlements in an area.
◦ Virginia Company:
 A group landed in Chesapeake Bay in 1607
 Named the river James and their settlement
Jamestown
 Searching for gold and establishing trade in fish
and furs
Jamestown Settlement

The Virginia Company was a joint-stock company
◦ Investors bought stock (part ownership) in the company
◦ Investors would either make money or lose money based
on the results of the company
◦ Similar to the stock market today

Supply and demand
◦ Supply: amount of a good that you have
◦ Demand: peoples’ desire for that good
◦ As a business person you want high demand for your
goods, and not too large of a supply.
 Supply: the less supply of a good, the more rare it is…and
more people will pay for it
 Demand: the more demand there is, the more people will
pay for it
Jamestown Settlement

Jamestown Survives…somehow
◦ Conditions not good (malaria and hunger)
◦ People were not making money
◦ Searching for gold
◦ Tried to set up trade with fur and fish
◦ John Smith worked with local Natives and
forced colonists to work in order to survive
(Pocahontas stories not true)
 If you don’t work, you don’t eat!
 Jamestown struggles when he leaves (starving
time)
Jamestown Settlement

Colonists finally found a way to make
money…growing tobacco (thanks John
Rolfe!). Things improved:
◦ Better relationship with natives
◦ More settlers (headright system)
◦ House of Burgesses makes local laws

Financial troubles led to cancelled charter
◦ Jamestown becomes first English colony in
1624
New England Colonies
Chapter 3.2
Religious Freedom
Unlike Jamestown settlers, many colonists
came in search of religious freedom
 King Henry VIII broke from Catholic
Church in 1534
 Two groups of Protestants emerge

◦ Puritans: wanted to reform the church
◦ Separatists: wanted to leave church and start
their own

Separatists were persecuted against
◦ Fled to Netherlands, but wanted an English
lifestyle
Religious Freedom

The Pilgrim’s Journey
◦ Separatists considered themselves Pilgrims
because their journey had a religious purpose

The Mayflower Compact
◦ Settled in Plymouth due to weather
 Led by William Bradford
 Outside of Virginia Company’s territory
◦ Mayflower Compact created
 pledged loyalty to England
 agree to obey laws passed “for the general good
of the colony”
 first step in creating a representative government
Religious Freedom

Help from the Native Americans
◦ Nearly half of the Pilgrims died in the first
winter from malnutrition, disease, and cold
◦ Squanto and Samoset helped Pilgrims in the
spring
 Showed them how to grow corn, beans, and
pumpkins
 Showed them where to hunt and fish
 Helped create peace with the Wampanoag people
and their leader, Massasoit
 Without their help, Pilgrims likely wouldn’t have
survived
New Settlements

King Charles takes the throne in 1625
◦ Puritans wanted to leave England

Massachusetts Bay Company forms in
1629
◦ Charter to settle near Boston
◦ John Winthrop selected as Governor
New Settlements

Growth and Government
◦ More than 15,000 Puritans went to
Massachusetts during the 1630s (Great
Migration)
◦ Government
 Winthrop and assistants made laws at first
 Colonists demanded more of a role
 Elected assembly begins
◦ Male church members voted for governor and town
representatives
 Little tolerance for other beliefs
New Settlements

Connecticut and Rhode Island
◦ Puritans lack of tolerance forced many to settle
elsewhere
◦ Connecticut settlers adopted the Fundamental
Orders of Connecticut
 First written Constitution discussing the
organization of a representative government
◦ Rhode Island established by Roger Williams
 Believed in religious tolerance (religion out of
government)
 Believed it was wrong to take land from natives
New Settlements

Conflict with Native Americans
◦ Many settlements were on Native American
land, which led to conflict
◦ King Philip’s War
 Metacomet, Chief of the Wampanoag, organized
rebellion against colonists
 Colonists were victorious, destroyed much of the
natives’ power in the area
◦ Colonists have the freedom to expand in new lands
Middle Colonies
Chapter 3.3
England and the Colonies

Oliver Cromwell leads groups of Puritans
seeking more power in Parliament

Takes over the government in 1649

Wants new land for England between the
colonies they already own

Middle colonies become the most
ethnically diverse set of colonies
England and the Colonies

England Takes Over
◦ New Amsterdam becomes a target for England
 Already owned by Dutch
 Great port and rivers for trade
 1664: fleet of English ships take over New
Amsterdam
◦ Duke of York (Charles’ brother) given land and
complete control
 Colony thrives
England and the Colonies

New Jersey
◦ Duke of York gives southern portion of his
colony to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George
Carteret
 Name it New Jersey
 Proprietors of the land: complete control
◦ To attract settlers they promised:
 Freedom of religion
 Trial by jury
 Representative assembly (in charge of taxes and
laws)
◦ No natural ports = no big profits
Pennsylvania
William Penn given land as payment for a debt
 Saw Pennsylvania as a chance to spread Quaker
beliefs:

◦ Everyone is equal
◦ Pacifists
◦ “inner light” to salvation



Philadelphia established on Native American
land, but paid for
Quakers also known as Society of Friends
Charter of Liberties (1701) gave people the right
to elect representatives
Southern Colonies
Chapter 3.4
Maryland and Virginia
As plantations grew, so did the need for
workers
 People sent over to work included:

◦ Criminals: could earn a release after seven
years
◦ Slaves: African prisoners of war sold to
European slave traders
◦ Indentured servants: worked without pay for a
set amount of time in order to get to colonies
Maryland and Virginia

Establishing Maryland
◦ Sir George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) wanted to
establish Maryland as a safe place for Catholics
◦ Estates given to numerous people, population
grew
◦ Conflict with Penn over boundary led to the
Mason Dixon Line
◦ Protestants outnumber the Catholics and take
control
 Catholics face the same restrictions they did in
England
Maryland and Virginia

Bacon’s Rebellion
◦ Virginia’s growth led to a deal with Native
Americans (chunk of land given to colonists
and colonists won’t expand west)
◦ Nathaniel Bacon opposed the deal
 Leads rebellion against natives and Jamestown
rulers
 Exiled William Berkeley, as leader, for a brief bit
◦ Bacon’s sudden death stopped complete take
over, and things returned to normal
◦ Rebellion showed that colonists would not
settle for staying along the coast
Carolinas and Georgia

Northern and Southern Carolina
◦ Two colonies form after a split in philosophy
◦ Both colonies created for profit:
 North: tobacco, timber, and tar (used Virginia
harbor)
 South: deerskin, lumber, and beef
 Two dominant crops for both:
◦ Rice (which led to more slaves)
◦ Indigo
Carolinas and Georgia

Georgia
◦ James Oglethorpe given a charter to start a
colony in the south for two purposes:
 Debtors get a fresh start
 Protection from Spain
◦ Things did not go according to plan:
 Very poor people came in large amounts
 People hated Oglethorpe’s rules