Colonial America
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New England Colonies
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Middle Colonies
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Southern Colonies
English Settlement of the New World
New England Colonies
Colony
Reason Founded Date founded
Massachusetts
Religious
freedom
Trade/fishing
1620
Religious
freedom & trade
Religious
freedom
1636
New Hampshire
Connecticut
Rhode Island
1623
1636
Life in New England
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Climate in New England
Rocky land made farming difficult. Most
farmers grew enough to feed their families.
Exporting timber became a major source of
income for New Englanders
Ship building and fishing
Religious groups present: Separatists,
Puritans, Church of England
Life in the New England
Colonies
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Education – public schools; towns with 50 or more
people had to hire a schoolmaster
Famous People – John Winthrop (leader of the
Puritans), Roger Williams (founder of Rhode Island
to escape the Puritans)
Government – towns and cities were centers of
government
Leisure time – most of their time was spent in
Church. They had very little time for other leisure
activities.
Middle Colonies
Colony
Reason Founded Date Founded
New York
Trade
1664
New Jersey
Trade
1664
Delaware
Trade
1664
Pennsylvania
Religious and
1682
Political freedom
Life in the Middle Colonies
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Diverse population – a large number of
settlers came from Ireland, Germany and
Scotland; most free Africans lived in this area
Land was made up of rich farmland thus
farms produced enough food to feed many
people in New England and the South.
Farming, Mining and textiles were the
mainstay of their economy
Life in the Middle Colonies
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Religious groups – Quakers, Dutch
Protestant, Jewish
Education – Private Schools; Apprentices.
Famous People – William Penn, Benjamin
Franklin.
Government – Counties were centers of local
governments because towns were too small.
Each state had a legislature.
Leisure time – hunting for sport not food
Southern Colonies
Colony
Reason Founded Date Founded
Virginia
Trade/farming
1607
Maryland
1634
North Carolina
Religious
freedom
Trade/farming
South Carolina
Trade/farming
1663
Georgia
Home for debtors 1732
1663
Life in the Southern Colonies
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3 distinct areas – mountains, piedmont,
coastal plain
Farms in the interior of the colonies tended to
be small due to heavy forests.
Large landowners were in the coastal plain
region.
Plantation system – slaves, artisans, cash
crops
Life in the Southern Colonies
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Education – wealthy people hired private teachers
or sent their children to European schools
Religious groups – Catholic (MD), Jewish (GA),
Church of England
Leisure time – fox hunting, horse racing, harvest
parties
Famous people – Lord Baltimore (lived in Maryland;
passed a law called the Act of Toleration which
guaranteed religious freedom) James Oglethorpe
Government – State legislatures; white, male,
property owners that are 21 or older may vote
Georgia
Venn Diagram: 3 Types of
Colonies in North America
James Edward Oglethorpe
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Wealthy, member of House of Commons
(British Parliament).
Worked on prison reform in England
especially for people who could not pay their
debts.
Oglethorpe and 20 other men proposed
another colony to King George II
Reasons for settlement of GA
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Allow people of England who could not pay
their debts a new beginning in a new colony
Act as a buffer between the Carolinas and
the Spanish who controlled Florida
Produce items such as silk, cotton dyes and
wine – all products that England had to
import from other countries
Georgia’s Charter
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June 7, 1732 King George II granted a
charter making Oglethorpe and his group
responsible for settling GA and managing it
for 21 years
No Catholics
No slavery
No liquor
No lawyers
Chief Tomochichi
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Settlers left London on the ship Ann
Approximately 114-125 people were aboard
Ann
Before settling in Georgia Oglethorpe had to
make friends with the Yamacraw Indians
through their chief, Tomochichi
February 12, 1733 the passengers were
allowed to land on Yamacraw Bluff
overlooking the Savannah River
Savannah
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Oglethorpe, Colonel William Bull and Noble
Jones designed the city of Savannah
The city was divided into squares. On the
north and south sides of each square were
lots for houses and small gardens; the east
and west sides were set aside for buildings
such a churches and stores; the middle of
each square was for social, political and
religious meetings.
Review of the Colony
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Very few debtors moved to GA
In 1742 the colony allowed the trade of rum
In 1750 the colony first allowed slaves
In 1752 Georgia became a royal colony
under the rule of the King
Although the noble ideas on which Georgia
was founded were never fulfilled, the colony
made progress and survived
Key Ideas, Terms and People
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Charter
James Oglethorpe
Chief Tomochichi
Yamacraw Indians
Savannah
Proprietary colony
Royal colony