Unit 1
Colonial Era
and American
Beginnings
Chapter 2:
The American Colonies Emerge
English Settlement of Jamestown
► England
decided not to fund colonization of the
new lands like Spain had done.
► King James I, in 1606, granted a charter or official
permit for two joint-stock companies to colonize
the Americas, which allowed several investors to
pool their wealth in support of a colony that
would, hopefully, yield a profit.
► The Virginia companies of London and Plymouth
started organizing a colony and selling stock in
order to raise funds.
► The
Plymouth company disbanded, leaving
the Virginia company of London as the sole
company.
► The Virginia company promised gold would
be found and each person who went to
colonize the land would get a share.
► The king of England would get 1/5 of all the
gold and silver.
►
►
►
In April of 1607 three ships
of the Virginia company
(Susan Constant, Discovery,
and Godspeed) sailed up the
James River and started a
settlement known as
Jamestown.
John Smith was the leader of
the colony and he sensed
trouble from the start.
He noticed that everyone was
consumed with finding gold
and had no desire to farm or
even build permanent
housing.
► Many
colonists became ill from drinking
infected river water. And because there
were no crops, the colonists began to starve.
► By the winter of 1607 only 38 of the original
150 settlers were still alive.
► Many of the settlers had never done manual
labor and had refused to farm or help build
shelters.
► John Smith finally set a law stating that, “he
that will not work shall not eat.”
Recent Discoveries at Jamestown
►
Excavation since 1994 has
uncovered hundreds of thousands
of artifacts dating to the first half of
the 17th century. Nearly half of the
objects date to the first years of
English settlement (1607-1610).
The site of James Fort was not
washed into the river as most
people believed for the past 200
years. We have uncovered over 250
feet of two palisade wall lines, the
east cannon projection (bulwark),
three filled in cellars, and a
building, all part of the triangular
James Fort. Also a palisade wall line
and a large building were found
attached to the main fort to the
east.
A drawing of James Fort (c.1609) by
Pedro de Zuniga, a Spanish ambassador.
The sketch shows a flag-like projection
which is more probably an enclosed
garden. The three sides and circular
bastions at the corners are common to all
three descriptions of the early fort.
►
►
►
►
►
The local natives, the Powhatan Indians, were persuaded
to give the settlers food and support.
John Smith was burned in an accident and had to return to
England. The colonists now had no leader…
In 1609, 600 more settlers were sent to Jamestown. They
found the colony in disarray and being harassed by the
Powhatan.
The Powhatan killed all the settler’s livestock and kept the
settlers from hunting for food.
By the spring of 1610 only 60 colonists survived.
►
►
►
►
Jamestown was saved when a new leader showed up. He
did not hesitate to flog or even hang colonists that did not
do their fair share of the work.
John Rolfe began to grow a new strain of tobacco, which
was soon in high demand in Europe.
Jamestown began growing tobacco or “brown gold” and
exported about 1.5 million pounds of it a year.
The farmers at Jamestown needed laborers to work the
tobacco fields and began to use the headright system.
►
►
►
The headright system promised 50 acres of land to anyone
who moved to Jamestown. They would also get an
additional 50 acres for each family member who came
along.
Indentured servants also began to move to Jamestown.
Indentured servants received “free” passage to the
colonies in return for a set period of time that they had to
work off the debt. The servant usually worked for about 4
to 7 years as a type of slave until the debt was paid.
In 1619 a Dutch ship brought the first Africans to
Jamestown. They were originally treated as indentured
servants and were eventually given freedom and land.
As the colony grew there was a need for
more land. This led to warfare between
the English colonists and the Powhatan
natives.
► The English did not intermarry with the
natives, but rather drove them away.
War was always likely between the
natives and any English colony.
► The English forced the Powhatans to
give them food and provide labor. If
they refused the English burned their
villages and took their children hostage.
► One of these kidnapped children was
Pocahontas, who later married John
Rolfe in 1614. This helped to bring
about temporary peace between the
English and Powhatan.
►
In 1622 the Powhatan had no more patience for the
English settlers and attacked them, killing 340 settlers.
► The Virginia company sent more troops and supplies, but
the king of England had changed his mind about the
charter.
► King James I revoked the charter of Virginia and made it
into a royal colony under his direct control.
► By 1644 10,000 colonists lived in Virginia.
►
►
►
►
►
►
Two classes of people began to form in Virginia: the
landowners with full rights and the former servants who
had no land and no rights.
The frontier settlers, those living on the outskirts of the
settlement, were constantly engaged in fighting with the
Indians.
They asked the House of Burgesses (the Virginia
legislature; see p.48) for help, but the government
refused.
Nathaniel Bacon, a frontier settler, formed an army to fight
the natives, but Governor Berkeley, the governor from
England, declared the local army illegal.
Bacon turned his army towards Jamestown instead and
burned much of it, forcing Berkeley to sail back for
England.
► Bacon
died shortly
after the rebellion.
► Berkeley returned and
disbanded the illegal
army, who now had no
leader.
► Although Bacon’s
Rebellion was not
successful, it did get
King Charles’ attention
and he re-called
Berkeley to England.
The Puritans
►
►
►
The Puritans came to the New
World not for profit like at
Jamestown, but rather to build a
model new society and for
religious freedom.
Why they left: The Puritans
believed that the Anglican
Church was still too much like
the Catholic Church.
The Puritans wanted to purify
the Anglican Church from any
form of Catholicism.
►
►
►
Puritans believed that
everyone should
worship through faith,
prayer, and study of the
Bible.
Puritans believed that
the power of the church
was with the
congregation and not
with the minister.
Some Puritans wanted
to reform the Anglican
Church from within, but
others did not.
►
►
►
Those who did not
want to reform the
church were known as
Separatists.
King James I punished
any Separatists that he
could find.
One group of
Separatists, known as
the Pilgrims, moved to
Holland and then
eventually to the New
World in 1620, forming
the Plymouth Colony.
►
►
►
►
►
In 1629 John Winthrop and some
friends secured a royal charter to
form a joint-stock company, known
as the Massachusetts Bay
Company.
In 1630 17 ships with 1000 new
colonists arrived at the new
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
These colonists were well prepared
to start a new colony because they
planned the move and had many
artisans or skilled workers with
them.
John Winthrop, the first Governor of
the Massachusetts Bay Colony
called this new colony a “City upon
a Hill.”
In the next 10 years 20,000 more
English colonists immigrated to the
colony.
The Puritan colony turned out to be
a type of democracy.
► The Mass. Bay Co. allowed all male
members of the Puritan church, as
well as stockholders, to vote.
► These voters, called Freemen,
voted on the members that made
up the General Court that selected
the Governor.
► Puritans came to the New World to
follow their own form of worship.
They were very intolerant of other
religions in their colony and of
those who had different beliefs.
►
Roger Williams believed that the Puritan gov’t had no right
to punish people for their religion, and he was considered
a huge threat to the Puritan way of life.
► He also believed that the royal charter was illegal since the
land was not purchased from the local natives.
► The General Court ordered his arrest and removal back to
England.
► Williams escaped and negotiated some land from the
natives in order to start a new colony, which he called
Providence.
► Williams guaranteed separation of church and state and
religious freedom to all settlers.
►
►
►
Anne Hutchinson was also in
trouble with the Puritans
because she believed that the
Holy Spirit was in all believers
and that any believer could read
and interpret the Bible. She
also believed that there was no
need for a church or minister for
people to depend on.
Hutchinson was banished from
Mass. Bay and moved to
Williams’ colony of
Providence/Rhode Island or
“Rogue Island.”
►
►
►
►
As more and more colonists began arriving and claiming
land, more problems arose between settlers and natives.
Settlers brought European diseases which often spread to
the natives and killed hundreds and thousands.
The natives realized that as soon as they died from disease
the English would claim their lands.
The English often tried to make treaties with the natives,
but both groups had different views or ideas of treaties.
The natives believed that the treaties for land use were
temporary since no one actually owned the land. The
English settlers look at the treaties and permanent and
binding.
►
►
►
►
►
►
Puritans viewed the natives as “heathen agents of the
devil” who wanted to destroy them and their societies.
However, the natives eventually came to believe the same
things about the English.
The Pequot nation arose against the colonists, but the
colonists surrounded them and killed all but 5 of 600.
40 years later Chief Metacom aka King Philip started a
bloody revolt, attacking and destroying colonial villages.
Eventually the natives were worn down by disease and
starvation and were forced to surrender.
After King Philip’s War the natives were never a force of
hostility in the northeastern colonies again.
Settlement of the Middle Colonies
►
►
►
►
Henry Hudson was an
Englishman who was employed
by the Dutch.
Hudson sailed up the Hudson
river and explored the area.
The Dutch soon built trading
posts near Manhattan Island.
The Dutch started a fur trade
with the Iroquois.
The Dutch gov’t chartered a
new colony (under the Dutch
West India Co.) known as New
Netherland and named their
capital New Amsterdam.
►
►
►
►
At first the Dutch colony had trouble attracting people.
Eventually the colony was opened to anyone. The
Germans, French, Scandinavians, and other Europeans
soon came to New Netherland.
The Dutch colony was open to all types of religions and
attracted Protestants, Catholics, and Jews to the colony.
The Dutch also treated the local natives with respect.
The English did not want the Dutch between their northern
and southern colonies, so a military force under the
command of the Duke of York was sent to take over.
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
New Netherlands was taken without firing a shot. The Duke of York
soon renamed the colony New York.
He also gave a friend some land nearby which was named New Jersey.
Land was also given to those owed money by King Charles II. William
Penn was owed 16,000 pounds and was granted property in the New
World: Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Penn guaranteed every male settler 50 acres of land and the right to
vote. He also formed a representative type of government.
Penn provided a separate assembly or gov’t for Pennsylvania and
Delaware.
He was determined to have peace with the native people and made
sure that they were paid in full for their lands.
Penn also regulated trade with the natives and even formed a court
with colonists and natives on the board.
►
►
Other settlers included the
Quakers, who believed in having
no formal ministers and allowing
anyone to speak as they were
moved.
Quakers dressed plainly and
refused to follow a social
ranking system. They also
believed in pacifism or refusing
to serve in the military.