Topic Three: British America to 1700
A. British Colonization of North America, First Phase
1. The Lost Colony of Roanoke
a. Founded by Sir Walter Raleigh
b. First attempt 1585-1586
c. Second attempt in 1587
* Virginia Dare born
* supply ship delayed because of war with Spain
* historical mystery surrounding Roanoke
2. Jamestown
a. Virginia Company, a joint-stock company
b. Settlers established colony on James River
c. Devasted by disease, starvation and natives
d. John Smith saved the colony
* Disney version is wildly inaccurate
e. Starving Time, winter of 1609-1610
f. Henrico founded 1610 (later renamed Richmond)
g. Finally a cash crop is found in tobacco
h. Under Sir Edwin Sandys the House of Burgesses is founded
i. colony of Virginia is established
3. Virginia Colony
a. between 1619-1622 almost 4k colonists arrive
b. most are men, most are indentured servants
c. 1619, the first African-Americans arrive
d. high mortality rate
e. 1624 Virginia is rechartered as a royal colony
4. Maryland Colony
a. founded by Sir George Calvert, Lord Baltimore
b. refuge for Catholics
c. 1634 St. Mary established
d. 1635 first assembly meets
5. Massachusetts
a. Pilgrims in Plymouth
* known as Seperatists
* boarded the Mayflower
* landed on Cape Cod in 1620
* myth of the first Thanksgiving
* absorbed into Massachusetts Bay in 1691
b. Massachusetts Bay
* settled by Puritans 1630
* predestination
* leader is John Winthrop, “city on a hill”
* theocracy, representative government
* troublemakers sent to Rhode Island
6. Rhode Island
a. founded by Roger Williams in 1636
b. Providence was the first settlement
c. Anne Hutchinson exiled there, settled in Portsmouth
7. Connecticut
a. spin-off of Massachusetts Bay
b. established in 1636
B. The Dutch in the Americas
1. Dutch Independence 1581
2. Henry Hudson explored/claimed land for the Dutch 1609
3. Called their colony New Netherlands
a. Albany founded in 1621
b. 1624 established New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island
* primary trade in fur
* second industry is brewing
* diverse population, religious toleration
* establish a relationship with the Iroquois
* after the English Restoration, lose the colony to Great Britain
C. The English Civil War
1. Charles I vs. Parliament
a. also a religious war, Puritanism vs. Anglicanism
b. Oliver Cromwell defeats the king
c. Charles is beheaded in 1649, monarchy is abolished
2. The Protectorate under Cromwell
a. Cromwell named Lord Protector
b. Long Parliament 1649-1659
c. conquest of Ireland
d. Protectorate cannot survive after Cromwell’s death in 1659
3. The Restoration 1660
a. new Parliament elected in 1659
b. invited son of Charles I to restore the monarchy
c. Charles II returned to England in 1660 to be king
d. second phase of English colonization begins
D. British Colonization, Second Phase
1. War with the Dutch gains New Netherlands
2. Colony renamed New York 1664
a. given to the king’s brother, James, Duke of York
b. Dutch citizens given rights/toleration
3. New Jersey
a. part of New York carved out to form this colony
4. North Carolina established 1664
a. settled by Virginia planters
b. assembly elected in 1664
5. Pennsylvania, the Quaker Colony
a. William Penn founded Philadelphia in 1682
b. religious toleration/rights for women
c. successful
6. South Carolina 1670
a. settled by English plantation owners from Barbados
7. New Hampshire, 1688
a. Puritan colony founded by settlers from Massachusetts
8. Delaware, 1704
a. spin-off of Pennsylvania
9. Georgia, 1732
a. founded by James Oglethorpe
b. haven for ex-convicts
* strict rules
c. allowed slavery in 1750
C. Society in early British America
1. British Colonies are divided into three geographical areas
a. New England colonies
* Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
b. Middle Colonies
* Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware
c. Southern Colonies
* Virginia, Maryland, North/South Caroline, Georgia
2. Puritan New England
a. migrated in family units
b. healthy climate, hard working
c. very orderly townships created
d. education stressed, Harvard established 1636
e. successful colonies, grandparents
f. cooperative marriages
g. towards the end of the century, Puritan values faded
3. Middle Colonies
a. economy based on small family farms, trade/mercantilism
b. majority of port cities located here
4. Southern Colonies
a. hazardous, many die of disease, poverty
b. uneven gender ratio, short life expectancy
c. marriages last on average 10 years
d. status depended on land and laborers
e. society dominated by plantation owners
f. most are indentured servants/laborers
g. very few institutions built
5. The African-American Experience in British America
a. Most Africans ended up in South America/Caribbean
b. estimated 12 million Africans brought to the Americas
* also have economic impact on Africa
c. classical slavery vs. New World slavery
d. two main factors in American slavery
* idea of hierarchy
* economic need
e. very few slaves before 1660
f. gradual enslavement of blacks
g. culture remained more intact in the South
h. slave trade negligible in North America, instead self-perpetuating
D. British mercantile system in North America
1. After the Restoration, mercantile system in America
2. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Navigation Acts
3. ensures that culture will be English
4. adds to economic distress, will lead to unrest
a. Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia
* started by Nathaniel Bacon
* war with the natives and revolt against Gov. Berkeley
* spurs slavery in the South
b. Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts
* King Phillip’s War
* political upheaval (James II and the Glorious Revolution)
* economic turmoil
* religious turmoil
* last gasp of puritanism