The American Colonies
Native American Culture
Way of life varied based on location: Farmers,
Nomadic, etc.: Not all Native Americans are
the same
 Organized by kinship groups: Clans and tribes
 Followed religious rituals and believed in
earthly spirits and forces: Believed in multiple
spirits of the earth such as wind, fire, rain,
etc.
 Oral History and tradition
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Used barter system across regions
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BELIEVED LAND SHOULD NOT AND
COULD NOT BE OWNED- It was
everybody’s
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
convinced King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella to have
three ships.
 The three ships were: Nina,
Pinta, and Santa Maria.
 He landed in the Bahama
Islands on October 12,
1492.
 His exploration ushered
in the AGE OF
EXPLORATION
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Picture Credit:
http://www.mariner.org/age/columbus.html
Christopher Columbus
Also named San
Salvador meaning
“Holy Savior.”
 He saw people and
named them
“Indians” because he
thought that he was
in the West Indies.
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Columbian Exchange
As a result of Columbus’s voyages to the
New World, an exchange began between
the Americas and the rest of the world.
 Cultural Diffusion- Spread of
Culture throughout the world
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Columbian Exchange
Americas to Europe
Europe to Americas
Potatoes & Tomatoes
Sugar, Tea, Coffee
Maize, (Corn)
Horses, pigs, sheep,
goats, cattle, rats
Diseases (smallpox,
measles, whooping
cough, bubonic plague,
malaria, yellow fever )
Tobacco
Chocolate
•Asian cockroaches,
Japanese beetle
Countries
- France
a.) Active in fur trade
b.) Canada and lands west of Appalachian Mountains
- Spain
a.) Active in Florida and American Southwest
b.) Established St. Augustine- FIRST permanent
settlement in what will become the U.S.
- England
a.) Slow to become involved – worried of expense
b.) Will come to dominate East coast of North America
WHY?- GOD, GOLD, and GLORY!!!
Types of Colonies: JOINT STOCK
Companies (Charter Colony)
Joint-Stock Companies
 Owned by a corporation and stock
holders
 Economic ventures
 Elected own officials
 Jamestown, Virginia- Virginia Company
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Types of Colonies: Proprietary
Owned by a person or family after land is
given from king or queen
 Make laws and appoint officials as they
saw fit
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Types of Colonies: ROYAL COLONY
Under direct control of the King and he
appoints the Royal Governor who appoints
other officials
 By the time of the Revolutionary War- all
colonies were considered RoyalControlled by the King
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England Starts Badly
The English Colonies were established for
a variety of reasons but mainly for
RELIGION and WEALTH
 Roanoke
a.) Multiple attempts to establish colony in
North Carolina (Virginia)
b.) Close to 100 colonists disappeared
c.) “Croatoan”
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Jamestown
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First permanent ENGLISH settlement in North
America- 1607
Named in honor of King James
Located in Virginia
Famous Leader- John Smith
Aided by local Natives including Pocahontas
Colony saved by Tobacco and John Rolfe
Jamestown
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Critical to the early survival of Jamestown was
the policies of the Native Americans that
allowed them to establish a settlement- a
decision they no doubt regretted later
First permanent ENGLISH settlement in North America1607
“Virginia Company of London”: Intended for short term
gain and then to be abandoned
Named in honor of King James
Located in Virginia
The CHARTER was important because it clearly
stated that colonist would have the same rights
as English citizens
Jamestown
Early Years- Were a nightmare
 40 would be colonists died during the
initial voyage (1606-07)
 Dozens more died once on shore of
disease, malnutrition, and starvation
 The colonists were more concerned
with finding gold so they spent their
time searching for this instead of
hunting the abundant game and
fishing
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http://www.preservationvirginia.org/rediscovery/page.php?page_id=25
http://www.womenlargejaw.com/node/992
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_James_Town_Island,_Captain_John_Smith_Statue.jpg
Jamestown: “The Starving
Time”
Despite effective leadership by John Smith and
the aid of the Natives, the colonists were still
dying in droves
 Were reduced to eat “dogges, Catts, Ratts, and
Myce.” (31)
 Some even dug up corpses and one man was
executed for killing his wife and salting her to
eat
 Of 400 hundred in Virginia in 1609- only
60 survived the “starving time” of winter
1609-10
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John Rolfe
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“Saved” Jamestown because he brought
tobacco seeds
Tobacco grew well in the Virginia climate
Europeans couldn’t get enough of it and
Jamestown became a profitable colony at
long last
Colonists would grow it in the streets and even
between graves. They even had to import their
food
Wore out the land, also was labor intensive
which meant more labor would be neededGuess Who?
The Pilgrims
Went from England to Holland to North America
in search of religious tolerance: Took 66 days
 Were considered Separatists from the Puritans
which wanted to purify the church
 Settled the Plymouth Colony in MA in 1620
 Mayflower Compact: Named for their ship /
Contract between the Pilgrims / Common good
/ 1st example of “consent to be governed”similar to our constitution: FOUNDATION OF
SELF GOVERNMENT
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Thanksgiving
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Pilgrims didn’t take the land from Natives- tribe
had all died
Was probably between Sept-Nov, most likely
Oct.
Celebrated in 1621 but not again for many years
G. Washington proclaimed 1st national
Thanksgiving in 1789
A. Lincoln made it national holiday for last
Thursday in November
FD Roosevelt moved it to the second to last
Thursday…why?
Pilgrims
THINK!:
What impacted the
development of the
distinct cultures of
the New England,
Middle, and Southern
Colonies?
New England Colonies
Connecticut
 Massachusetts
 New Hampshire
 Rhode Island
 (Maine- will break from MA)
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New England Colonies
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Reasons: Religious, Establish Puritan
society, and Fur Trade
 Economy: Fishing, Ship building,
whaling and Fur Trade
 Important People:
- Roger Williams: Established Providence,
Rhode Island and First Baptist Religion
in America
- Thomas Hooker: Puritan who founded
Connecticut
Middle Colonies
New York (Taken from Dutch)
 New Jersey (From Dutch)
 Pennsylvania
 Delaware
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Middle Colonies
Reasons: Expansion, Religious Tolerance,
Freedom
 Economy: Trade, Farming, and Lumber
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William Penn
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Established Quaker
Pennsylvania, Wrote
democratic
constitution, Called
for fair treatment of
Natives, and wanted
union of colonies
Southern Colonies
Virginia
 Maryland
 Georgia
 The Carolinas- Later North and South
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Southern Colonies
Reasons: Gold, Escape Debt (Georgia),
Land wealth, Religious
 Economy: Tobacco, Rice, Indigo Crops:
Labor intensive crops- Need for slaves
 Tobacco and John Rolfe saved Jamestown
and Virginia
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Important People
Captain John Smith- Led Jamestown,
Helped it prosper, “Those who don’t work,
don’t eat”
 John Rolfe- First successful cultivation of
tobacco- became main export crop
 Pocahontas- Credited with helping to save
John Smith and help colony survive.
Married John Rolfe- Lived in England
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What impacted the
development of the distinct
cultures of the New
England, Middle, and
Southern Colonies?
 Religion,
Economy, and
Climate
SLAVERY
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African slaves were first taken to Portuguese and
Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central
America, and South America in the early 1500’s
Were brought over as part of Triangular Trade
between Africa, Europe, and the Americas
 Portion
of trip that brought slaves
was the Middle Passage
Were seen as better workers than Natives because more
immune to diseases
 1638- African Male cost $27 dollars (European Labor:
$.70/ day)
 Originally used for servants for the rich- Later more
manual labor and violent
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Amistad
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXS6J
AhMe1Q&feature=player_