Creating America (Survey)
Chapter 3: The English Establish 13 Colonies, 1585–1732
Section 1: Early Colonies Have Mixed Success
Key Idea: Two early English colonies failed, but Jamestown survived.
In the late 1500s, England wanted to start a colony for two reasons: to obtain raw materials
and to increase trade. Many English colonists came to America to seek their fortune.
Others came for religious freedom.
Virginia was England’s first colony in America. Sir Walter Raleigh founded Virginia in
1585 on Roanoke Island. The colonists were not prepared for the harsh conditions and
without the help of the Native Americans, many colonists died. The survivors returned to
England in 1586. The Plymouth Company financed a second colony called Sagadahoc in
what is now Maine. It also failed.
After Sir Walter Raleigh lost his investment in the Roanoke colony, Britain realized it
would take more than one person to make a colony in America successful. They decided to
finance new colonies through joint-stock companies. Investors in these companies shared
the profits and divided the losses. In 1601, King James gave charters, or government
contracts, to the Virginia Companies of London and Plymouth.
In 1607, the Virginia Company of London established the first permanent English
settlement. It was named Jamestown in honor of King James. Many colonists searched for
gold instead of building homes and growing food. Weakened by the harsh climate, many
died from malaria and other illnesses. John Smith helped save the colony by taking control
and forcing the colonists to work.
In 1612, John Rolfe introduced tobacco, which became very profitable. The colonists
encouraged new settlers to come as indentured servants. These men and women sold their
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labor to the person who paid for their passage. Then, after working for a number of years,
they were free to farm or take up a trade.
When the colonists wanted greater control of their own interests, the Virginia Company
allowed them to elect representatives called burgesses. In 1619, the House of Burgesses
became the first representative assembly in the American colonies.
In 1676, a group of landless settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon, demanded war against the
Native Americans. Their purpose was to get land for growing tobacco. When the governor
refused to declare war, Bacon and his followers burned Jamestown to the ground. This
was called Bacon’s Rebellion. The rebellion ended when Bacon suddenly died.
Section 2: New England Colonies
Key Idea: Religion influenced the settlement and government of the New England
colonies.
The Pilgrims, a religious group in Britain, wished to separate from the Church of England.
When King James treated them harshly for their beliefs, they arranged with the Virginia
Company to settle in America. In November 1620, their ship, the Mayflower, was off
course and landed in a place the Pilgrims called Plymouth. Because Plymouth was outside
the Virginia Company’s land boundaries, the Pilgrims’ charter was not valid. To keep
order, the men signed the Mayflower Compact. They promised to obey the laws they
made.
After a hard first winter, about half of the Pilgrims died. Then Squanto, a Native
American, helped the colonists negotiate a treaty with his tribe. He also showed them how
to plant, hunt, and fish. In the fall the Pilgrims and the Native Americans celebrated a good
harvest. This feast was the first Thanksgiving.
Another religious group was the Puritans. They also left England to escape religious
persecution. Puritans wanted to reform, or “purify,” the Church of England. They wanted
to rid the church of Catholic traditions. Thousands of Puritans left England for America.
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Their leaving was called the Great Migration. In 1630, about 1,000 Puritans settled the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England.
Each congregation set up its own town. The people would gather at a meetinghouse to
make laws and important decisions. By law, everyone had to attend church services.
Sermons taught the “New England Way,” which stressed hard work.
Not everyone supported the New England Way. Puritan minister Roger Williams was
forced to leave the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of his beliefs. He founded the
colony of Rhode Island in 1636. Anne Hutchinson also was forced to leave for disagreeing
with the church. She, too, fled to Rhode Island, as did many Quakers.
Thomas Hooker moved his congregation to the Connecticut Valley. There they wrote the
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. This document expanded the voting rights of the
people.
As the Massachusetts colony grew, settlers began to take Native American land. In 1675, a
chief the English called King Philip led an alliance of Native Americans against the
colonists. This war, called King Philip’s War, lasted more than a year. The colonists
defeated the Native Americans.
In the late 1600s, several young girls in Salem accused certain people of witchcraft. More
than 100 people were arrested and tried. Twenty were found guilty and put to death. The
religious leaders viewed the trials as a sign from God to return to a strict Puritan lifestyle.
Section 3: The Middle Colonies
Key Idea: The founding of the Middle and Southern colonies provided settlers with many
economic opportunities.
The Middle Colonies of America were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
Delaware. Settlers came for religious freedom and to escape the poverty of England. The
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rich soil made farming and raising livestock favorable. The rivers supported shipping and
trade.
Dutch settlers founded the colony of New Netherland in 1624. To attract more settlers,
they set up a “patroon” system. In exchange for bringing 50 settlers to New Netherland, a
patroon received a large piece of land.
Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Netherland, attacked the nearby colony of New
Sweden in 1624. The Swedes surrendered their main settlement to the Dutch.
Later, the brother of England’s King Charles II, the Duke of York, drove the Dutch out of
New Netherland. New Netherland then became the colony of New York, with the Duke as
its proprietor, or owner.
The colony of New Jersey was started when the Duke of York gave land to his friends.
New Jersey encouraged settlers by promising them freedom of religion.
William Penn used his own land to start the colony of Pennsylvania. Penn belonged to the
Quakers, another religious group. The Pennsylvania colony gave the Quakers and all
others religious freedom. Eventually, some of the Pennsylvania counties broke away to
form the colony of Delaware.
The American Southern Colonies were Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The soil and
climate of these areas were suitable for warm-weather crops such as tobacco, rice, and
indigo.
Lord Baltimore started the colony of Maryland in 1632. It became home to Roman
Catholics who were fleeing religious persecution. To attract more settlers, Baltimore
promised freedom of religion for all. Tobacco growing was an important part of
Maryland’s economy.
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The colony of Carolina was founded in 1663. English settlers from Barbados built Charles
Town, later called Charleston, in 1670. They used enslaved Africans as laborers for
growing rice and indigo. They also sold Native Americans into slavery. Carolina became a
royal colony in 1729. The colony was divided into North and South Carolina.
In 1732, James Oglethorpe founded Georgia as a refuge for debtors. The English
government wanted to use Georgia as an outpost against the Spanish in Florida and the
French in Louisiana. The Spanish tried without success to force the English out of
Georgia. Oglethorpe set up strict rules that upset the colonists. This caused the king to
make Georgia a royal colony in 1752.
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