13 American Colonies
Ms. Lambly
U.S. I
England, Spain, and France claim land because of the natural geography that exists in the
new world.
To Colonize or not to colonize, that is the question!
Reasons not to colonize:
oEnglish government had little $$$ and had found no gold or other wealth
oSpain had already claimed America (upheld by pope). Spain and England were both
Catholic countries and allies against France
Reasons to colonize:
oReligion- Protestant reformation divides Europe (accused Church of corruption). John
Calvin believed that neither kings nor bishops should control the Church and that
congregations should choose their own leaders. Catholic church in England becomes
the Anglican church with King as head.
-Puritans- people who wanted to purify the church of England
oEconomics-Wealthy nobles and estate owners switched to sheep farms and evicted poor
tenants in the enclosure movement.
Early English Colonies
Lost colony of Roanoke - 1585 and 1587 Settlers carved “CRO” into post, possibly
referring to the Croatoan – a Native American group who lived nearby
Jamestown – 1606 group of English investors petitioned king for a charter
Joint-stock company -pooled the $$$ of many investors
1608-200 new settlers, only 53 alive at the end of the year
Winter of 1609-1610 “starving time”
Colonists ate dogs, rats, snakes, toadstools, and horsehides. A few settlers even
engaged in cannibalism, digging up corpses from graves and eating them!
John Smith and Pocahontas – Powhatan relations
The 1st Assembly government 2 representatives from each of the colony’s 10 towns.
Virginia House of Burgesses
Headrights system- new settlers who bought a share in the company or paid passage
were granted 50 acres of land
Maryland is founded by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic who wanted to found a colony
where Catholics could freely practice their religion. Catholics accepted neither the
king as head of the Church or the authority of Anglican bishops and priests and were
therefore viewed as traitors.
Maryland was England’s first proprietary colony, in which the owner could govern the
colony any way they wished.
20 Catholic gentleman and 200 servants and artisans who were mostly Protestant
These colonies had more flexible social structures and began to develop a middle class
of skilled artisans, entrepreneurs (business owners), and small farmers.
Plymouth Colony – Massachusetts
Pilgrim- one who undertakes a pilgrimage to a place of some religious or historic
significance.
Pilgrims (Puritans from Anglican church) arrived in America in 1620 with 102
passengers on a 65 day trip. Most of the food ran out, many passengers became ill,
and one died.
The Mayflower Compact that the Pilgrims signed in 1620 is the first example of many
colonial plans for self government. The Pilgrim leaders knew they needed rules to
govern themselves if they were going to survive the new colony they were about to
form. The Mayflower Compact was based on majority rule; they agreed to choose
their leaders and make their own laws which they would agree to follow.
New England
Environment:
Products:
Northern Eastern
Woodlands
oSubsistence farming
Very short growing
season
oTimber and ship building
Supplies (rope, masts, tar)
Long cold winters
oDried fish
Large forests
On the Atlantic Ocean
People:
oPuritans and Pilgrims who
believed in working hard
and following strict rules.
oMerchants,
Manufacturers, and
oRum and other manufactured Lawyers.
trade goods
oRaised cattle and hogs for
export
New England
Government
o Self-Governing
Charters
o Town Meetings
New Hampshire
o The Mayflower
Compact (1614)
o The
Massachusetts
Fundamental
Orders of
Connecticut
(1637)
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Characteristics of Early
Exploration and Settlements
o
New England was settled by Puritans seeking freedom from religious
persecution in Europe
o
Formed a “Covenant Community” based on the Mayflower Compact and
Puritan religious beliefs and were often intolerant of those not sharing their
religion
o
They sought economic opportunity and practiced direct democracy through
town meetings
o
New England’s colonial society was based on religious standing.
o
The Puritans grew increasingly intolerant of dissenters who challenged the
Puritan’s belief in the connection between religion and government.
o
Rhode Island was founded by dissenters fleeing persecution by Puritans in
Massachusetts – Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson
Middle Colonies
Environment:
o
Lower Eastern Woodlands
o
Medium growing season and cold
winters.
o
Many lakes and rivers for
transportation.
Products:
o
Called the “Bread Colonies”
o
Farmed Wheat, Oat, Barley and Rye.
o
Made homespun products.
o
Traded very little.
People:
oPeople from: England, the Netherlands,
France, Germany and others
oPuritans, Quakers, Anglicans, Catholics, and
Jews
Economic Characteristics
of the Colonial Period
o
The Middle Colonies of New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware developed
economies based on shipbuilding, small-scale farming,
and trading.
o
Cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore
began to grow as seaports and commercial centers.
o
The Middle Colonies were home to multiple religious
groups, including the Quakers in Pennsylvania and
Catholics in Maryland, who generally believed in
religious tolerance.
Middle Colonies
Government
o Proprietary
Charters
Pennsylvania
o Religious
Freedom and
Tolerance
o Freedom of the
Press
New Jersey
o Strong Courts
Delaware
New York
Southern
Colonies
People:
o
Anglicans
o
English Plantation Owners, Indentured
Servants, Transported Criminals, and Slaves.
Environment:
Products:
oAtlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains
oFarmed Tobacco, Rice, Indigo, and Cotton
oLong growing season and fertile land
oTraded “cash crops” that were farmed on
Plantations
oWarm for most of the year
oPurchase manufactured goods
Southern Colonies
Government
o Joint-Stock and
Maryland
Virginia
Proprietary
Charters
o The House of
Burgesses
North Carolina
o Colonies run for
the profit of the
Joint-Stock
Company or
Proprietors
South Carolina
Georgia
Southern Colonies
o
Virginia and the other Southern colonies were settled by
people seeking economic opportunities.
o
The Virginia “Cavaliers” were English nobility who
received large land grants in eastern Virginia from the King
of England.
Virginia and the other Southern colonies developed
economies in the eastern coastal lowlands based on large
plantations that grew “cash crops” such as tobacco, rice,
and indigo for export to Europe.
Farther inland, however, in the mountains and valleys of
the Appalachian foothills, the economy was based on
small-scale subsistence farming, hunting, and trading.
Social Characteristics
of the Colonies
o
Virginia and the Southern colonies had a social
structure based on family status and the ownership of
land.
o
Large landowners in the eastern lowlands dominated
colonial government and society and maintained an
allegiance to the Church of England and closer social
ties to England than in the other colonies.
The Development of Indentured
Servitude and Slavery
o
Europeans brought measles, mumps, chicken pox, and
typhus. Some Native American groups suffered a 90%
population loss after European contact. This catastrophe
reduced the labor supply available to Europeans, who then
turned to enslaving Africans.
o
The growth of a plantation-based agricultural economy in
the hot, humid coastal lowlands of the Southern Colonies
required cheap labor on a large scale.
o
Some of the labor needs, especially in Virginia, were met by
indentured servants, who were often poor persons from
Scotland, England, or Ireland who agreed to work on
plantations for a period of time in return for their passage
from Europe or relief from debts.
Introduction of Slavery
o
Most plantation labor needs eventually came to be filled by
the forcible importation of Africans.
o
While some Africans worked as indentured servants,
earned their freedom, and lived as free citizens during the
Colonial Era, over time larger and larger numbers of
enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to the Southern
Colonies in what came to be known as the “Middle
Passage”
o
Prisoners were crammed into the ships’ filthy holds for more
than a month, could hardly sit or stand, and were given
minimal food and drink. Africans who died or became sick
were thrown overboard. Those who refused to eat were
whipped.
Life in Colonial America
Colonial cities
o
Some cities had cobblestone streets lit by oil lamps. Ships from foreign ports were
in the harbors. People enjoyed reading mail from relatives and English newspapers
and magazines.
o
Many cities had libraries, bookshops, and impressive public buildings.
o
Places where colonists could see plays and hear concerts
o
Markets to shop for produce or European luxury goods
o
Schools that taught music, dancing, drawing, and painting in addition to
traditional classes
o
City life for women: no hard farm work, but still had household tasks to perform.
Prosperous women had more time for reading and writing.
o
Men and women spent many hours writing letters to friends and family.
Life in Colonial Economies
o Popular culture
o Quilting bees and barn raisings were examples of work
in sociable ways.
o Northern colonists went ice-skating and sledding in
winter.
o Horse racing and hunting
o Visiting neighbors was favorite pastime
o Social events: dancing, listening to music
o Communications
o Printers printed and distributed newspapers, books,
advertisements, and political announcements.