Susan Pojer / Pamela K. Montague
The Planting of English America
Spain’s European Rivals:
• English – John Cabot, 1497
– Newfoundland, NE coast N.Am.
• French
– Verrazano, 1524, Carolina up to Nova Scotia
– Cartier, 1534 – St. Lawrence River
• BUT, neither French or English are serious rivals
in beginning, why?
– Too much internal conflict; Protestant Reformation
– Intense rivalry soon develops though between Catholic
Spain and Protestant England
• By 17th century, each power has major outpost in
North America
– Spanish – Santa Fe, 1610
– French – Quebec, 1608
– English – Jamestown, 1607
English Colonization
Elizabeth I
 Takes the throne in 1588 & rivalry
with Spain intensifies
 Crushes the Irish mercilessly –
Protestant landlords
 Too weak to break Spanish monopoly
in New World so…
 Encourages plunder of Spanish
ships and raiding of Spanish
settlements; DRAKE
 Attempts a settlement at
Newfoundland – Sir Humphrey
Gilbert / unsuccessful
 How did the laws of primogeniture
encourage English exploration?
English Colonization
Virginia
§ Sir Walter Raleigh to VA in 1585
§ Establishes Roanoke – known as the “Lost
Colony” – WHY? Who is Virginia Dare?
§ What delayed the English supply ship
headed to Roanoke in 1588?
§ attack of the Spanish Armada
§ England defeats Spain & finally breaks SP
monopoly in New World
§ Effects of Defeat of the SP Armada:
§ Strong sense of nationalism…Shakespeare
§ Gov’t support of colonization
§ Strong, popular monarch & religious unity
§ Set England on path to world dominance
English Colonization
Virginia
The Charter of the Virginia
Company of London, 1606:
§ Guaranteed to
colonists the same
rights as Englishmen
as if they had stayed
in England – will be
incorporated into
future colonial documents.
§ Colonists felt that, even in
the Americas, they had the
rights of Englishmen!
England Plants the
Jamestown “Seedling”
Late 1606
VA Co. sends out 3 ships
Purpose of expedition?
Spring 1607 land at mouth of
Chesapeake Bay.
§ Attacked by Indians and move on up
the bay.
May 24, 1607 approx. 144 colonists [all
men] land at Jamestown, along banks of
James River
§ Easily defended, but swarming with
disease-causing mosquitoes.
Jamestown Settlement,
1607
The Godspeed, Discovery, and Susan Constant
Chesapeake Bay
Geographic/environmental
Jamestown Fort & Settlement
Map
Jamestown Fort & Settlement
Jamestown Housing
Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown Chapel, 1611
Continuing Discovery
at Jamestown
The Jamestown Nightmare
1606-1607 - 40 people died on the voyage
to the New World.
1609 - another ship from England lost its
leaders and supplies in a shipwreck off
Bermuda.
Settlers died from disease, malnutrition,
starvation – only 60 of 400 survive
“starving time” winter 1609-1610 …why?
Early“Gentlemen” colonists would not work
§ Game in forests & fish in river uncaught.
§ Wasted time looking for gold instead
§ Merchant directors – ineffective guidance
Captain John Smith:
The Right Man for the Job??
Took over in 1608
Becomes expert forager
& Indian trader
Asks London Co. for
farmers, carpenters,
masons, etc.
Stays in colony only 2
years, but it would have
perished without him
There was no talk…but dig gold, wash
gold, refine gold, load gold…
Pocahontas
Pocahontas “saves”
Captain John Smith
What actually happened?
Four Faces of
Pocahontas
Chief Powhatan
Powhatan Confederacy
 Powhatan dominated a
few dozen small tribes
in the James River
area when the English
arrived.
 The English called all
Indians in the area
Powhatans.
 Powhatan probably saw
the English as allies in his struggles to control
other Indian tribes in the region.
Powhatan Confederacy
Powhatan
Indian Village
Indian Foods
Smith’s
Portrayal
of
Native
Americans
Interpretation?
Culture Clash in the
Chesapeake
Relations between Indians & settlers
grew worse – why?
 General mistrust because of different
cultures & languages.
 English raided Indian food supplies
during the starving times.
1610-1614  First Anglo-Powhatan War
 De La Warr (came in 1610) had orders to
make war on the Indians.
 Raided villages, burned houses, took
supplies, burned cornfields.
Culture Clash in the Chesapeake
1614-1622  peace between Powhatans
and the English.
 1614 peace sealed by the marriage of
Pocahontas to Englishman John Rolfe.
Powhatan Uprising of 1622

1622-1644  periodic
attacks between
Indians and settlers.

1622  Indians
attacked the English,
killing 347 [including
John Rolfe].

Virginia Co. called for
a “perpetual war”
against the Native
Americans.

Raids reduced native
population and drove
them further
westward.
Culture Clash in the
Chesapeake
1644-1646  Second AngloPowhatan War
 Last effort of natives to defeat
English.
 Indians defeated again.
 Powhatans suffered from 3 D’s –
meaning?
Peace Treaty of 1646
 Removed the Powhatans from
their original land.
 Formally separated Indian and
English settlement areas (origins
of reservations).
John Rolfe
What finally made the colony prosperous??
Tobacco Plant
Virginia’s gold and silver.
-- John Rolfe, 1612
Early Colonial Tobacco
1618 — Virginia produces 20,000 pounds of
tobacco.
1622 — Despite losing nearly one-third of
its colonists in an Indian attack,
Virginia produces 60,000 pounds of
tobacco.
1627 — Virginia produces 500,000 pounds
of tobacco.
1629 — Virginia produces 1,500,000 pounds
of tobacco.
Virginia: “Child of Tobacco”
Tobacco’s effect on Virginia’s
economy:
 Vital role in putting VA on a firm
economic footing.
 Ruinous to soil when continuously
planted – leads to continuous desire
for LAND!
 Chained VA’s economy to a single crop.
 Promoted headright system
Tobacco promoted the use of the
plantation system.
 Need for cheap, abundant labor.
Why was 1619 a
pivotal year for
the Chesapeake
settlement?
 First Africans arrived in Jamestown in
1619.
 Their status was not clear  perhaps
slaves, perhaps indentured servants.
 Slavery not that important until the end of
the 17c.

And…
Virginia
House of Burgesses
Growing Political Power
The House of Burgesses established
in 1619 – 1st representative form of
gov’t in America
 began to assume the role of the House of
Commons in England
 Control over finances, militia, etc.
By the end of the 17c, H of B was able
to initiate legislation.
A Council appointed by royal governor
 Mainly leading planters.
 Functions like House of Lords.
 High death rates ensured rapid
turnover of members.
Virginia Becomes
a Royal Colony
James I grew hostile to Virginia
 He hated tobacco.
 He distrusted the House of
Burgesses which he called a seminary
of sedition. What is “sedition?”
1624  he revoked the charter of
the bankrupt VA Company.
 Thus, VA became a royal colony,
under the King’s direct control.
Indentured Servitude
Origins
Indenture Marks
The term indentured
servant derives its name
from the indenture, or
mark on two copies of the
contract the master and
the servant signed.
To prevent one of the
parties from trying to alter
the contract, the two
copies of the contract
were laid on top of one
other, and identical marks
were made.
This contract has
been marked, but
not yet
indentured.
If anyone questioned the
contract, the two pieces of
paper would be placed on
top of one other to try
match the marks.
This contract has
been indentured.
Indentured Servitude
Headright System – who benefitted?
 Each Virginian got 50 acres for each laborer
whose passage he paid. System used in MD also.
 100,000 in VA/MD by 1700 – cheaper than
slaves
Indenture Contract – general terms?
 Mostly young men, 15-25
 4 years (skilled) -7 years (unskilled)
 Promised “freedom dues” [land, £, clothing, two
hoes, three barrels of corn, and fifty acres of
land]
 Forbidden to marry; no travel without permission.
 1610-1614: only 1 in 10 outlived their indentured
contracts!
Frustrated Freemen
Majority of VA settlers came as
indentured servants
By late 1600s  large numbers of
young, poor, discontented men in
the Chesapeake area.
 Little access to land or women
for marriage.
1670  The Virginia Assembly
disenfranchised most landless
men. Meaning?
Nathaniel Bacon’s
Rebellion: 1676
Led 1,000 Virginians in
a rebellion against
Governor Berkeley
Nathaniel
Bacon
Governor
William
Berkeley
 Rebels resented
Berkeley’s close
relations with Indians.
 Berkeley monopolized
the fur trade with
the Indians in the
area.
 Berkley refused to
retaliate for Indian
attacks on frontier
settlements.
Bacon’s Rebellion: 1676
Bacon’s Rebellion
Rebels attacked Indians, whether
they were friendly or not to
whites.
Governor Berkeley driven from
Jamestown.
Rebels burned the capital and then
went on a rampage of plundering.
Bacon died suddenly of fever.
Berkeley brutally crushed the
rebellion and hanged 20 rebels.
Results of Bacon’s
Rebellion
It exposed resentments between
inland frontiersmen and landless
former servants against gentry on
coastal plantations. (East-West
Conflict)
 Socio-economic class
differences/clashes between rural and
urban communities which will continue
throughout American history.
Upper class planters searched for
laborers less likely to rebel  BLACK
SLAVES!!
Colonial Slavery
Beginning in 1662  “Slave Codes”
 Made blacks [and their children] chattel
(property) for the lifetime of white
masters.
 In some colonies, it was a crime to teach
a slave to read or write.
 Conversion to
Christianity did
not qualify the
slave for
freedom.
Reasons for switch from
Servants to Slaves:
Bacon’s rebellion – planters fearful of
mutinous former servants
Rising wages in England led to less willing
to gamble on indentured servitude
Royal African Company loses monopoly on
carrying slaves to colonies (RI becomes
big slave trader).
Servants wanted land – no one would
want to give land to black slaves.
The Atlantic Slave Trade
The “Middle Passage”
Barbaric conditions, at least 20% died during this passage.
Colonial Slavery
As the number of slaves increased,
white colonists reacted to put down a
perceived racial threat.
 Slavery transformed from economic
to economic and racial institution.
 Early 1600s  differences between
slave and servant were unclear.
By the mid-1680s, black slaves
outnumbered white indentured
servants and slave codes are
entrenched.
Slave Revolts
Stono Revolt – 1730, SC
Over 50 slaves meet at Stono River & begin march
to Spanish Florida.
Stole guns & ammo from store at Stono Bridge &
killed 2 storekeepers
Burned 7 plantations & killed 20 whites – number
grows to 80 slaves
Militia comes after them – 44 slaves, 20 whites
killed in putting down rebellion
Captured slaves decapitated – heads spiked on mile
posts to Charleston.
BUT, no slave rebellion ever equals the
scale of the rebellion of former servants
such as those in Bacon’s Rebellion.
The Settlement of Maryland
A royal charter was
granted to George
Calvert, Lord
Baltimore,
in 1632.
A proprietary colony
created in 1634.
A healthier location
than Jamestown.
 Tobacco would be the
main crop. Why a “poor man’s crop?”
His plan was to govern as an absentee proprietor
in a feudal relationship.
 Huge tracts of land granted to his Catholic
relatives.
Colonization of Maryland
St Mary’s City
(1634)
A Haven for Catholics
Supposed to be a haven for Catholics but,
the irony is ….?
Colonists were only willing to come to MD if
they received land.
Colonists who did come received modest
farms dispersed around the Chesapeake
area.
 Catholic land barons surrounded by mostly
Protestant small farmers.
 Conflict between barons and farmers led to
Baltimore losing proprietary rights at the
end of the 17c.
In the late 1600s, black slaves began to be
imported.
A Haven for Catholics
Baltimore permitted high degree of
freedom of worship in order to prevent
repeat of persecution of Catholics by
Protestants.
 High number of Protestants threatened
because of overwhelming rights given to
Catholics.
Toleration Act of 1649
 Supported by the Catholics in MD.
 Guaranteed toleration to all CHRISTIANS.
 Decreed death to those who denied the
divinity of Jesus [like Jews, atheists, etc.].
 In one way, it was less tolerant than before
the law was passed!!
Settling the Lower South
The Carolinas
• Named after Charles II
• Held by 8 proprietors with
wide authority
• Charleston established 1680 –
busiest seaport in U.S. & only
seaport in the South
Crops of the
Carolinas
Rice
Indigo
Rice & Indigo Exports
from SC & GA: 1698-1775
The Carolinas
• Eventually splits in 1712 & both
become royal colonies:
– NC – poorer region – independent!
– SC – prosperous - aristocratic
• North Carolina:
– Settled by poverty-stricken outcasts
& religious dissenters from VA
– Strong spirit of resistance to
authority
– Hospitable to pirates
– Democratic / Independent /
NON-aristocratic
– “A vale of humility between 2
mountains of conceit.”
South Carolina
• Strong ties with West Indies sugar islands
– many settlers from there
• Adopted its slave code – Barbados Code
• RICE becomes major crop
• Set up strong slave trade
– Sell over 10,000 Indian slaves to sugar
islands
• West African slaves become predominant
labor source … WHY?
– Had experience with rice
– Immune to malaria
– Become majority of the population by
1710!
Georgia
The Last English Colony
Founded by James Oglethorpe & other London
philanthropists, 1733
– Took honest persons imprisoned for debts
to resettle there
• English want buffer from SP Florida so charter
granted
• Oglethorpe has idealistic regulations:
– No more than 50 acres land – non-transferable
– No rum – to ensure sobriety
– No slaves – to ensure hard work
• Founders disillusioned by 1752 – becomes royal
colony
• Settlers began migration into “back-country”
Southern Society
• Primary religious affiliation?
– Anglican church
• Highly illiterate – not much formal
schooling – why?
• Slavery in all colonies
• Aristocratic atmosphere (except NC!);
wealthy planters have the power
• Rigid social class structure:
– Wealthy planters
– Small Farmers (with slaves / without slaves)
– Landless whites
– Slaves
River Settlement Pattern
in the South
 Large plantations [>100 acres];
Widely spread apart [>5 miles] –
Impact?

Leads to few large cities; mostly rural;
churches & schools difficult to establish

Waterways are the main “roads”
High Mortality Rates

Adult life expectancy: 40 years

Death of children before age 5: 80%

Not many children have grandparents
SOUTHERN SOCIETY
“Widowarchy”
High mortality
among husbands
and fathers left
many women
in the Chesapeake
colonies with
unusual autonomy
and wealth
compared to
women in other
colonial regions.