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Settling the British Colonies (1585-1650)
o Instrumental in the
establishment of the
Roanoke colony in the
1580s
o First settled in 1585
as a base for pirate
ships
o Poor relations with
the native population
o Found abandoned in
1590
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o
o
Settled in 1607
First “successful” English colony
Organized by the Virginia Company of London
o Many settlers fell ill from
disease
o “Gentlemen” refused to do
work
o Not prepared to survive on
their own
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Relied on the local
Powhatan Indians for food
John Smith
o Captured by Chief Powhatan & may have been
saved by his daughter, Pocahontas
o Negotiated with the Powhatan to obtain access
to more food
o Implemented a “no work, no food” policy in the
colony
o Returned to England in 1609
o Tobacco saved the colony from financial
disaster
o John Rolfe developed a new strain of tobacco
that flourished in Virginia
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Created a labor shortage
Resulted in the introduction of the Headright
System:
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Gave land to anyone who would pay the
transportation costs of an indentured servant
Led to the arrival of the first African slaves
The Mayflower
o Passengers included 102 men, women, &
children
•
Made up of both “saints” & “strangers”
o Arrived in New England in November 1620
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First landed in Cape Cod, then Provincetown, &
finally Plymouth near the site of an abandoned
Indian village
o While on board, 41 Pilgrim leaders signed the
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact
o Declared their support
for King James I
o Created a government
to establish rules for
the colony
o Was an important step
in colonial selfgovernment
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o
Nearly half died of exposure & disease during their
first Winter
Survived for a number of reasons:
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Strong leadership – William Bradford
Help of Native Americans
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Squanto – served as an interpreter, taught the
Pilgrims to grow corn & squash
Massasoit – Wampanoag leader who signed a treaty
of friendship with the Pilgrims
o
o
Founded in 1630
Elected John Winthrop
as governor
o Advocated that the
Puritans establish a
“city upon a hill” as
an example to all
people of what a
godly community
could be
o
o
o
Governed by the General
Court who then elected the
governor
Voting was restricted to
church members
Led to laws to protect
authority & family values
• Required church
attendance & prohibited
drunkenness, card
playing, public kissing,
etc.
• Often punished with
public shame &
humiliation
Roger Williams
o
o
o
o
Called for the separation of church & state
Declared that the colonists had no legal right to
own land
Banished in 1635
Moved to “Providence” & started his own colony
o Purchased the land from the native populations &
returned to England & received a charter from the
Crown
o Rhode Island became the 1st colony to practice
religious toleration
Anne Hutchinson
o
o
Challenged the authority of the ministers
Put on trial in 1637
• One critic commented “You have stepped out of your
place; you [would] have rather been a husband than
a wife, a preacher than a hearer, & a magistrate
than a subject.”
o
Banished in 1638
• Went with her family & followers to an island south
of Providence near present-day Portsmouth, RI
o
In 1633, a group from Plymouth settled in the
Connecticut River Valley
o
Then in 1636, Thomas Hooker led about 100
Puritans from Massachusetts Bay to Connecticut
o
In 1639, he helped to draft the Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut, a series of laws that provided for a
government like that of Massachusetts
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Key feature: Gave all free men the right to vote for their leaders
o
Tension developed between Pequots & the colonists
as the English expanded into Connecticut
o
Pequots attacked English town of Wethersfield
following a raid on one of their villages
o
Colonists from MA & CT attacked the Pequot Village
in Mystic
About 400 died as the village was burned
o Ended Pequot resistance to English expansion
o
Native populations drop dramatically
o
o
o
o
o
From about 125,000 in 1625 to 10,000 in 1675
English settlement continued to expand
Wild animals were replaced by domesticated
ones
Led to another series of conflicts in the 1670s
o
Named after Metacom,
son of Massasoit
o
Formed an alliance
against the English
o
Attacked more than 50
English settlements
o
Led to English retaliation
o
English burned native villages & destroyed stores
of food
o
o
One of the bloodiest & costliest wars in American
history
o
o
Helped by their own native alliances with groups such
as the Mohawks
1.5% of the colonists, as well as 15% of the Native
American population died
Effectively ended Native American resistance in
New England
o
Charles II granted
land south of Virginia
to 8 supporters in
1663
• Given the title of Lord
Proprietors
• Able to exercise their
authority with virtual
independence
Background
Settlement in
the area began
in 1670
o
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Many of its
early settlers
came from
colonies in the
Caribbean
Learned to
grow rice
Search for a Labor Force
o Indentured Servants
o African Slaves
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Slaves for life
Had knowledge of rice cultivation
Immune to malaria & yellow fever
Led to a black majority in South Carolina by the
1710s
o
Founded in 1732 &
named for King
George II
o
Created as a buffer
between South
Carolina & Spanish
Florida
Background
o A group of trustees was charged with ruling the
colony in its early years
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One trustee, James Oglethorpe, was key to the
colony’s early history
Hoped the colony could serve as a haven for
debtors who could leave jail if they agreed to
relocate in Georgia
Prohibited slavery & alcohol
Limited landholdings to 500 acres
Early History
o Ultimately, the population remained small & early
goals were not reached
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o
By 1750, slavery had been legalized & size limits
for landholdings were lifted
Life began to resemble that in South Carolina with
the rise of an elite planters who relied on slave
labor