CHAPTER 2:
EUROPEAN COLONIES
IN AMERICA
The Big Picture: Following Columbus’ voyages,
European nations competed to establish
colonies in the Americas. By 1733 the English
had founded a diverse group of colonies along
the Atlantic Ocean seaboard. Their efforts,
however, had disastrous consequences for the
Native Americans.
CHAPTER 2 SECTION 1:
EUROPEAN
SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH
AMERICA
Main Idea: In the 1500s and 1600s,
European nations led by Spain,
continued to explore, claim territory,
and build settlements in America.
Spanish Conquistadors
•
1494: Catholic Spain and Portugal appeal to the Pope to resolve
competing claims to the New World
•
the Treaty of Tordesillas: drew a line on the map and gave all land to
the west of the line to Spain and all land east to Portugal
Ponce de Leon & Florida
•
Spanish explorers called conquistadors began exploring the
Caribbean, South, and Central America after Columbus
•
Their goals were “God, gold, glory”
•
Ponce de Leon sailed with Columbus, was governor of Puerto Rico,
and searched for the fabled fountain of youth
•
He became the first Spanish explorer in mainland North America
when he claimed Florida for Spain
Cortez and the Aztec
•
Cortez claimed and explored Mexico in an attempt to find gold
•
When attempting to conquer the Aztec, he was aided by the enemies
of the Aztec and an ancient legend that made them believe the
Spanish were messengers from the Gods
•
The Aztec fell to the Spanish in 1521
Golden Cities and other Explorers
• The successful domination of the Aztec
and persistent rumors of cities of gold
encouraged other explorers to push into
modern-day Mexico, Texas, and Florida
• Explorers like de Soto, Cabrillo and de
Coronado explored as far north as
Tennessee and as far west as California,
but did not find the gold they wanted
• Eventually the Spanish focused on mining
in Mexico
• 1565: Spanish establish a colony at St.
Augustine, Florida
• It is the oldest city in the US today
Spain Builds an Empire
Social Structure
• Spanish crown appointed viceroyalty to run new colonies that were
being established
• Social classes in the colonies emerged; peninsulares (those born in
Spain) felt they were superior to creoles (pureblood Spanish born in the
New World)
• Under the creoles were those who mixed with Native Americans called
mestizos, then Spanish and African, then pure-blood Indians, and
Africans
• Also key to Spanish American social structure were missionaries who
served to convert natives to Catholicism and to teach the faithful
Land, Labor, and the Pueblo Revolt
• Spanish established the encomienda system: Spanish received grants of
land from the crown and the use of labor from the people who lived on the
land
• The Natives were expected to convert to Christianity and work for the new
owner
• The owner was expected to treat the natives humanely, but they were
routinely enslaved and worked to death on plantations called haciendas
• 1680: Pueblo Indians revolt against the Spanish led by Pope
• He was successful in driving the Spanish out of Santa Fe, but in 1692
Spanish soldiers retook the area
Other Nations Explore
England’s Navy
• 1497: John Cabot arrives in Newfoundland & thinks he is in Asia; claims it for England
• 1500s- England realizes it is new land and begins looking for a northwest passage to Asia
• 1577: Protestant Queen Elizabeth builds up the English navy to challenge Catholic Spain; Sir
Francis Drake first to circumnavigate the globe
New France
•
1524: Giovanni de Verrazano explores from the Carolinas to Maine for France
•
1534: Jacques Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence River and explores Quebec and Montreal
•
1608: Samuel de Champlain establishes trade in furs and fish in Quebec
•
1666: Sieur de la Salle explores Great Lakes region and Mississippi River, claiming the land
for France (called it Louisiana for French king Louis XIV)
New Netherland
•
1609: Henry Hudson sent by the Netherlands to find the Northwest Passage
•
He discovers the Hudson River and claims land along the Atlantic coast for the Dutch
CHAPTER 2 SECTION 2:
THE ENGLISH IN
VIRGINIA
Main Idea: After several failures,
the English established a
permanent settlement at
Jamestown, Virginia.
The First English Colonies
Roanoke
• Queen Elizabeth allows Sir Walter
Raleigh to lead an expedition the
Atlantic Coast
• He calls the land Virginia after her
(“virgin queen”)
• 1587 Raleigh and governor John White
establish a colony at Roanoke Island
and established friendly relations with
Manteo
• Virginia Dare first English born in the
New World
• White was forced to return to England
for supplies and was delayed 3 years
due to war with Spain in returning
• 1590: White returns but all of the
settlers are gone, with only Croatoan
carved on a post
• They are called the ‘Lost Colony’
King James’ Charter
• Under King James I, England tries
again to settle the Atlantic Coast
• Charter rights to establishing colonies
were transferred from Raleigh to the
London Company & the Plymouth
Company in 1606
• These were join-stock companies:
investors pooled money to fund and
govern the colony and split any
profits
The Jamestown Colony
First Settlers and Captain Smith
• 1606: 100 men arrive at the James River under the
London Company and built Jamestown
• The location was not ideal; swampy and in the
middle of the Powhatan Confederacy
• The settlers succumbed to malaria and dysentery
and many were gentry who refused to work
• By January 1608, only 38 men remained
• Captain John Smith became the leader of
Jamestown and imposed military discipline in the
colony
• he was able to trade for food with the local tribe
and had even been saved from being executed by
Pocahontas, the chief’s daughter
• conditions improved in the colony, but John Smith
was forced to return to England after being burned
in a powder accident
The Starving Time and Tobacco
• London Company sent more settlers in 1609, offering free
passage to anyone willing to work for seven years
• The winter of 1609-1610 was the worst in the colony, called
the starving time: many died from Indian raids and
starvation
• John Rolfe saves the colony by experimenting with the
cultivation of tobacco
• 1613: Rolfe secures peace between Jamestown and the
Algonquians by marrying Pocahontas
• 1622: relations with the natives deteriorate after Powhatan
and Pocahontas die
• Settlers were taking increasing amounts of land for
tobacco cultivation , triggering an attack by the
Powhatans
• Many, including Rolfe, died and the crown revoked the
Virginia Company’s charter, but the colony survived
Virginia Grows and Changes
The Headright System and the House of Burgesses
• 1618: Virginia Company begins offering headrights: 50 acres of land for
each family member and servant or for any one else they paid passage for
• Artisans and 100 single women were also sent to make to colony more
stable
• By the 1640s, there were 8,000 settlers, 16,000 by 1650
• 1619: formation of the House of Burgesses: membership went to white,
landholding males
• They had the power to raise taxes and make laws, but the laws could be
vetoed by the governor who was appointed by the crown
• This was the first legislature in America
Colonial Workers and Conflict
• Indentured servants: majority of workers- they received passage to
America and worked 4 to 7 years
• at the end of service, they received clothes as well as tools or land
• Men outnumbered women 3 to 1
• 1619: Dutch ship arrives with 20 African slaves; by the late 1600s, slavery
replaced indentured servants for cheap labor
• Conflict increases between rich settlers in the east and poor settlers in
the west dealing with high taxes and conflict with Natives
• Governor William Berkeley refuses to aid settlers, hoping for good fur
trading with the Natives
• Bacon’s Rebellion: former indentured servants march on Jamestown,
burning the city
• the rebellion collapses when Bacon becomes ill and dies, but the House
of Burgesses does open more land to settlement and slave labor
increases
CHAPTER 2 SECTION 3:
THE NORTHERN
COLONIES
Main Idea: The Pilgrims founded
colonies in Massachusetts based on
Puritan religious ideals, while dissent
led to the founding of other New
England colonies.
Puritans Flee to Freedom
Puritans and Separatists
• Protestant Reformation led to
establishment of the Church of
England (Anglican Church)
• Puritans felt the Anglican Church
was still to Catholic, and wanted
to ‘purify’ it further
• Separatists wanted a complete
break with the Anglican Church
and were persecuted in England
for their beliefs
Founding Plymouth Colony
• 1608: group of Separatists move to the Netherlands but left several years
later because they did not want their children to adopt Dutch customs
• A group of merchants formed a joint-stock company and got land from
the Virginia Company
• 1620: 35 Puritans and 66 other settlers left on the Mayflower under the
leadership of William Bradford
• They were headed to the Hudson River but were blown off course and
landed at Cape Cod
• While on board, the 41 men signed the Mayflower Compact: created a
government chosen by the consent of the governed and they would obey
all laws made for the good of the group
• Half of the group died in the first winter, the rest survived with aid from
the Wampanoag Indians (especially Squanto)
• The next year was so successful, the Pilgrims held a feast for their
neighbors that we now commemorate as Thanksgiving
• Bradford continued to serve as governor until his death in 16578
Dissent Among the Puritans
“A City Upon A Hill”
• Success at Plymouth encouraged thousands of
Puritans to move to New England
• After getting funding from the Massachusetts Bay
Company, they chose John Winthrop as their leader
• They hoped to create a haven and example of Puritan
living, what they called “a city upon a hill”
• 11 ships and 700 people arrived in America in 1630 and
grew quickly, establishing towns in Boston, Salem, and
Concord
• The Company created the Massachusetts General
Court which had the ability to elect officers and make
laws
• Each town elected members to the court, which
elected a council headed by Winthrop
• Success led to the Great Migration: 20,000 English
settlers arrive in New England between 1620 and 1643
Dissent
• Puritans were not tolerant of beliefs that differed from Church cannon
• Society and government were closely linked to the church (attendance at
church was mandatory, hard work was stressed)
• Dissenters either voluntarily left, or were forced to leave the colony
• Thomas Hooker- wanted government ‘chosen by all’ leaves to form
Connecticut
• 1639 they write the 1 st written constitution: Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut (gave voting rights to all free men, not just church
members)
Rhode Island and New Hampshire
• Roger Williams believed in religious tolerance
(even for Jews) and wanted separation of church
and state
• he also believe the colony should pay the Native
Americans for the land they settled on
• He purchases land from the Narragansett Indians
and forms a colony in Providence, Rhode Island
• Anne Hutchinson causes an uproar when she
claims people can read and understand the Bible
for themselves without the input of a minister
• She was banished and went to Rhode Island
• Her brother-in-law left Massachusetts in 1679 to
found a colony in modern New Hampshire; it was
a royal colony: under the control of the king
Witchcraft Trials in Salem
• 1692 girls in Salem Village begin
acting strangely and claim they were
bewitched
• Belief in witchcraft was common in
the 1600s
• Hysteria gripped the colony and
eventually hundreds of people were
arrested and 19 were executed as
witches
• Eventually the trials were
condemned and remaining prisoners
were set free
Life in New England
Education and Government
• Puritans wanted their children to be able to read the Bible and
established the first public schools in America
• They also established the first colleges in New England: Harvard and Yale
• Starting in the late 1600s, colonies most colonies were converted to royal
colonies under the control of the English king
• The town, with its school and meeting house, was the center of life in
New England colonies
• Town government was most relevant to people’s lives
• At town meetings church members and land owners were allowed to
vote for selectmen and delegates and speak about issues like taxes and
roads
Relations with Native Americans
• As colonies expanded, they had increasing conflict with Native
Americans
• As colonies became more self-sufficient, they were less likely to try
to have good relations with surrounding tribes
• Many Puritans viewed Natives as heathens that needed to be
driven out or killed
• 1637: Pequot War: Pequot in Connecticut are slaughtered by
settlers and their Narragansett & Mohegan allies over trade with
the Dutch
• 1675: King Philip’s War: Native Americans led by Metacomet (or
King Philip) attack colonial towns
• Over 600 on both sides died and the tribe was all but wiped out
CHAPTER 2 SECTION 4:
THE MIDDLE AND
SOUTHERN COLONIES
Main Idea: Events in England during
and after the English Civil War led to
a new wave of colonization along the
Atlantic coast south of New England.
A New Era of Colonization
Charles II and the Restoration
• In order to pay back his supporters in the
Civil War, King Charles II gave land grants in
the new world called proprietary colonies
(there were 4:N Pennsylvania, Carolina,
New York and New Jersey)
• These colonies were not ruled by investors
or colonial legislators, but by their Lords
Proprietors
• Son of a supporter, William Penn forms
Pennsylvania as a haven for Quakers and
others suffering persecution
New Netherland becomes New York
• Charles gives land to his brother James, Duke of York, ignoring an
existing Dutch colony
• After briefly struggling for control, England pushed out the Dutch in
1674
• New York was a very diverse colony with English, Dutch, Scandinavian,
German, and French settlers
• The Duke later gave part of his land to two proprietors who named their
colony New Jersey
• After disputes over land titles, both New York and New Jersey became
royal colonies in the early 1700s
New Southern Colonies
The Carolinas
• 8 men were granted a charter that made
them co-owners of Carolina (Latin for
Charles)
• Settlement was slow and some of the men
gave up their claims
• Eventually settlers arrived, but the
Northern and Southern parts developed
very differently
• The Southern part had large plantations
and ports like Charles Town; the North
was dominated by small farmers and had
no harbor
• 1729: the proprietors sold their land to the
crown and the king created two colonies:
North Carolina and South Carolina
Georgia
• Georgia is created as a buffer zone
between the Carolinas and SpanishFlorida
• James Oglethorpe proposed making
Georgia a colony for those thrown
into debtors prison in England
• he received a charter from King
George II and founded Georgia in
1732 (it became a royal colony in
1751)
• Originally the colony had strict rules
about slavery, land ownership, and
personal behavior, but they were
gradually relaxed
Quakers Settle Pennsylvania/
The Founding of Maryland
The Quakers
• The king wanted to get rid of the Quakers, who were unpopular in
England
• He encouraged Quakers to migrate to Pennsylvania
• They believed in direct communication with God and had not ministers
• They believed in equality of all men and women and were pacifists
(refused to fight)
• Because of its tolerance and wide adverting, thousands came from
Germany and Scandinavia
Delaware
• 1638: small group of Swedish immigrants
settle near modern Wilmington, DE but were
overrun by the Dutch in 1655 and the English
after that
• William Penn later bought land from the Duke
of York to give water passage to the Atlantic
for Pennsylvania
Maryland
•
•
George Calvert, Lord Baltimore received land from
the king to create a haven for Catholics that his son
named Maryland
1649: Maryland’s colonial assembly passes the
Toleration Act protecting the rights of all Christians
to practice their religion