Chapter 1
Colonization
1.1 Age of Colonization
Europe’s Age of Exploration
• Late 15th century
– European nations explored & established colonies.
• Asia, Africa, and the Americas
– Factors
• National leaders could afford to finance voyages.
• New technology allowed travel across vast oceans.
– Compass, telescope, advanced engineering in ship building
– Motivations
• God, gold, and glory
– Discovery of new territories & trade routes would make them rich.
– Expansion was seen as a way to spread Christianity.
– Explorers could gain personal wealth and glory.
Portuguese Explorations
• Portuguese were first to
impact the age of
exploration.
• Ventured into Africa
– Brought back resources &
black Africans. (slaves)
• Reached the Americas
– Established settlements in
Brazil.
– Brought slaves & introduced
Catholicism to Natives.
Spanish Exploration
• Christopher Columbus
– Financed by Spain.
– Sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of route
to Asia.
– October 1492 arrived in the Americas.
• Explored coast of Cuba and landed in Hispaniola (Haiti)
• Thought he had reached Asia.
– Four Voyages
• Caribbean Islands and parts of Central America.
http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-ofus/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-columbus-sails-west
Hernan Cortes
• Landed on eastern coast of Mexico in 1519.
– Small force of fewer than 600 men.
• Formed alliances with Native Americans.
– Didn’t like being ruled by the Aztecs.
• Aztec empire ruled much of Mexico.
• Conquered the Aztec
The Spanish Colonies
• 16th century Spanish conquistadors arrived in
Mexico & South America.
– conquerors
• Spanish colonies
– Mexico
– parts of South America
– southern & southwest United States
– Some regions remained under Spanish control until the
early 19th century.
• Colony – a territory that a country claims in a
foreign land.
– Colonies provided natural resources and wealth.
European Diseases
• Many Native Americans died from European
diseases.
– smallpox, measles, and influenza
• Native peoples had never experienced these
illnesses.
– Immune systems were not prepared to fight.
• Native Americans died by the thousands.
– Easier for Europeans to conquer Native American
territories.
Spanish Mission
• Spain was a Catholic nation.
– Allowed Catholic Church to set up Catholic missions in
the new world.
• Missionaries preached Catholic faith to colonists
& Native Americans.
• Set up schools and served the poor.
• Taught Native Americans to speak Spanish, to
adopt European customs, & to be loyal to the
Spanish king.
• Missions helped the Spanish government to
secure it control over new territories.
French Colonization
• 1608 the French established 1st permanent
settlement in North America.
– Samuel de Champlain
– Quebec along the St. Lawrence River in Canada.
• French settled territories
– North of the Ohio River
– along the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico
1.2 The British Colonies
• Spain, France, and Great Britain (England) claimed
colonies in North America.
• Spain
– Occupied much of the southern part of the continent.
• France
– Used rivers and inland waterways to occupy much of
the North American interior.
• England
– Established colonies along the eastern coast between
the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains.
British Colonies
• English settlers came to North America with the
intention of staying long term.
– Colonies from Georgia to Maine.
• Different motivations and the geographic diversity
of the land.
– Contributed to economic, political, and social diversity.
• English colonies divided into 3 geographic regions.
– New England Colonies
– Middle Colonies
– Southern Colonies
Southern Colonies
Jamestown, Virginia
• 1st successful English settlement.
• Founded in 1607 by the Virginia Company
– Joint-stock company that hoped to make money off of
products and raw materials.
• Tough beginning.
– Cold winters, disease, and starvation killed many settlers
• Native Americans helped, allowing Jamestown to
survive and grow.
• John Rolfe discovered tobacco.
• headright system
– Instituted by Virginia to attract settlers/labors
– Promised 50 acres of land to those who would settle in the
colony.
Economy (Southern Colonies)
• Tobacco became incredibly popular in Europe.
– Important cash crop for Virginia, Maryland, & North
Carolina.
• South Carolina & Georgia
– Hot, wet climates made rice and indigo important crops.
• Colonies also produced tar, pitch, and turpentine
from the abundant forests.
• Staple crops
– Crops in large demand and provide a bulk of a region’s
income.
– South relied on. (tobacco & rice)
– Led to the rise of the plantation system.
Plantation System
• Huge farms owned by wealthy landowners.
– Raised cash crops.
– Required lots of manual labor.
• Indentured servants & slavery became important parts of the
southern economy.
• indentured servants
– Could not afford to come to North America.
– Agreed to work for a landowner for up to seven years in
exchange for the landowners paying for their trip.
– Eventually gave way to slavery.
• System in which people are owned like property.
• mid-1600s
– Slavery was firmly rooted throughout the colonies.
• Especially the South
• 1700s, slaves outnumbered free Europeans in South Carolina.
• South did not develop the major centers of
commerce and large cities that arose in the North.
– Plantations tended to lie along rivers & inland
waterways.
– Owners had direct access to shipping without having to
first transport their products over land to major ports.
Southern Society
• Divided between rich plantation owners, poor
farmers, and slaves.
• Tended to accept class distinctions and the
idea that the wealthy, upper class is superior
to the lower, poor class.
– gentry – wealthy upper class
• Belief that male members of the upper class
should be in positions of power and authority.
• Southern Colonies were established
predominantly for economic reasons.
– Unlike colonies further north.
– Maryland the exception.
• Started as a colony for Catholics.
• Rich landowners tended to remain part of the
Church of England.
– Best for political and economic interests.
• Methodist and Baptist congregations became
common among poorer southerners.
New England Colonies