Colonization and the British EmpireTime period 2 Ch.2

Types of Colonies• Corporate- operated by joint stock companies• Royal- under direct authority and rule of the British

government• Proprietary- under authority of individuals who

were granted charters by the king

Jamestown 1607•The Virginia Company of England received a charter from James I to put a trading post in North America

•Most of the people on the trip were had little experience with physical labor

•They wanted gold not to farm•Settled on swamp land where dysentery and malaria were problems

• John Smith helped keep the colony alive for 5 years by managing it like a dictator

•Trade with the natives provided some food

Virginia• John Rolfe saved the colony by planting tobacco which became a main source of trade with Europe

•Virginia company starts headright system (1618) – new settlers who paid their way to Virginia would receive 50 acres of land• If they paid for others to come they received the same

•House of Burgesses (1619) were representatives that could make laws and levy taxes

Disaster in Virginia•Many of the land-hungry settlers died by disease or war with the Indians

•Opechancanough launched surprised attacks against the settlers trying to drive them out

•English retaliated by burning the Indians cornfields•Because of the attacks the Indians crippled colony’s economy

•Royal charter revoked in 1624 and Virginia becomes a royal colony

Bacon’s Rebellion 1676 (Virginia)•Many people in poverty wanted to move into Indian territory

•Governor Berkeley refused demands to move out the Indians

•Nathaniel Bacon took his frontiersman without permission and slaughtered Indians

•Bacon briefly seized control of the colony•Rebellion highlighted class differences and resistance to British rule

Plymouth Colony 1620• Puritans moved to America to preserve the pure Christian

faith from Catholic influence• Pilgrims migrated to Holland first before coming to America• Pilgrims, led by Captain Miles Standish and William Bradford,

sailed to American in the Mayflower in 1620• The Pilgrims created the first American constitution

“Mayflower Compact”, which allowed them to rule themselves

• They started a representative government that guaranteed political rights

• Made the first separation of church and state

Massachusetts Bay Colony 1630•John Winthrop led a group of Puritans Massachusetts Bay, founding Boston and other towns•A Great Migration of Puritans (15,000) followed as they were persecuted under Charles I•All male members of the Puritan church had the right to vote for governor, governor’s assistants, and the representative assembly

Rhode Island (1644)•Roger Williams believed church leaders do not have authority over spiritual lives

•Williams was ousted from Massachusetts Bay and set up the colony of Providence (1636) • Recognized American Indian rights and allowed freedom of

worship for Catholics, Quakers, and Jews

Rhode Island (1644)• Anne Hutchinson believed that fail alone and not

deed would get one into heaven and that communication should be between God and the individual⚫ Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts Bay

and set up the colony of Portsmouth (1638)• In 1644 Williams received a royal charter to

combine the two colonies into one: Rhode Island

Connecticut 1665•Some Boston Puritans were upset by the Anglican changes taking place with the church

•Reverend Thomas Hooker led a group to found Hartford in 1636

•Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)–a written constitution that gave voting rights to elect a legislature and governor

•Combined with New Haven colony to create Connecticut

New Hampshire 1679• Separated from the Bay colony by Charles II who hoped to increase royal control over the colonies•Last colony founded in New England

Halfway Covenant•Many Puritans were upset that the new generation wasn’t as intensely religious

•Many members were baptized as youths but did not grow up to become full members therefore limiting the congregation

•The Halfway Covenant was designed to get more people involved in the church without full conversions

Salem Witch Trials 1692•Many Puritans believed that evil spirits or Satan surrounded everything

• In Salem Massachusetts young girls brought allegations of witchcraft of some of the people

•The girls accused people of tormenting them•As many as 175 people were arrested and 20 of them were executed

•This event showed the hysteria of the colonists and is where authority from the church declined

Yeoman Society•Puritans in New England wanted to have a self-governing communities by property owners

•They gave a group of males 6-10 miles and given a fee simple (meaning the owners and their heirs own the land free from any dues)

•Most families in these communities owned enough land to support their families (yeoman society)

•All men had the right to vote

New England Confederation•Formed in 1643 by Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Hartford and New Haven because of the threat of attack from the French, Dutch, and Indians•Established a precedent for colonial cooperation•Successfully defended the colonies during King Phillip’s (Metacom) War from 1675-1676

Maryland 1629•Lord Baltimore was given a charter for territory in what would be called Maryland (created out of Virginia)

•He pushed for religious toleration between the Catholics and the Protestants

•This colony thrived due to careful planning and supervision

•He created the Act of Toleration (1649) giving religious freedom to all Christians- and calling for the death of those who denied Jesus’s divinity

Labor• Indentured servants- people who sign labor contracts to work for the cost of transportation

• Served for 4-7 years, most under 25, most died before they were free, 90 percent of those who came to Chesapeake Bay were indentured servants

•Slavery- introduced by the Dutch in 1619, black Africans were treated as indentured servants until the late 1660s

Navigation Acts (165-1673)•These acts only allowed English or colonial ships to enter American ports

•All goods imported into the colonies had to pass through ports in England

•England placed an import duty (tax) on tobacco•Profits on tobacco declined

•Many freeholders eventually fell into debt and sold their land

The Carolinas 1663•North settled by poor farmers, runaway servants, and Quakers⚫Small, self-sufficient tobacco farms

•South settled by plantation owners from Barbados and some settlers from England⚫Rice was the major crop

New York 1664•Duke of York granted lands Connecticut and Delaware Bay⚫Dispatched navy to force Dutch to give up New Amsterdam⚫New taxes and rents with no assembly

•By 1683, pressured to allow legislative assembly

New Jersey 1664•Proprietary colonies of East Jersey and West Jersey were created•Combined in 1702 to settle Quaker land title disputes

Pennsylvania 1681•Religious Society of Friends•William Penn was given a grant in place of a debt owed by the royal family•“The Holy Experiment” had a written constitution (The Charter of Liberties), freedom of worship, unrestricted immigration, and treated natives fairly•Delaware was granted its own assembly in 1702

Georgia 1732•Royal colony established to offer debtors a chance to start over and to provide a buffer zone between Spanish Florida and South Carolina