English Colonies in North America
Big Picture• Spanish colonies came
first: 1500s
• Spanish colonies were organized by Spanish government and church
• English colonies started in early 1600s– Created by individuals, not
government
– 1607: In Virginia, people wanted wealth and opportunity
– 1620s: In Massachusetts, people wanted religious freedom (and wealth)
Early Virginia• 1607: Jamestown, Virginia,
colony was 1st successful English colony
• Almost failed at first: – Colonists expected to find gold
and return to England– The “Starving Time”
• Virginia was founded for economic profit and opportunity
• Discovery of tobacco changed Virginia into a wealthy colony
Society in Virginia• Wealthy men bought large
plantations and needed labor
• Poor men came as “indentured servants” – 7 years of labor to pay for passage
to America
– “Headright System:” wealthy were given land if they paid for laborers to travel
• English could not use Native Americans as slaves
– Malaria and small pox– Native Americans escaped to their
tribes
• Later, Black African slaves were purchased for labor instead– First justified by economic profits
– Later accepted due to racism
• Few women came in first years
Protestant Reformation• Today, Christian churches groups:
– Catholic Church (worldwide)– Orthodox Church (eastern Europe)– Protestant Church (worldwide)
• All believe in same central ideas: Bible, Jesus as son of God, sin, salvation
• Catholics’ believe salvation comes from Jesus’ crucifixion, faith, and good works
• Protestants broke from the Catholic church, starting with Luther in 1517
• Protestants typically believe salvation comes entirely from Jesus’ crucifixion and faith alone
• Protestants split from each other– Lutherans– Calvinists (Puritans in
Massachusetts)– Anabaptists (Quakers in
Pennsylvania)
Northern English Colonies• New England: Protestant
colonists came to escape oppression in England
• “Pilgrims” sailed on Mayflower in 1620 and came to Cape Cod– “Mayflower Compact” on
arrival: first agreement for self-government in America
• Thousands of “Puritans” followed after 1630 in “Great Migration”– Puritans demanded radical
reforms in Church of England
– Wanted Bible-focused faith without ceremony
– Puritans founded Massachusetts Bay Colony around Boston
Signing of the Mayflower Compact
A City on a Hill• Gospel of Matthew: “You are the light
of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”
• Religious idealism to create new moral society
• Based on family unit for permanent settlement
• New England Way: religion and profit would jump together
– Congregationalism
– Elders to run church
– Church attendance mandatory
– Tithes to support church
– Believed in the “elect” and the “damned”
– Required soul-baring testimony to join the “saints” of the church
John Winthrop, first governor of MBC