Chapter 3

Notes for

Colonies

Colonial Geography

Chapter 3 and 4Colonial SettlementsProblems in Colonies

First Colonies• King James I

created the Virginia Company.

• The Company was allowed to establish colonies in America at specific locations.

Jamestown• Purposes of the first colonies were to:

– Be a source of raw materials for the motherland

– To be a selling place (A Mercantile Economy)

• The first English Colony was Jamestown.– It was the first successful colony in

America.

Help Arrives• Residents of Jamestown were

struggling to survive• Two new arrivals to the colony helped

the colony survive; they were John Smith and John Rolfe.

• Smith took over leadership of the colony; he required everyone to work and established relations with the local Natives.

Who’s the Boss?

• Conflict arose concerning colony being governed by a London Company.

• Changes Resulted….• A Headright policy

was established.• Company changed

how the colonies were managed.

Changes• A Headright

Policy stated that any one who bought a share in Va. Company and could get to Virginia could have 50 acres for himself and 50 for servants.

• The English citizens who relocated to Virginia were given the rights of English citizens by the decision of the Virginia Company.

• Colonist got the rights in the Magna Carta and the English Constitution.

Result of Changes• A representative assembly was

created–The assembly was known as the

House of Burgesses (or the First General Assembly of Virginia).

–Included a governor, counselors and 22 representatives (also called Burgesses).

–Each town sent two representatives.

More Arrivals to Va.

• Women arrived and were sold as wives in the 1620s…………..>

• The first African

Americans arrived on Dutch

Ships, they were free and

Bought and owned property.

Wealth for Virginia• Prior to returning to England, John Rolfe

discovered tobacco.

• Tobacco grew well and was sold to Europeans hence wealth for Virginia.

•

Characteristics of Southern Colonies

• Economic activity of the South was based on Plantation crops

• Plantation crops included: rice, indigo and tobacco

• Plantations were located in the Tidewater region of southern colonies due to warm climate and fertile soil with ample water supply

HELP WANTED!• With Plantations controlling economy of the

South, there was a need for extra workers.

• Work was provided by slaves and indentured servants.– An indentured servant is a person whose journey to

the new world was paid for (like a sponsor) and instead of paying the person back the servant worked off the cost of their trip and unlike slaves the indentured servant got their freedom when the debt was paid off.

Maryland• Also a southern colony, but established for

religious reasons

• Land was granted to George Calvert-Lord Baltimore (hence Baltimore, MD)

• He was a convert to Catholicism

• Colony named for Queen Henrietta Maria

Safe for Catholics• George Calvert chose to establish Maryland

as a safe haven for Catholics due to religious persecution in England.

• His son Cecil Calvert would ultimately establish the colony in America after his fathers death.

The Carolinas• Another Southern Colony

• Carolinas were est. by King Charles I

• King Charles places others in control who were under his direct authority.

• The colony started as only Carolina

• The colony had a constitution written by John Locke.– Locke is important because his ideas would

influence certain concepts of the nations’s constitution.

Two Carolinas

• Eventually the colony divided due to different economic capabilities.

• Need for more workers brought in slaves from Barbados

Southern Carolina Colony• Only the Southern

(South Carolina) part was good for shipping.

• South had diverse economy : shipping, growing crops (rice/indigo), raise cattle

The Northern Carolina Colony

• The northern portion of the Carolinas used Virginia’s ports and traded with Virginia

• The economy of the North was focused on tobacco and forest products.

• Eventually people became unhappy and wanted to have a say in the way their colony was governed.

Results of Carolina Attitudes

• Colonists took over control of Carolina in 1719

• The colony of Carolina divided in 1729 and became the two royal colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Georgia• It was the last colony established in both

the Southern Region and in the whole 13 colonies.

• Established by James Oglethorpe• First town in Georgia was Savannah• Became home to not only poor, but also

religious refugees from Germany and Switzerland.

Georgia Colony• Purpose of Georgia was

to offer a new start for those who had been in debtors prison.

• King saw a second purpose: Populated by the lower class of England society and as a buffer zone between English colonies and Spain’s holdings.

Religious Reasons to Move• People had become displeased with the

actions of the Church and chose to worship in different ways

• King James I had reverted back to rule by divine right…ignoring the Magna Carta

• King James I also refused to honor the religious toleration that had been established

• Ninety-Five Thesis ushered in Protestant Religions and a new way of thinking

New England Region develops• New religious ideas

resulted in the formation of more colonies ….just for new reasons!

• The new colonies would include:– Plymouth– Massachusetts Bay

Colony– Connecticut– Rhode Island– New Hampshire

New England • Many of the New England colonies put in place

the first forms of Representative governments, similar to Virginia House of Burgesses

• Economy of New England was diverse…they did small scale farming …subsistence farming due to hard, rocky, soil and long periods of cold weather

• Many in the region had to have another job such as a cobbler, mason, carpenter, brewer, fishermen, shipbuilder

• Colonies developed primarily due to the trades and crafts that were there thus trade developed.

The Common Factors• Colonies were small in size of the land base• Type of people who settled in N.E. were

religiously persecuted– Believed in strong family ties, education, and

having strong religious beliefs

• Would be first colonies to unite for one cause

• Suffered neglect from the motherland for a while

The First Religious Colony• The Plymouth colony was the first established by

people who called themselves Pilgrims.• Pilgrims were Separatists, they chose to break all

ties with the Church of England and start a new church…choosing to worship in a different manner.

• Pilgrims were thus persecuted by the leaders of England.

• Moved from England to Holland in 1607, headed to America in 1620

The Pilgrims Plymouth

• King James I gave Pilgrims permission for new colony to keep them from being a threat to the church

• Pilgrims (Separatists) left England on the Mayflower in 1620

• Leader of the group was William Bradford

Mayflower Compact• Purpose of the compact was to

establish a set of laws to govern the Plymouth colony.

• The significance of the compact was that it set in place the first democratic republican government in America.

• Compact was created by the men in the group on the Mayflower.

Specifics of the Mayflower Compact

• To form a church.• Signify that all believed that God had made

a covenant with them to provide a way to salvation.

• Only church members could be part of the government.

• Set that all men in the colony would have political rights as long as they obeyed the laws of the colony.

• The civil government of the Plymouth colony grew out of the policies of the church---therefore religious ideas contributed to the formation of our American government.

• Signers of the Mayflower Compact met as a General Court, which selected a government and council. This developed into a representative body.

Massachusetts Bay Colony (MBC) 1630

• A religious colony was developed by Puritans due to religious persecution in England.

• The Puritans sought to reform the Church of England.

• Puritans got a charter from King Charles I of England for their colony.

• Colony was to be led by John Winthrop.

MBC Government• Government in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony was conducted by the people.

• Settlers formed a legislature in order to have a larger part in government.

• Participation in government was open to every adult MALE that owned property and was a member of the church.

Great Migration• The mass exodus when people left England is

the Great Migration.

• Not all who left did so for Religious Freedom….Many desired a new economic start.

• New Colonies were founded!!!

Roger Williams• He disagreed with the

Separatists---He believed that a pure church had to be separate from government.

• He moved to Providence (in Rhode Island today)

• He instigated the idea of religious freedom by acting on his belief of full religious freedom

Settling in Connecticut

• Thomas Hooker led another congregation and colony

• He moved his group to Hartford, Connecticut

• The people developed a system of self government out of a desire to protect themselves from Indians.

Idea of Representative Government Develops

• Connecticut’s self government was followed by the adoption of the FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS OF CONNECTICUT.– Further expanded the idea of representative

government in the English Colonies.– It is considered the first written constitution in

America

Other Arrivals in America• Not all came to America of their own free will.

• Some arrived as slaves, criminals, or indentured servants.

• Criminals came and could earn their release after 7 years labor on a plantation.

• Indentured servants received passage to America and then worked to pay their passage debt.

• The first African Americans in America were free.

Middle Colonies• Located between the New England

Colonies and the Southern Colonies• Colonies had better farming than those in

New England• Produced cash crops which were shipped

out of New York and Philadelphia, as well as livestock.

• Colonies also had business based on lumber and mining and some manufacturing.

Middle Colony Info.• Area of cultural diversity

• Had fertile soil

• Was an area of industrial beginnings

• Much Dutch origination

• Middle Colonies include:

New York New Jersey Pennsylvania

and Delaware

New York• Developed as a colony by King Charles II• Had previously been the New Netherlands then

New Amsterdam• Explorers such as Henry Hudson (i.e. Hudson

River) setting up trading posts in the area around 1609

• By 1629 King Charles II granted the land to his brother the Duke of York and English forces took over the area…..

• Colony was renamed New York

Pennsylvania• Developed due to religious reasons

• William Penn had Proprietary rights to the land near the Delaware River, which was called Penn’s Woods or Pennsylvania

• Was founded by William Penn in 1647

• Penn founded the colony for the Quakers– Quakers were a religious, pacifist group (important

at Civil War)

• Many Quakers had lived in New Jersey until 1673.

Others in the Middle

• Delaware developed due to George Fox’s efforts

• New Jersey developed after New York

Problems

Colonies would have difficulties:

Boundaries

Religious difficulties

Rebellion

Discrimination

Problems

• As neighboring colonies grew there were territorial disputes

• Large disputes occurred between Maryland and Pennsylvania and the shared border.– The solution came through a

dividing line known as the Mason-Dixon Line

Mason-Dixon Line

• Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were hired to create a permanent boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland.– Penn was given the land of Delaware and the

Dutch territory in 1682– Penn received this land because the Quakers

purchased land titles from the Delaware Indians and they had a system of government that elected council members.

The Act of Toleration• It dealt with religious differences.

• Maryland had allowed protestants to join the Catholic colony

• Conflict between the religions led to action by the governing body of Maryland

• The Act of Toleration of 1649 granted Protestants and Catholics equal rights to worship as they saw fit in Maryland.

• Protestants became the majority and repealed the Act of Toleration in 1692

Problems for Virginia• As colonies grew so did the need for land

• There were two types of land constraints– Native Americans– Mountains(Blue Ridge)

• Agreements were made to settle land disputes…..

• Two types of territory developed: Tidewater and Backcountry

Land Disputes• A deal was made by Virginia Gov. William

Berkley with the natives in the area….– The deal stated that in return for a small amount of

land, settlers would not intrude on Native land.

• Conflict increased because the settlers in the backcountry(west) did not want to be governed by the people from the tidewater (coastline).

• They did not appreciate Berkley making agreements on their behalf.

Cause/Effect of Bacon’s Rebellion• Caused by Berkley’s deal

with the Natives on behalf of the settlers in the Backcountry.

• It was led by Nathaniel Bacon

• He led the men of the backcountry to march on Jamestown.

• The result was that Berkley had to flee for his life----England sent soldiers to put down the rebellion.

Significance of the Rebellion

• Colonists sought to spread out and not stay on eastern boundary

• To enable westward settlement the government created a militia to protect its citizens

• Colonists did not rely on English protection but rather themselves.

Government Participants

• All of the colonies allowed property owning men to vote.

– Women, indentured servants and non-property owners and African Americans could not vote.