Chapter 2: Colonizing America

American History

The Conquest of MexicoIn 1511, the Spanish have

already conquered most of the Caribbean, enslaving the inhabitants of each islandDue to a plaque of smallpox, most

of the enslaved died

In order to acquire a new workforce, Governor of Cuba Diego Velazquez assigned Hernan Cortez to lead an expedition into the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico Inhabitants of the peninsula were

the Aztec peoples

Cortes as QuetzalcoatlUpon arrival, Cortes sided with the

Tlaxcalan peoples against the Aztecs and their leader, Montezuma

Montezuma, believing Cortes to be the god Quetzacoatl, tried many tactics to prevent Cortes from attacking his people

Cortes pressed on into the capital, Tenochtitlan, and ascended into power

Despite rebellions from high priests, Cortes and his conquistadors gained control of the area, calling it “New Spain”

Other explorations and conquests

In addition to Cortez, Spanish captain Francisco Pizarro led an expedition to South America to conquer the IncasTook the emperor hostage, executed him, and placed

other “puppet” emperors in chargeMany Spanish explorers traveled around New

Spain and North America in search of goldMany were unsuccessful

Those who succeeded in exploring North America established missions and presidios to encourage religion and tradeMany Natives defied their settler masters, but were

quickly put down

Spanish American societyThe conquistadors were mainly hidalgos, or low ranking

noblesUpon completion of a conquest, the leader would give each

hidalgo a piece of the conquered land Known as the encomienda system

Spanish society, in the conquered worlds, was based on class, and relied on birth, income, and education Peninsulares: born in Spain and appointed to high positions Criollos: born in Spanish colonies Mestizos: mix of Spanish and Native American blood

The Spanish soon establish silver ore mines and cattle ranches in the colonies Ranches were called haciendas and ranchers were called

vaqueros

The Frenchies come to AmericaKing Francis I of France sent Giovanni da

Verrazano and Jacques Cartier to map the North American coastline and to attempt to find the Northwest Passage, or a northern route to the Pacific Ocean

The French colonized primarily in Nova Scotia and Quebec, calling their territory “New France” Many who lived in the territories were

fishermen and fur traders, or coureurs de bois

In order to keep up with Spanish and English competition, the French explored North American territories Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle became the

first European to travel down the Mississippi River

Many settled in Lousiana

The English establish coloniesThe English begin establishing

colonies in the Americas after defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588colonies would bring England

exports and raw materialsThe English wished to establish

mercantilism: trades with and establishes

wealth from coloniesMany went to the colonies for

various reasons: spread religion seek fortune abroad

Beginning ColoniesThe colonies of Roanoke and Sagadahoc failed due to

Native Americans cutting off English supply and disputes with Native Americans

To raise money for future colonies, the English set up the joint-stock company investors would own pieces of the company and put money

into the colonies with the hope of getting more money in return

Investors and merchants organized a charter to establish a colony in 1607written contract giving the investor the right to establish a

colonyfirst colony was settled in Jamestown, Virginia

Jamestown ColonyBecause of colonists trying to find riches instead of building,

along with the harsh weather, not many survived at Jamestown John Smith took over in Jamestown, building up the colony and

persuading the Powhatan tribe to trade corn with the colonists John Rolfe developed popular tobacco that was grown in

Jamestown, making the colony successful allowed colonists to own land, which they used for tobacco growing colonists used indentured servants to help farm their land

people who sold their labor in exchange for coming to the colony

In order to get more local control, the colonists met once a year in an assembly House of Burgesses

Colonies in New EnglandThe Pilgrims, a separatist group of

the Church of England, desired to establish a colony in North America to escape religious persecution asked the Virginia Company to pay

for the voyage sailed on the Mayflower and landed

in New England

Pilgrims made friends with Samoset and Squanto negotiated a peace treaty and

taught the Pilgrims how to plant, hunt, and fish

established the first “Thanksgiving” in celebration of the harvest

Puritans come to AmericaThe Puritans, a religious group

interested in purification, settled in New England to escape religious persecutionknown as the Great Migration

Basic unit on a Puritan colony was the congregationgroup of people belonging to

the same churcheach congregation set up its

own town, with a meetinghouse for town meetings to occur in

Challenges to Puritan LifeThe Puritans believed in long and

hard work hours, which contributed to the rapid growth of the colony

Many challenged the Puritan way of lifeRoger Williams opposed taking of

American lands: founded Rhode Island

Anne Hutchinson opposed using the church to worship God: was kicked out of Massachusetts

The Quakers believed finding God through an “inner light”: left for Rhode Island

Salem Witch TrialsChanges in society caused

many Puritans to fear each othergirls began falsely accusing

others of witchcraftThe Salem Witch Trials was

viewed as a sign of God to return to normal society100 were arrested and

tried, and 20 were executed showed the Puritans that

liars can turn a society around

The Middle ColoniesThe Middle Colonies were New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,

and Delaware settled by those escaping religious persecution rich soil and mild winters made it favorable for farming and

raising livestock

New York was founded by the Dutch who were financed by the Dutch West India Company originally called it New Netherland used a patroon system to attract more settlers

patroons brought in settlers in exchange for land

The English wanted to drive out the Dutch from New York due to trade issues the Dutch gave the colonies to the English, and New York became

a proprietary colony of England, with the Duke of York owning it

Our Tri-State AreaNew Jersey was given up by the

English in New York to promote religious freedoms

Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, a Quaker in repayment for persecution, the

king of England gave Penn a large piece of land in America, which came to be Pennsylvania, or “Penn’s Woods”

Penn used the colonies to house the persecuted Quakers, along with all other religions\

Delaware was given its own assembly by Penn, and eventually became its own colony

The “Durty” SouthThe Southern Colonies were Maryland, North and South Carolina,

and Georgia soil and warm weather were suitable for warm crops, like tobacco and

riceMaryland was established by Lord Baltimore for Catholic refugees

passed the Toleration Act to include all religions

North and South Carolina were originally one colony for the French and English to escape persecution because of conflicts, the colonies revolted and became a royal

colony, owned by the king, which was then split in twoGeorgia was founded for English debtors who owned money to

the king was made a royal colony after the king was displeased with its

governor