Colonial North America

Chapter 3Pages 52-67

1603: Queen Elizabeth dies.

James of Scotland becomes James I of England.◦ Determined to tap into the

wealth of the merchant class. Create a British Empire in

North America.

Introduction.

Joint-Stock Company.◦ Created to avoid excessive risk.◦ Merchants were able to distribute risk.◦ Accumulate money by selling shares.◦ No single investor would suffer devastating loss.◦ The shared profits could be very good.

1606: King James I granted royal charters to two groups of merchants and landowners.◦ Encouraged them to create colonies in Virginia.◦ Joint-Stock companies – the financial machine that

funded colonization during this time.

Introduction.

The Chesapeake.◦ Virginia◦ Maryland

New England.◦ Plymouth◦ Massachusetts

Introduction.

1607:◦ Virginia Company.◦ Chesapeake Bay.◦ Fort named Jamestown.

In honor of King James.◦ Site selected:

Easy to defend. An unseen enemy:

Disease. Salt water.

Jamestown.

1607 cont…◦ Summer months:

Diseases (typhoid & dysentery).◦ Winter months:

Starvation. English Gentlemen:

◦ Not accustom: Cooperating. Taking orders. Worrying about shelter/food.

◦ Refused to clear fields or planting or build houses/stockades.

Jamestown.

As a result of disease and unpreparedness the colonists were not ready for the winter of 1607-1608.◦ By January 1608:

Only 38 survived. Capt. John Smith.

◦ Skilled.◦ Studied local natives (how they gathered food,

etc).◦ When things got tough, Smith took charge.

Imposed military discipline. Forced the gentlemen to work (fish, oyster gathering,

building, etc).

Jamestown.

Fall 1608:◦ The deaths continued.

1609:◦ The Starving Time.

Spring 1610:◦ Virginia Company sent more colonists.◦ Only sixty survivors left to meet them.

For six more years:◦ Virginia company had to keep

replacing the dead at Jamestown. An investors nightmare.

Jamestown.

The salvation of Jamestown:◦ Indian tobacco.◦ Virginia tobacco too harsh for English tastes.◦ John Rolfe:

Transplanted a milder West Indian tobacco. Rewarded:

Profit. Celebrity marriage (Pocahontas).

◦ Tobacco: Difficult to grow. Exhausted the soil. Required constant care. By 1611 colonists planting/harvesting as much

tobacco as they could.

Jamestown.

Tobacco (Brown Gold):◦ Dominated every aspect of life.◦ Colonists spread themselves over large areas

because they needed large tracts of land for tobacco. Improved the health situation. Made them less secure against Indian attacks.

◦ Could not save the Virginia Company. 1618: Sacrificed control of the colony. Head right system: Any person who paid the cost of

transporting and supplying a settler had the right to find, survey, and obtain a deed to 50 acres per settler.

Jamestown.

Civil government took hold in Jamestown.◦ 1618:

Elected, representative lawmaking body. House of Burgesses.

Jamestown.

Settler/Indian relations a major weakness of Jamestown.

Governors chose confrontation over compromise or negotiation.

Smith’s cooperation with Chief Powhatan eroded by the growth of the English settlement and inland expansion.

Jamestown and the Powhatan

Several years of armed Powhatan resistance:◦ Anglo-Powhatan Wars.

Brutal retaliation by the settlers. Refusal to deal (in good faith) with Chief

Opechancanough. Powhatan Uprising 1622.

◦ Good Friday.◦ King James I revoked charter.◦ Colony placed under royal control.

Jamestown and the Powhatan

King James I ◦ Satisfied with first steps towards an American

Empire.◦ Understood tobacco would determine Virginia’s

success/failure. Tobacco:

◦ 1630: Exports skyrocketed to 1.5 million pounds.◦ Profits remained high even when the price of

tobacco fell.

Jamestown: The Royal Colony

1632:◦ King Charles I (1625-1649).

Granted land at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay.

Calvert Family. Important Catholic family. Supporters of the monarch. Maryland (Land of Mary) – Virgin Mary. Actively encouraged settlement by English Catholics.

◦ Proprietary Colony: The family held sole authority.

Appoint civil officers.

◦ Tobacco: Head right system.

Maryland

Tobacco:◦ Land Intensive – exhausts soil.◦ Labor Intensive – hard work.

Indentured Servants. In exchange for the cost of transportation to the “new

world” they were contracted to work for a farmer for a set period of time.

Young males. Unskilled (some skilled artisans). Unmarried women, Orphans. Difficult life.

Many died. Masters sometimes cruel.

Servitude in the Chesapeake

1670s:◦ Planter aristocracy entrenched in Virginia.◦ Governor carefully guarded their political/social

interests. Nathaniel Bacon.

◦ Well educated.◦ Planter.◦ Unable to purchase the most desirable coastal

lands.◦ Forced to compete with poor men and freed white

servants for land in the back country.

Servitude in the Chesapeake

Back country planters faced two constraints:◦ Indian resistance.◦ Self-serving planter government.

High taxes. 1676:

◦ Anger erupts into violence between Indians and back country planters. Killed five Indians (Iroquois). Indians killed 500 colonists in

retaliation. Planters demanded a military

response.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Virginia Governor Berkeley refused to provide protection for the colonists.◦ Bacon led a large number of planters to Jamestown.◦ Governor agreed to meet Bacon’s demands.◦ After Bacon left, the Governor declared him to be a

rebel and traitor. ◦ Bacon and his men head back to Jamestown.

Jamestown residents flee. Bacon’s men loot the town. Headed home to fight the Indians.

◦ Bacon dies (fatal attack of lice and dysentery).◦ Rebellion fell apart.◦ Berkeley executed 23 rebels.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Resistance to the old planter government continued until 1683.◦ The last of Bacon’s men were

pulled out of hiding by Royal troops.

Bacon’s Rebellion

The Church of England:◦ Protestant.◦ Two groups not satisfied:

Separatists: Believed the church to be too corrupt. Believed they must separate from the church.

Puritans: Believed the church was corrupt. Believed the church could be reformed. Sought to purify the church from within.

◦ James I persecuted both groups.

New England Colonies

Charles I (1625-1649)◦ Not popular with the Puritans.◦ 1629:

Dismissed Parliament. Launched campaign of repression against

the Puritans. Political unrest provides the context for the

migration of English Puritans to the “new world”.

New England Colonies

Separatists.◦ The Pilgrims.

1609:◦ Left Scrooby, England.◦ Moved to Holland.

Religious freedom in Holland.◦ Downsides:

Poverty (child labor). Children influenced by Dutch

culture. Decided to leave Holland for

America.

Plymouth Colony

Backed by the Virginia Company of London they sailed for Virginia.◦ Separatists (families).◦ The strangers.

Two ships:◦ The Mayflower.◦ The Speedwell.

Leaky bucket. Difficult trip.

◦ Storms.◦ Sickness.

Plymouth Colony

Arrived at Cape Cod:◦ Native village: Pawtuxet.◦ New Plimouth.◦ Originally heading to Virginia.

Weather pushed the ship north.◦ Needed a governing document.

The Mayflower Compact. First self governing document in

America.

Plymouth Colony

Winter 1620-1621.◦ Very harsh.◦ No starving time.

Local natives (Wampanoag).◦ Sachem (Chief) Massasoit (ruled

from Pokanoket).◦ Provided colony with food,

supplies, and training. Plymouth supported

themselves:◦ Farming.◦ Used cod fishing to pay investors.

Plymouth Colony

Despite the arrival of thousands more settlers things remained peaceful.

1675-1676:◦ King Philip’s War.

Sachem Metacom. Angered by Puritan/English aggression. Revolted. Defeated. War impacted Native populations.

Plymouth Colony

The Puritans. Political climate of England – late 1620s.

◦ Convinced many Puritans they needed to leave. To protect their congregations and families.

◦ 1629: Royal Charter granted to wealthy Puritans.

The Massachusetts Bay Company. King Charles I approved the Company. 200+ devout Puritans. Massachusetts – “City on a Hill”.

Model for Old England.

◦ Massachusetts Bay Colony Boston.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony◦ Boston.◦ By 1640s:

Settlements spread 75 miles west. Connecticut River Valley.

◦ No lean/difficult beginnings. 1629:

Transferred company operations from England to Massachusetts.

Within a few years, transformed the company into a working civil government.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The original Company Charter:◦ Established a General Court:

Governor (John Winthrop). His Deputy. A board of advisors. Members of the corporation (Freemen).

1632: Governor Winthrop (and advisors).

Gave freemen status to all white men: Heads of families. Members of the church in good standing.

1634: Freemen allowed to select delegates to represent the

towns in drafting laws. Freemen and delegates later became the colony’s two

legislative houses.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Doctrinal disagreements lead to the establishment of new settlements.◦ Thomas Hooker:

1636. Objected to restricting male suffrage to church

members. Led followers to the Connecticut River. Founded Hartford (Conn.).

◦ Roger Williams: 1636. Banished. Advocating religious tolerance. Founded Providence (R.I.) in Narraganset territory.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Not all dissenters were so “lucky”.◦ The Bay Colony dealt harshly with non-Puritans.

Persecuted Quakers. Flogged, beaten, imprisoned, branded with hot irons, hanged.

◦ Anne Hutchinson: 1634. Daughter of clergyman. Wife of a successful merchant. Held beliefs the Colony would not tolerate. Taught her beliefs at house meetings.

Popular among females and artisans and the merchant class. Critic of the Colony. God’s grace alone (not behavior or religious law) could

save. 1637: Arrested, tried before the General Court, banished.

Killed by Indians.

Puritans stressed:◦ The importance of well-ordered communities.

Clustered homes in central village. Near meetinghouse (church & civic center). Strong communities.

Very different from Chesapeake colonies.

◦ Well ordered families.◦ Importance of education:

1647: Mass. General Court: Towns of 50+ - support a public school. Towns of 100+ - support a grammar school (Latin –

Harvard, 1636). Literacy among men highest in America and England. Literacy among women remained very low.

Life in New England.

Puritan society expected:◦ Women to be subordinate.◦ Worked in home, garden, henhouse, dairy, etc.◦ Marry (20s) and have children (about 8).

Women who: Remained single. Did not have children.

Aroused suspicion among their neighbors. Witchcraft Scares displayed cultural distrust of women. 1600s – 300+ women accused of witchcraft (most of

those charges were dropped). Single, widows, childless, or too assertive.

Life in New England.

1692◦ Salem Witchcraft Scare.

Salem, Mass. Girls claimed to have been bewitched by older women. Twenty (or so) women tried, convicted, executed. Massachusetts government brought an end to the

trials.◦ Social tensions lay at the heart of the scare.

Insiders vs. Outsiders. Outsiders: wealthy, single (without male supervision).

Exposed the dark side of Puritan society.

Life in New England.

England’s Lord Protector:◦ Oliver Cromwell died – 1658.◦ England restored the Monarchy.

Charles II. Took active interest in America.

Proprietary Colony:◦ Belonged to a person or persons.◦ Granted by the English Monarchy to an individual

or group of individuals. Became “Lord Proprietor/s” or owners of the colony.

The Proprietary Colonies

The Carolinas.◦ South Carolina.◦ North Carolina.

New York. New Jersey. Pennsylvania. Georgia ** (much later).

The Proprietary Colonies

1663:◦ King Charles II

Grants several million acres to eight proprietors. South of Virginia. From the Atlantic

to the Pacific. Named: Carolina. Used “Headright” system (Virginia,

Maryland) to encourage settlement.

The Carolina Colonies

Attractive to settlers:◦ Good natural harbor.

Charles Town (Charleston). Became the most important city in the colony.

◦ Short distance from the West Indies. Business in the Colony:

◦ Experimented with: Trade. Cash crops (sugar cane, tobacco, cotton, silk, olives).

◦ First successful business: Cattle raising.

Learned skill from African slaves (West Indies). 1680s: Cattle money used to buy slaves and swamp land.

South Carolina.

Rice Cultivation:◦ Brought by African slaves.◦ Made Carolina planters the richest English

colonists on the mainland.◦ Leading rice planters: Immigrants from

Barbados. Brought slaves with them. Used trade connections in the West Indies.

◦ Made South Carolina a colony of slaves. 1708: Slaves outnumbered Europeans in rice

region. Mid-1700s: 10 slaves to 1 European.

South Carolina.

1719:◦ Charleston planter elite gained control of “South

Carolina”.

◦ Dominated by small white elite. Controlled the lives of:

African slaves (men, women, and children). Tied to the land via slavery.

South Carolina would become a Royal Colony.

South Carolina.

Northern regions of Carolina:◦ Unpromising and isolated.

Swamps in north and south. Barrier islands on the coast.

Blocked access. No “good” natural harbor.

Settlers moved in. Before Charles II granted the proprietorship. Poor farmers. Free white servants. Virginia – seeking a new life. Grew tobacco & produced naval stores from pine.

North Carolina.

1729:◦ Colonists overthrew

proprietary rule.◦ Officially separated from the

southern part of the colony.◦ North Carolina made a Royal

Colony.

North Carolina.

1651:◦ New Netherland.

Dutch owned. English took without firing a shot in 1664. 1667 – English control the entire colony. Charles II:

Issued a proprietary charter granting the former Dutch colony to his brother: James, the Duke of York.

1665: Communities of Delaware valley split off.

New proprietary colony. New Jersey.

New York.

1676:◦ Proprietary rights to western part of

New Jersey. Sold to group of English dissenters. William Penn.

Quaker. Wanted to create a colony to serve as a

safe haven for religious toleration and pacifism.

◦ 1681: King Charles II.

Issued a proprietary grant west of the Delaware River.

Pennsylvania.

Holy Experiment.◦ Religious freedom.◦ Civil liberties.◦ Elected representation (republic).◦ Deal fairly with Native Americans.

Refused to “move in” until deal had been reached with the Delaware.

Pennsylvania.◦ First two decades – rapid population growth.◦ 1704: Penn approved formation of Delaware.

Governance of the counties near the Delaware River.

Pennsylvania.

1732:◦ James Oglethorpe (and friends).

Received a charter for a new colony. Georgia.

In honor of King George II. Not for-profit. Reform the lives of English debtors,

imprisoned in England. New start in America.

Georgia: The Last Colony.

King George II.◦ No interest in debtors.◦ Protect rich rice colony (SC).◦ Barrier between Spanish Florida and South

Carolina. Required military service (males).

Rules for life in Georgia:◦ Parental attitude towards colonists.

Poverty a sign of moral weakness, addiction, or vice.◦ No representative assembly.◦ Small land grants.◦ No buying/selling property.◦ No slaves (or free blacks).

Georgia: The Last Colony.

Oglethorpe’s rules:◦ Few able to “measure up”.◦ Georgia filled with settlers from South Carolina.

Middle-class English.◦ Colonists challenged rules.

Gained right to buy/sell property. Introduced slavery (though remained officially

banned).◦ 1752:

Oglethorpe gave up Georgia. Georgia became a Royal Colony.

Georgia: The Last Colony.

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