Colonization

First Attempts at Colonization

1576: English nobleman Sir Humphrey Gilbert believed England should find colonies & NW Passage sent sea captain Martin Frobisher to look for passage brought back fool’s gold

1578: Gilbert obtain charter allowing him to found a colony with his own funds guarantee settlers with all rights of those born & residing in England his colony in Newfoundland failed later lost at sea

1580s: half brother – Sir Walter Raliegh turn attention to southern N. America coastline named Virginia (after unmarried Queen) 1st settlement : Roanoke Island

1587: settlers land in Roanoke 1587 -expedition leader, John White left for supplies 1590- return delayed b/c war with Spain & found colony deserted unknown as to what happened to settlers

Next 15 years: English interest in American colonization submerged b/c: Inadequate financial resources Ongoing war with Spain

Virginia

Joint Stock Companies Early from of a modern corporation Allowed them to sell shares of stock in their company Use the pooled investment capital to outfit and supply overseas expeditions

2 groups of merchants gained charters: (1) Virginia Company of Plymouth

Based in Plymouth Granted the right to colonize in North America from the Potomac to the northern

border of present-day Maine. 1607- attempted to plant a colony in Maine but colonists returned after one winter

(2) Virginia Company of London Based in London Received a charter to North America between what are now the Hudson & the Cape

Fear rivers 1607- sent out expedition to plant a colony 40 miles up the James River from

Chesapeake Bay (name colony- Jamestown) Became the first permanent English settlement in North America Early years- starvation, disease & hostile relations with Indians

 

Why early years so difficult? Lack of incentive- Entire colony was owned by the

company everyone share the profits regardless of how much or who little they worked

Gold-seeking adventurers Poor location- low & swampy breeding ground for

disease Hostile relations with Indians- Powhatan Puritans thought hey could take advantage of Natives

(like Aztcs) but the Natives had no wealth & not densely populated in one area

Turning Point: 1608-1609: leadership of John Smith: “He who works not, eats not.” 1612: John Rolfe discovers superior strain of tobacco (“Sot

weed”) Indenture System- secure more settlers & boost labor force but

gain reputation for harsh treatment ( esp. dictatorial power of governors)

RESULT: Need workers Change in government:

Attract more settlers- promise colonists with same rights they had in England

1619: House of Burgesses (a representative assembly) was founded – 1st in America

Institute private ownership of land 1619: introduce Africans to colony due to continued difficulty

to attract settlers (more like indentured servants than slaves)

Changes Relations with Indians

1622 & 1644: massacres Establishment of Virginia as a Royal colony

King James I impressed by the potential profits from tobacco growing

1624: James revoked the London’s Company charter by using high morality rate & Indian massacre as excuse

Result: James revoked all political rights & the rep, assembly but restored 15 years later by his son, King Charles I.

Maryland

Important “Firsts” By the 1630s- English crown taking a more direct interest in exercising control

over the colonies Result: turned away from the practice of granting charters to joint-stock

companies Instead- grant such charters to single individuals or groups of individuals known

as proprietors Proprietors would own the colony & be directly responsible for it to the king Similar to feudal system

1st proprietary colony – Maryland 1632-charter granted to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore Refuge for English Catholics Calvert died before the colony was planted

Initial land policy: feudal like Colonists ignored and set up own land with indentured servants, etc…

But more Protestants than Catholics came Result: 1649- Act of Religious Toleration Guarantee political rights to Christians of all persuasions

Government Representative assembly Economically & Socially- Maryland developed a virtual carbon copy of Virginia

Life in the Chesapeake

Family deferred until after indenture complete RESULT: Only Minority marry

3x more men Marriage fragile b/c:

Disease- die within 7 years Vulnerability of pregnant women Death claim for ½ kids born

Women remarry quickly RESULT: Blended families

End Result: Land of immigrants Social institutions slow to develop Poor/housing (small & cramped) Few possessions Took 4 generations to get refined life

The Pilgrims at Plymouth

The Pilgrims at Plymouth Many Englishmen came from England for religious reasons- Puritans: Disagree with the Church of England

Why? Too similar to Catholic Church (customs) Concept of individual undermine the notion of community

2 groups: Non-separatists- believe Church of England need to be changed Separatists – believed Church of England was beyond saving & must separate

Reform society: Emphasis on work Organize into religious congregations- achieve personal salvation & support others Assume responsibility for the “unconverted” people around them

Conflict with English government: James I (1603- 1625:

rule by divine right Head of Church of England Harass Puritans b/c of their rising power

Charles I (1625- 1649) Worsen situation for Puritans Dissolved Parliament (source of Puritan power) Unleashed William Laud (bishop of London)

Pilgrims (separatists) Suffering government harassment fled to Holland Decided to got to America—became Pilgrims Led by William Bradford Departed in 1620 Obtained charter from London Company to settle just south of Hudson

River Ship, Mayflower due to storm made landfall at Cape Cod (Mass) Decided it was God’s will for them to settle in that area Problem: put them outside the jurisdiction of any established

government Result: Mayflower Compact

Established a foundation for orderly government based on the consent of the governed

Did not expect to convert a sinful world They wanted to be left alone Absorbed by Mass. Bay Colony in 1691

Massachusetts Bay Company The Puritans were far more numerous than the Separatists They did not dress in drab clothes Were not ignorant or bigoted Took the Bible and their religion seriously Believed the Anglican Church still retained too many unscriptural practices left over from

Roman Catholicism King James I – refrain from confrontation due to their growing political power 1629: charter a joint-stock company – Massachusetts Bay Company

charter neglected to specify where the company’s headquarters should be located Result: base their headquarters in the colony itself

John Winthrop- leader Taught a new colony should provide the whole world with a model of what a Christian society ought to be “City upon a hill”

1630- arrive in Massachusetts very well organized Result: did not undergo the “starving time” like other colonies

Massachusetts Government Governor Representative assembly (General Court) selected by “freemen” (adult male church members)

Growing population By 1642- 20,000 Puritans came to Massachusetts (AKA – Great Migration) Result: Charter new towns Towns clustered around the church house and the village green

Puritans saw their colony not as a place to do whatever might strike ones fancy but as a place to serve God and build hit kingdom.

Dissidents would be tolerated….as long as they do not interfere with the colony’s mission

Rhode Island, Connecticut, & New Hampshire

Dissidenters Roger Williams

Puritan preacher Talent for carrying things to their logical extremes Asked to leave the colony Fled to the wilderness & bought land from Indians Founded the settlement of Providence (1636)

Anne Hutchinson Openly taught things contrary to Puritan doctrine Called before the General Court to answer for her teachings She claimed to have had special revelations from God

superseding the Bible Unthinkable in Puritan theology Banished form colony Help find the settlement of Portsmouth (1638)

Rhode Island 1644: Roger Williams secured from Parliament a

charter to combine Providence, Portsmouth & other settlements that had sprung up in the area into the colony of Rhode Island granted religious tolerance suffered constant political turmoil

Connecticut founded by Puritans who had slight religious

disagreements with the leadership of Massachusetts 1636: Thomas Hooker led a group of settlers westward to

found Hartford 1639: the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was

drawn 1st written constitution in America Provided for representative government

1637: John Davenport founded the neighboring colony of New Haven believed Winthrop was not being strict enough

1662- a new charter combined both New Haven & Connecticut into an officially recognized colony of Connecticut

New Hampshire Did not involve nay disagreement at all among the

Puritans Simply settled as an overflow from Massachusetts 1677- King Charles II chartered the separate royal

colony of New Hampshire remained economically dependent on Massachusetts

New Englanders relations with Natives

Prohibited from selling arms to Natives Natives not allowed to enter towns Disease

Smallpox outbreaks Puritans directed by God to control the land

Help to justify land hunger Resulted in war (1637)

Missionary work

Life in New England

Agriculture Climate & soil unsuited to large-scale farming Developed a prosperous economy based on farming, home industry, fishing, trade &

large shipbuilding industry “Restraint” Meetinghouse Role of ministers Obtaining settlement grants Local authority (town meetings) Role of family

Emphasis on the family Importance of reading – Bible Result: More stable & well-ordered society than Chesapeake Typical New England Family

More children Higher survival rate Longer life expectancy (15 years – England & 25 years- Chesapeake)

Economy International port

Life expectancy Role of women Literacy

Halfway Convent

Many Puritans fear New England was drifting away from its religious purpose

Focus on money than creating a godly society RESULT: Halfway Covenant

Provide a sort of half-way church membership for the children of members (even though they did not profess saving grace was normally required for Puritan membership)

Hope to keep church membership rolls full & preserve church influence

Important Events… English Civil War (1642-1649)

1649-Charles I is beheaded Commonwealth Period (1649- 1660) Puritans in England had the

opportunity to complete the reform of religion and society at home. Result: Migration to New England abruptly ceased

  Confederation of New England

1643- need to combat the problems of dispersion (Maine to Long Island)

coordinate government among the various Puritan settlements provide greater defense against the French the Dutch & the

Natives the pact bound together Mass, Plymouth, New Haven, & river

towns of Connecticut 1st American attempt at federalism

New France

French opened with the Indians a lucrative fur trade in furs St. Lawrence River- French gateway to the interior of North

America 1608: Samuel de Champlain established a trading post in

Quebec Small number of Frenchmen came to America

Result: maintain good relations with the Indians French exploration and settlement spread through the Great

Lakes region and the valleys of the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers French settlements in the Midwest were not generally real towns- More forts and trading posts

Handicapped by: Inadequate population Lack of support the parent country

New Netherlands

1609: Holland sent Henry Hudson to explore for NW Passage 1624: est’d Dutch trading outposts for fur trade with Indians

Manhattan Island (new Amsterdam) Fort Orange (present day – Albany)

Patroon system- large landed estates would be given to wealthy men who transported at least 50

families to New Netherlands these families would become tenant farmers on the estate of the patron who had

transported them attracted few families due to healthy economy at home

Condition of colony Weak & unstable Poorly governed “unstable plurarlism”- Population a mixture of people from all over Europe

Relations with Natives Did not mind b/c

colonists were few in numbers did not have voracious appetites for land willing to exchange desirable goods for the pelts of animals

New York & New Jersey

Charles II- cunning eye for increasing Britain’s power Dutch Colony of New Netherlands-

lye between Chesapeake & New England colonies caught attention of Charles II

1664- Charles gave his brother, James (Duke of York) title to all the Dutch lands in America (if he was able to conquer these lands first) Result: Send Colonel Richard Nicols with fleet New Amsterdam fell without a shot & became New York

James was adamantly opposed to representative assemblies Result: ordered that their be none in New York Nicols granted as many other civil & political rights as possible But residents (especially Puritans who had settled on Long Island) cont’d to agitate for self-

government 1680s- James relented 1685- Became king & broke his promise

James granted a part of his new acquired domain to John Lord Berkeley & Sir George Carteret (two of the Carolina proprietors) Name their proprietorship –New Jersey Problem: failed to tell Nicols Result: Conflicitng claims on land ownership since both sides granted same land to different

settlers 1702- Used as a pretext to make New Jersey a royal colony

The Carolinas

The most elaborate planned colony in English history Least successful in achieving amicable relations with natives 1663- Charles II- restored to throne after 20 year Puritan revolution Reward 8 of the noblemen that helped him regain crown

Grant them a charter for all the lands lying south of Virginia & north of Spanish Florida

Known as Carolina (after the king) To attract settlers- came up with an elaborate plan for a hierarchal

(feudal like) society Unworkable Result: slow population growth

North Carolina- overflow from Virginia Similar economic & cultural features

South Carolina- settled by English planters from island of Barbados Founded Charles Town (Charleston) in 1670. Brought black slaves Rice cultivation

Pennsylvania founded as a refuge for Quakers (society of friends)

Radical religious sects that sprung up around the time of the English Civil War Many controversial beliefs

Believed all persons had an “inner light” – allow them to commune directly with God Believed human institutions were unnecessary Placed little importance on the Bible Pacifists Rights of women- spiritual equality Declined to show customary deference to those who were considered to their social

superiors RESULT: their aggressiveness in denouncing established institutions brought them

trouble in both Britain & America William Penn

1681- received charter from Charles II offered generous terms on land guaranteed a representative assembly full religious freedom helped to establish peaceful relations with Indians

Growth of Pennsylvania Settlers flocked there from all over Europe Fertile soil- large exporter of grain

Delaware First part of Pennsylvania Penn granted a separate legislature Until American Revolution – Pennsylvania’s proprietary

governors also functioned as governor of Delaware