EARLY ENGLISH COLONIES AND JAMESTOWN
After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England is ready to start colonizing the New World
Richard Hakluyt says:
We should colonize the New World because…
It’s a source of raw materials
We can increase trade
We can build up a gold supply
Plus…
We can convert the Indians to Christianity
England is overcrowded, dirty, and dangerous
There are stories of gold mines in the New World
The English colonists are off to a rough start
The Roanoke Island colony
Named the colony “Virginia” after Queen Elizabeth
Started by Sir Walter Raleigh
The colonists at Roanoke rely on the Native Americans for food
Their greed for land angers the Indians, and they cut off the food supply
The survivors return to England
A year later, Raleigh tries again. 1587, Roanoke, again
Raleigh runs back to England for supplies and more colonists, when he comes back, the colony is deserted
The word CRO is carved into a tree, and Croatan is carved into a door post
Were they killed by Native Americans?
Did they leave to another island?
Sagadoc colony
Most of the settlers were convicts They fought wit the Indians, stole
from them, and eventually were starved into returning to England
The joint-stock company
Joint stock companies are backed by people investing in a new project
Everyone gets a piece based on how much they put into the project
King James of England wries a charter, or contract for two new joint stock companies
1607 - Virginia
Settlers arrive in Virginia to set up the first permanent English colony
Off to a bad start
Diseases nearly wiped out Jamestown
They camped in a swamp Spent their time looking for gold The Indians also made things hot
By the end of the first year, only 38 out of 100 colonists are still alive
Enter John Smith
He gets the settlers focused on building shelters, growing food, and work
You don’t work, you don’t eat
Pocahontas
She meets John Smith, and it’s love at first sight
She teaches him about tobacco
Highly addictive Never seen by
Europeans before
BY THE WAY, HE’S IN HIS LATE 30’S…
so Pocahontas meets another guy, John Rolfe
Rolfe takes the secret of tobacco back to England
Tobacco allows Jamestown to survive, and grow
Tobacco makes Jamestown and Virginia successful
Chesapeake bay becomes known as the tobacco coast
The founding of Jamestown marks the beginning of the Colonial Period (1607-1776)
Virginia is the first English colony By the beginning of the
Revolutionary Era (1776), there will be 13
Colonists want a piece of the profits from tobacco
Everybody gets 50 acres if they can pay to get to Virginia
More labor is needed, so the rich folks come up with the idea of indentured servants
Poor people can come to America for free if they agree to work for someone for X amount of years
Regular people want more freedom in the decisions of the colony
House of Burgesses – created in 1619; first representative assembly in the colonies
More and more tobacco plantations are moving onto Indian land
The Indians strike back
The Indians are attacking former indentured servants, poor people moving into Indian lands
Nathanial Bacon asks Governor William Berkeley to declare war on the Indians to take their land
Berkeley refuses
Conflict with Native Americans, poor people with no land, and a governor with too much power leads to Bacons Rebellion in 1676.
Bacon and his men take over the House of Burgesses and burns Jamestown in 1676
Later, Bacon dies of disease, and the House of Burgesses passes laws to prevent a governor from becoming too powerful
CHAPTER 3 SECTION 2: THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
The Seperatists seek refuge
A. Seperatists or Pilgrims wanted to separate from the Church of England
They want a tougher church
B. To escape persecution, they go to Leyden (Netherlands)
After 12 years of hard work and poverty, Seperatists decide to go to the New World
Jamestown was started for money, but the Pilgrims are coming for religious freedom
The Pilgrims come over on their boat the Mayflower
They were headed for Virginia, but get blown off course
They arrive in Massachusetts in 1620
The Mayflower Compact
Before landing in America, the colonists were faced with the need to establish a government of their own
Everyone must obey the laws agreed upon for the good of the colony
They Mayflower Compact, signed by 41 Pilgrims, agreed to consult each other about laws for the colony and promised to work together
This is the first example of self-rule in the colonies
THINGS DO NOT START OFF WELL…
Hard Times = Success!
The Pilgrims start off their first winter on the Mayflower Shelter was inadequate Starvation Disease
The Pilgrims had strong religious faith
They believed it was the will of God for them to stay at Plymouth
If it weren’t for the Indians, the Pilgrims would have died
Squanto and Samoset are two Indians that help out
The Indians teach the Pilgrims how to fish, plant corn, and hunt
Over the next few months, the Pilgrims find their way around and learn to survive
In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims hold a three day festival of thanksgiving
The Indians were invited to join them in a celebration of plenty and peace
The First Thanksgiving
Developments in Plymouth Colony Each settler acquired land of his own Pilgrims repaid merchants who had
sponsored their journey
Outcome of Plymouth
A. Plymouth remained small B. 1691 – Plymouth merged with
Massachusetts Bay Colony C. Successful in furs, fish, and
lumber
The New England Colonies
Massachusetts, 1620 Reasons for coming to America
Get rich Improve their lives by owning land Freedom of religion
10 years later…
The Puritans are another group that are facing hard times in England
1. They want to Purify the English church, not separate from it
They are really unpopular
The Puritans were: A. powerful and well educated B. successful merchants C. landowners
They receive a charter to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Great Migration1629 to 1640 – 16-20,000 settlers land in Massachusetts
Massachusetts government was based on God’s laws
If laws were obeyed God would protect and bring prosperity
John Winthrop – the Governor
The New England Way
The basis of each town is the congregation, a church group
The meetinghouse is the base of law
Town meetings
Only male members of the church have a voice or a vote
Everyone must attend church
The Puritans were hard workers, honest, and dutiful
They called this the New England Way
Because of their hard work, New England has rapid growth
The law required children to read (so they could read the Bible
Rhode Island - 1636 Settled by Roger
Williams The King has no
right to land to anyone
The land belongs to the Indians. It should be bought, not taken
Separate church and state
All white men could vote, including non church members
People can worship as they please
1636
Connecticut - 1636 Settled by Thomas Hooker
Life in the Colonies
New England Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
New Hampshire
Hooker’s beliefs: 1. Officials could mean well but
govern badly 2. Governors should have limited
power
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut First constitution, a written plan of
government Limits the powers of the governor Established a government run by
the people
New Hampshire
Settled by John Mason Originally part of Massachusetts 1661 – became a separate colony 1679 – became a royal colony Portsmouth – main city
Not everyone agrees with the New England Way
Anne Hutchinson
A woman who spreads her own religious beliefs
She was kicked out of Massachusetts and went to Rhode Island in 1638
The Quakers
Another religious group
You don’t need the Bible or ministers
Treat Native Americans fairly
Slavery is evil!
The Puritans don’t like them either They are whipped, tossed into prison or
hanged Most flee to Rhode Island
King Phillips’ War
More and more colonists are arriving, and spreading out into Indian territory
The Indians fight back under a leader named King Phillip
The Wampanoag Indians lose the war, and most are killed or sold into slavery
The Salem Witch Trials
Several young Puritan girls claim to have been possessed by a slave woman
They also accuse several others in the village of witchcraft
More than 100 people were taken to trial as witches
19 women and one man were convicted
17 hangings, 2 were crushed to death
Eventually, the town came to it’s senses
Witches, or drugs?
Ergot
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