Unit 2 (1607-1754)

This unit covers the development of diverse European colonies in North America, focusing on British, Spanish, French, and Dutch methods, distinct colonial regions (New England, Middle, Southern, Caribbean), the rise of slavery, mercantilism, conflicts with Native Americans, and the growth of unique colonial cultures and self-governance (like the First Great Awakening) that fostered identity separate from Britain, all leading up to the French and Indian War.

3 types of colonies

1) Royal Colony- Under rule of King’s government

2) Corporate Colony- Under joint-stock company

3) Proprietary Colony- Under individual with a charter granted by the King

Southern Colonies

Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

Joint-stock company

Investors invest their money into colonization & expect a profit in return

Jamestown

1st permanent English settlement in North America

Founded by joint-stock company

Early Years of Jamestown

A complete nightmare. 440 of 500 settlers died in the first 6 months.

Most colonizers were hoping to find gold, didn’t really focus on agriculture and other basic survival needs. Unaccustomed to environment there, many died of diseases and starvation.

John Smith

Saved colony of Jamestown by imposing a strict discipline, forcing people to work.

Famous saying: “He he that will not worke shall not eate"

Black Gold

Tobacco; became stable cash crop of Virginia and saved Jamestown

John Rolfe and Pocahontas helped make the industry thrive

Headright System

Offers 50 acres per person to attract settlers and workers towards the colonies

Early Politics

House of Burgesses- Virginia established the first legislative and democratic government in America

20 burgesses (citizens) were elected representatives

Triangular Trade

The Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the brutal, deadly sea journey where millions of enslaved Africans were forcibly transported from West Africa to the Americas as the middle leg of the Triangle Trade. Conditions were horrific, with captives packed into disease-ridden, stifling holds, leading to high mortality rates from sickness, starvation, and mistreatment.

Indentured Slavery

a labor system, especially in colonial America, where people signed contracts (indentures) to work for a master for a set number of years (e.g., 4-7) in exchange for passage to the colonies, food, and shelter

Bacon’s Rebellion

Indentured servants were not happy because they were not given the land they were guaranteed at the end of their service OR protection from the natives. (b/c of corrupt Governor Berkeley).

Led by Nathaniel Bacon, 1,000 Virginians murdered hostile and friendly Native Americans alike. Chased the governor out of Jamestown. Set the capital on fire which led to rioting.

OUTCOMES of Bacon’s Rebellion

Bacon later died, which led to Governor Berkeley returning and crushing the rebels.

Demonstrated the frustration of poor settlers who felt marginalized by the wealthy elite of Virginia

Indentured Servants —> Slavery

Less and less English emigration to Virginia; Due to declining labor, planters turned to Africans for labor

Slave Codes

Outlined the rights of enslaved Africans; restricted many rights

Maryland

Was a “catholic experiment”- was a haven for Catholics; although few Catholics emigrated

Had a headright system

Maryland rapidly prospered as a tobacco colony

An Act Concerning Religion

AKA Maryland Toleration Act

policy of religious toleration towards Christians

1st law in America to refer specifically to the “free exercise” of religion

South Carolina

To attract settlers, the Lord Proprietors offered:

Religious Toleration (except atheists)

Political Representation

150 acres of land per family member (headright system)

Stono Rebellion

Largest slave rebellion in North America; occured in Charleston, SC

20 Africans raided a store and took guns & killed 2 shopkeepers, 40-60 more Africans joined their march to Florida; killed 20 whites

Militia crushed the uprising later that afternoon killing 34 Africans

In response to Stono Rebellion

Negro Act: No assembly of groups, no raising of food, no earning of money, no writing

Afraid of further rebellions, a 10-year ban on importation of enslaved Africans

South Carolina gov’t. also passed laws prohibiting enslavers from using brutal treatment and demanding excessive labor; this was hard to enforce

North Carolina

Settlements to the north were founded by Virginians and resented being included in the Carolinas

Settlers resisted, sometimes violently, in paying custom duties (taxes)

1712 - North Carolina was established with its own governor & assembly

Georgia

James Oglethorpe founded it.

A “buffer” colony. Made sure there was something between Spanish Florida and the colonies.

Also a haven for debtors; debtors from England would have a chance to start a new life here instead of being locked away in debtor’s prison.

Characteristics of Southern Colonies

Middle Colonies

New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania

New York

Originally part of New Netherlands (Dutch owned)

Due to religious toleration in this colony it became the most religiously and ethnically diverse colony

Wheat was the main export crop of New York

New Jersey

Also originally part of New Netherlands

To attract more settlers, free tracts of land were offered and religious freedom for all

Various crops grown, especially wheat

Delaware

Also originally part of New Netherlands

English settlers in Delaware were mainly Quakers

Delaware was a diverse colony with immigrants from various countries

Exporter of wheat and timber

Pennsylvania

William Penn founded the colony after being granted a charter from King Charles II

Diverse group of immigrants, lots were Quakers

Religious freedom and peaceful relations with the Native American

Characteristics of Middle Colonies

New England Colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire

Pilgrims

A group of separatists that left England

landed in Massachusetts

Mayflower Compact

it established the first written framework for self-governance in America

The first governing document in Massachusetts - to obey the government and the legal system of the colony

New Hampshire

New Hampshire was first established under the Massachusetts Bay Colony

1691 - New Hampshire separated from Massachusetts

Economy was dominated by timber and fishing; rocky land made it difficult to plant crops

Settlers first came to make money through trade with England

Puritans

Puritans (non-Separatists) were escaping anti-Puritan persecution in England

Puritans were more well-to-do and ambitious than the Pilgrims

The Puritans were led by John Winthrop

Puritan Characteristics

“City Upon a Hill”- a model society for all others to follow

Puritan Characteristics:

“work ethic”

Cleanliness and education

No separation of church & state

Purpose of the gov’t. was to enforce God’s laws

Only “visible saints” could vote

Belief in “predestination”

Calvinism

The basis for Puritan doctorine

God is all-powerful and good

Humans are weak and wicked

God is all-knowing and determines salvation (“predestination”) - good works will NOT lead to salvation

Visible Saints

Puritans sought signs of “conversion” in which God revealed to “the elect” their heavenly destiny

The “elect” became “visible saints”

Puritans believed only “visible saints” became church members

Roger Williams

Believed that Native Americans should be paid for their land

Williams wanted complete freedom of religion (including for Jews and Catholics)

He was put on trial & found guilty for holding “dangerous opinions”

Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Rhode Island Founded

Roger Williams founded Rhode Island

Purchased the land from the Narragansett Indians

The Rhode Island colony established:

religious freedom

separation between church & state

Connecticut Founded

Discontented with the suppression of Puritan suffrage, Thomas Hooker led a group of Puritans out of Massachusetts

Established a settlement in Hartford

In Connecticut, all male property owners could vote

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut 1st written constitution of the colonies

Anne Hutchinson

Hutchinson challenged the Puritan Church doctrines

She believed heaven was open to those with a personal connection to God without any church involvement

Hutchinson started Bible study sessions in her home with other women

Hutchinson & her family were banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Hutchinson & 30 other families moved to Rhode Island

Characteristics of New England

Pequot War

The 1st major conflict between the English & American Indians

Struggle for the control of the fur and wampum (beads) trade in Connecticut was at the root of the Pequot War

Puritans viewed their victory against the Pequots as a sign that God found the Puritans “worthy”

Massacre at Mystic

Occurred during the Pequot War

Estimated that 400 Pequots were killed in the fire or in fleeing killed by gunfire

This slaughter of “total war” went against American Indian warfare customs.

Showed that the English will use “total war” against their Indian enemies

King Philip’s War (pt. 1)

Bloodiest Indian war in English history

Started when Plymouth colonists hanged 3 Wampanoags for murdering a “praying town” Indian

Flintlock muskets used by both sides

Deprived the colonists of the advantage they had in the Pequot War

Indians attacked 52 of 90 towns

Indians used “total war” taught by the colonists in the Pequot War

King Philip’s War (pt. 2)

Native American allies helped to turn the war in the colonists favor

Metacom’s Wampanoags ran out of ammunition and food

This was the last major effort by Native Americans to drive out the English

Decline in Church’s Power

As the population expanded, more Puritans were pushed further away from the control of the church

Fewer people were admitting they had received God’s grace & church membership was declining

The church and ministers were losing power

Half-way Covenant

A New England church policy allowing baptized, but unconverted, adults to have their children baptized, creating a partial church membership for them without full communion or voting rights, aiming to address declining church engagement

Salem Witch Trials

A group of adolescent girls claimed to be “bewitched” by older women

Led to a series of hearings where 200 people were accused

30 people were found guilty with 19 women being hanged

Showed the widening stratification between the Puritan heritage and the growing commercialism

The Great Awakening

Those who remained with the Church intensified their religious feelings = The Great Awakening

Energetic ministers preached “soul searching” sermons meant to shock their listeners into recognizing their impending sentence to hell

Jonathan Edwards

Edwards was a master in the style of “awakening” sermons

Sermons appealed to “fear” and “hope” and not reason

This type of preaching provoked “conversion” experiences

Most well known for: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

George Whitefield

Whitefield, an English minister, was inspired by Jonathan Edwards

A charismatic and inspiring preacher engaged his audiences without notes when giving sermons

1739 - toured the American colonies

1st celebrity seen and heard by the majority of the American colonists

Impact that Whitefield had on colonies

Escalated the print revolution in the colonies

Especially impacted audiences in New England were almost all adults were literate

Emphasized the conversion of “common people”

Converted American Indians and enslaved people; many enslaved people attended Whitefield’s revivals

The Zenger Trial

ohn Peter Zenger published essays in his paper, New-York Weekly Journal, criticizing the New York royal governor William Cosby

Governor Cosby ordered all copies of Zenger’s papers burned and had Zenger arrested for libel

After the jury deliberated for 10 minutes, the verdict was “not guilty”, truth should not be considered libelous

Freedom of the press will be a foundation in the 1st Amendment

Phillis Wheatley

Born in Senegal, was enslaved when she was 8 year sold

Wheatley family taught Phillis to read & write

Phillis could also read Latin & Greek

1773 - John Wheatley assembled 18 notable Boston men to judge the credibility of Phillis’s poetry

The men signed a letter attesting the poems were written by Phillis

1st published African-American writer and 3rd American colonial woman published