European Colonies and Native Nations, 1600–1660

Religious Conflicts

Undermined England's stability in the sixteenth century.

Charters

Documents issued for colonization at personal expense.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert

Sir Walter Raleigh

Prominent figure in early English colonization attempts.

Anti-Catholicism

Deeply ingrained sentiment in English popular culture.

A Discourse Concerning Western Planting

Argued settlement would free Natives from Spain.

National Glory

Motivation for English colonization to rival Spain.

Enclosure Movement

Led to increased poverty among English citizens.

Masterless Men

Individuals seeking independence through land ownership.

Thomas Moore's Utopia

Describes an ideal place for escaping economic inequality.

Sustained Immigration

Vital for the success of English settlements.

Indentured Servants

Two-thirds of settlers who worked under contract.

Headright System

House of Burgesses

First elected assembly in Virginia, established 1619.

Powhatan

Powerful leader in the Jamestown area.

Pocahontas

Intermediary between Powhatans and English settlers.

First Anglo-Powhatan War

Conflict between English settlers and Powhatan tribe.

High Death Rates

Significant issue in early Jamestown colony.

John Smith

Leader who helped stabilize early Jamestown.

Enslaved Africans

First arrived in Virginia in 1619.

Virginia Society

Characterized by slavery and representative government.

Native Atlantic Coast

Region where English settlers displaced Indigenous peoples.

Trade with Natives

Second Anglo-Powhatan War

Began in 1622, led by Opechancanough.

Third Anglo-Powhatan War

Occurred in 1644; settlers outnumbered Powhatan.

Opechancanough

Brother of Powhatan; led attacks on settlers.

Virginia Company

Surrendered its charter to the crown in 1624.

Tobacco Production

Reached 30 million pounds by the 1680s.

Field Labor Demand

Increased due to tobacco production expansion.

American Slavery Origins

Slavery emerged as a labor solution for tobacco.

Seventeenth Century Racism

Concepts of race not fully developed yet.

Plantation Slavery

Characterized by rigid policing and high mortality.

Race and Slavery

West Indies Sugar Plantations

Established by 1600, worked by enslaved Africans.

English Settlers in West Indies

Initially small-scale farmers and indentured servants.

Mass Marketing of Sugar

First crop marketed to European consumers.

1619 Significance

First enslaved Africans bought by Virginia settlers.

Chesapeake Society Division

Wealth, not race, divided society in the 1600s.

Virginia Family Life

Lacked stability; many women were indentured servants.

Maryland Economy

Dominated by tobacco; planters held societal power.

Cecilius Calvert

Established Maryland as a proprietary colony in 1632.

Maryland's Purpose

Envisioned as a refuge for persecuted Catholics.

Protestants in Maryland

Puritanism Emergence

Originated from the Protestant Reformation in England.

Moral Liberty

Puritans sought liberty to worship and govern.

Mayflower Compact

First written government framework in the U.S.

Pilgrims' Arrival

Sailed to Cape Cod in 1620 aboard the Mayflower.

Pilgrims

Settlers who established a colony in America.

Squanto

Native American who aided Pilgrims' survival.

First Thanksgiving

Celebrated in 1621 by Pilgrims and Native Americans.

Great Migration

Mass movement of Puritans to New England.

Massachusetts Bay Company

Chartered in 1629 to promote Puritan settlement.

New England Settlement

Puritan Family Structure

Men as heads; women expected to obey.

Church Membership

Required for voting in Massachusetts elections.

Harvard College

Established in 1636 to train ministers.

Body of Liberties

Affirmed rights of free speech and assembly.

Religious Uniformity

Belief in necessity for social order in Puritanism.

Wampanoags

Tribe that allied with English for power.

Pequot War

Conflict resulting in Pequot tribe's near extinction.

Roger Williams

Advocate for separation of church and state.

Rhode Island

Founded as a haven for religious freedom.

Anne Hutchinson

Challenged Puritan preaching; tried for sedition.

Antinomianism

Belief prioritizing personal faith over church law.

Connecticut Colony

Formed from New Haven and Hartford in 1662.

Decentralized Church Government

Church authority not centralized in Massachusetts.

Puritan Gender Roles

Women had rights but were subordinate to men.

Higher Birth Rate

New England's population growth compared to Chesapeake.

Massacres at Mystic

500 Pequots killed in 1637 by English forces.

Social Hierarchy

Defined by Puritans based on rank and religion.

Religious Intolerance

Puritan New England suppressed dissenting beliefs.

The Trial of Anne Hutchinson

1637 court case questioning Hutchinson's teachings.

New England Economy

Focused on family farms, fishing, and timber.

Expansion Motivation

Desire for farming land for young families.

Merchant Elite

Wealth distributed more equally than in Chesapeake.

Trade Role

Merchant class grew influential within British empire.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

New town established by dissenting merchants.

Half-Way Covenant

1662 compromise for baptizing grandchildren of migrants.

Church Membership Stagnation

Ministers criticized people for moral failings.

Rights of Englishmen

Concept of rights applied to all in kingdom.

Magna Carta

1215 document outlining liberties for English barons.

Habeas Corpus

Legal right to challenge unlawful detention.

Trial by Jury

Right to be judged by peers.

Henry Care

Wrote about American identity and English liberty.

English Civil War

Conflict over power between Parliament and monarchy.

Commonwealth

Government established by Parliament after beheading Charles I.

Oliver Cromwell

Led England post-Civil War until 1660.

Freedom of Speech

John Milton advocated for press freedoms.

Levellers

Political group promoting expanded liberty beyond class.

Diggers

Sought economic freedom through land ownership.

Act Concerning Religion

1649 law institutionalizing religious toleration in Maryland.

Colonial Expansion

Cromwell's policy promoting Protestantism and commerce.

Native North Americans

Controlled most of North America in 1660.

Anglican vs Catholic

Religious conflict shaping English identity in America.

Roanoke Colony

First English attempt at permanent settlement, failed.

Anglo-Powhatan Wars

Conflicts between English settlers and Powhatan Confederacy.

Tobacco Colony

Economy based on tobacco cultivation in Virginia.

Social Crisis

Economic instability leading to unrest in England.

Spreading Protestantism

Efforts to promote Protestant faith in New World.

American Indian Resistance

Native responses to European colonization efforts.