APUSH Unit 2 (1521-1700 Simplified Def. 2025

Virginia Company

A joint stock company established in 1606 to found Jamestown in 1607, the first permanent English colony.

Jamestown (1607)

England's first permanent settlement founded in Virginia. Englishmen came to mine for gold, dying of thirst, starvation, yellow fever, and malaria.

John Smith

English explorer who helped found the colony at Jamestown, Virginia. As he was saved from execution by Pocahontas.

Powhatan Confederacy

Alliance of 30 Algonquian Speaking tribes in the Chesapeake Region that initially traded with and sometimes aided the colonists. They eventually fell in the Anglo-Powhatan Wars.

Starving Time

A period of extreme famine in Jamestown, Virginia, caused by a lack of farms. 1610s

Cash crop (tobacco)

Crops that make hella cash. Tobacco was a crop native to America, later brough to England and high valued

Headright System

A system of land distribution that gave anyone who paid the passage of new arrival 50 acres.

Indentured Servitude

System in which workers work under masters for five years or more. Once freed, they can live free in the Americas

House of Burgesses (1619)

Branch of British government in colonial Virginia made up of elected representatives of the colony. The house could make laws and levy taxes. The British government and Virginia company can overrule their laws.

Plymouth Colony

A colony established by English Protestants, or Seperatists in 1620. These settlers came in family groups to create independent farming communities.

Mayflower compact

Agreement to be governed by religion that was made by English Pilgrims on the Mayflower

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritan Colony that strived to be a "city upon a hill". They had a political system with the bible as a legal guide.

Great Migration

1630s. The era in which puritans left New England and left for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as England was "morally corrupt" and "overburdened wit people".

John Winthrop

First governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.

Roger Williams

A dissenter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who established Providence, a colony where people were allowed to individually worship God

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan Woman who opposed the belief of predestination and instead believed in Gods grace. This led to his banishment, which led to her following Roger to Providence.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

The first written constitution in American colonies. It set a precedent for constitutional government and the idea that authority rests with the consent of the governed.

Halfway Covenant

A Puritan church policy that allowed children baptized yet unconverted church members to receive partial membership and baptism.

Anglo-Powhatan Wars

War between Powhatans and English that ended with the Powhatans in slavery

Pequot War

War between Puritans and Dutch aligned Pequot people. Pequot were massacred.

King Phillip's War (Metacom's War)

Metacom fought against the New England colonies in 1675-1676.

Bacons Rebellion

1675-1676. Colonists started a war with neighboring Natives. When the larger government did not support the war, the colonists marched on the capital, led by nathaniel bacon

Chattel Slavery

system where a slave has the legal status of property and can be bought and sold like property

Triangular trade

Columbus Exchange+Northwestern Africa slave trade

Maryland Toleration Act

An act in Maryland that guaranteed people to follow their denomination of Christianity and hold church services

Carolina Rice Economy

South Carolina's wealth came from African slaves who cultivated rice

William Penn

Quaker founder of Pennsylvania; promoted religious tolerance, representative government, and fair treatment of Natives

Quakers

Religious group known for pacifism, equality, and inner light. Persecuted in England and influential in middle colonies.

New Netherland/ New York

First dutch settlement. initially fur trade focused. later fell under english control in 1664, getting its name new york

Town Meeting

A system of local gov. in New England where all male heads of households met regularly to elect selectmen; levey local taxes; and regulate markets, roads, and schools

Chesapeake Region

Virginia and Maryland; tobacco plantation; House of Burgesses

Indentured Servitude to Slavery Transition

Transition started by the decrease of indentured servants and rising tensions between planters and freed servants after the Bacon Rebellion

Middle Passage

Brutal transatlantic voyage that brought Africans to the Americas. High death rates from disease, starvation, and abuse were expected.

Slave Codes

Laws passed in the colonies to control enslaved populations by restricting movement, literacy, and legal rights.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

A major slave uprising in South Carolina where armed africans marched to spanish florida. The rebellion was crushed, leading to stricter slave codes.

New England Colonies Economy

Small scale farming, fishing, shipbuilding, trade.

Middle Colonies

Produced large amounts of grain and engaged in export trade, mixing agriculture with commerce.

Southern Colonies Economy

Produced cash crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo. heavily reliant on enslaved african labor

Salutary Neglect

British policy established in the early 1700s. The policy enforced colonial trade laws and allowing wealthy colonies self government.

Navigation acts (1650s-1670s

British mercantilist laws requiring colonial trade to go through England. The colonies were only allowed to used English ships and transport certain goods only to England.

First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s)

Religious revival movement across the colonies that emphasized personal faith, emotional preaching, and the need for individual starvation.

"Old Lights" vs. "New Lights"

old lights rejected emotional preaching while new lights embraced revivalism and other great awakening preachings. The divide reshaped colonial religion

Jonathan Edwards

New england preacher whose sermons helped spark the Great awakening

George Whitefield

English preacher who toured the colonies with emotional sermons. This inspired the development of new denominations and the spread of Great awakening teachings.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement stressing reason, science, and natural rights. Challenged colonial leaders to think revolutionarily.

John Locke

English enlightenment philosopher who argued for natural rights and the social contact theory. His philosophies influenced American democracy and the Declaration of independence.

Benjamin Franklin & Albany Plan of Union (1754)

Franklin proposed a plan at the Albany congress for colonies to unite under one government for defense and indian affairs. Although rejected, it inspired future colonial unity.