ENGLISH SETTLEMENT IN THE AMERICAS: Early Colonies Review (New England & Chesapeake)

30 practice flashcards covering key events, people, institutions, and ideas from the early English settlements in New England and the Chesapeake, based on the provided lecture notes.

What was Leisler's Rebellion and where did it take place?

Leisler's Rebellion (1689) in New York, where Jacob Leisler led a Committee of Safety, seized control, and whose regime heightened ethnic and economic tensions; Leisler was later executed.

What action did the English crown take in Maryland after the Leisler episode and what followed?

The Protestant Association overthrew Lord Baltimore’s Catholic proprietary government; the charter was revoked and a Protestant-dominated government installed; the Baltimore proprietary power was restored later (1715) after Anglican conversion.

What major governance change did Massachusetts experience with its 1691 charter?

Massachusetts became a royal colony; voting tied to property ownership; the governor was appointed in London; non-Puritan Protestants were allowed to worship under the 1690 Toleration Act.

What were the Salem Witch Trials and when did they occur?

A 1692 crisis of witchcraft accusations in Salem, MA, leading to about 150 accused, 14 women and 5 men hanged, one person pressed to death, and later skepticism and reform.

Who was Tituba in the Salem witchcraft episode?

Tituba was an Indian slave from the Caribbean who was among the first accused witches in Salem.

What was the Half-Way Covenant (1662)?

A compromise that allowed baptism and ‘half-way’ church membership for grandchildren of those who emigrated, expanding church membership while maintaining parental legitimacy and church discipline.

Who was Roger Williams and what did he advocate?

1631 minister who argued for soul liberty and the separation of church and state; banished from Massachusetts; founded Rhode Island as a haven for religious liberty.

What is Rhode Island known for in terms of religion and government?

No established church, no religious tests for voting, and a notably democratic government; it welcomed diverse Protestants and Jews.

What were the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)?

A colonial charter from Hartford that established a representative government and wider, though still limited, voting rights; often cited as an early American constitution.

Why is Anne Hutchinson significant in Puritan New England history?

Her Antinomian views and meetings questioned Puritan ministers; she was tried in 1637, banished, and became a symbol of religious dissent and gender challenge.

What was the Great Migration in New England?

The large-scale movement (1629–1642) of about 21,000 Puritans to Massachusetts Bay, shaping the region’s social and religious landscape.

What is the Mayflower Compact?

1620 agreement by adult men aboard the Mayflower to govern themselves by just and equal laws; an early model of self-government in America.

What was the Jamestown headright system?

A policy starting in 1618 offering 50 acres of land for each person whose passage to Virginia was paid, encouraging settlements and family expansion.

What was the House of Burgesses and when did it form?

Established in 1619 as Virginia's first elected assembly, laying a precedent for representative government in English colonies.

What is the significance of 1619 in Virginia’s history?

The arrival of the first African slaves to Virginia aboard a Dutch vessel, marking the begin­ning of enslaved labor in English North America.

What happened in the Uprising of 1622 in Virginia?

Powhatan leader Opechancanough’s surprise attack that killed roughly a quarter of the settler population, prompting long-term displacement of Indians and militarized frontier policy.

How did tobacco shape Virginia’s economy and society?

Tobacco became a cash crop driving wealth for planters, expanding landholdings, creating a planter gentry, and increasing reliance on indentured servants and, later, enslaved labor.

What was the Body of Liberties (1641) and its significance?

Massachusetts’ early legal code listing rights; included free speech and assembly; permitted slavery; defined liberties by social status and roles.

What is the Puritan distinction between natural liberty and moral liberty?

Natural liberty meant acting without restraint (potentially evil); moral liberty meant liberty guided by God and subjection to lawful authority.

What did John Winthrop mean by the phrase ‘City upon a Hill’?

A vision of Massachusetts Bay as a model Christian community intended to inspire and lead others by example.

How did Puritan family life shape gender roles in New England?

Patriarchal households with strong male authority, high value on family, large families, frequent church membership, and selective rights for women (e.g., some widows as feme sole, but overall male dominance).

What were jeremiads in Puritan culture?

Prophetic sermons in the 1660s–1670s warning of divine punishment for moral decline and urging reform to preserve the covenant.

What was the Pequot War ( Mystic, 1637) and its outcome?

A brutal conflict where Connecticut/Massachusetts forces destroyed the Pequot fort at Mystic; hundreds killed; significantly opened Connecticut River valley to settlement.

When was Harvard College founded and why?

Founded in 1636 to train Puritan ministers; reflected the Puritan emphasis on educated clergy and literacy (with a printing press arriving around 1638 and Psalms published in 1640).

What was the Plymouth colony and its relationship to Massachusetts Bay?

Founded by Pilgrims in 1620; early governance with the Mayflower Compact; helped establish Puritan settlement culture; Plymouth merged with Massachusetts Bay by 1691.

Why did Massachusetts resist religious toleration initially?

Puritans emphasized religious uniformity and the elect, restricting voting to visible saints and linking church membership with political authority.

Who founded Maryland and what was its original religious aim?

Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, founded Maryland as a proprietary colony intended as a refuge for persecuted Catholics, though Protestants soon became the majority.

What was Maryland’s Act Concerning Religion (1649)?

Also called the Maryland Toleration Act; guaranteed free exercise of religion for Christians while punishing denial of the Trinity; a milestone in religious freedom, though not universal.

What was the status of women in colonial Maryland compared to Virginia?

In Maryland, some women could own land and manage property (femmes sole in certain cases), while many arrived as indentured servants; conditions varied and mortality remained high.

What role did education play in Puritan Massachusetts?

Town schools were mandated, Harvard College founded (1636), and literacy was prioritized to read the Bible, reinforcing religious and civic uniformity.

What was the Great Puritan consensus about church and state in Massachusetts?

Church and state were tightly linked; voting and political power were tied to church membership, reflecting a hierarchical, non-tolerant social order.

What was the economic role of New England merchants in the 1640s–1650s?

Merchants challenged some Puritan policies, advocated economic development (roads, bounties), and helped shift governance toward a merchant-driven, more commercial political economy.

What is the significance of the ‘Jeremiads’ in Puritan culture?

They expressed alarms about moral decline and warned of God’s displeasure, signaling a constant tension between religious ideals and social change.

What role did Native Americans play in the Puritan settlement of New England?

Initial trade relations, language learning, and attempts at purchase; later, wars and displacement shaped colonial Indian policy and frontier violence.