APUSH Formation of Colonies (copy)

Plymouth

(1620) – Separatist Pilgrims seeking religious freedom from the Church of England; Mayflower Compact as early self-government

New England

Massachusetts Bay

(1630) – Puritans (non-separatists) under John Winthrop; sought to build a religious "city upon a hill"; large-scale Puritan migration

New England

Connecticut

(1636) – Founded by Thomas Hooker and followers who left Massachusetts Bay seeking more fertile land and more liberal church membership rules; Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (early constitution)

New England

Rhode Island

(1636) – Founded by Roger Williams, banished from Massachusetts for advocating separation of church and state and fair dealings with Native Americans; became a haven for religious dissenters (also Anne Hutchinson, antinomian controversy)

New England

New Hampshire

(1620s/1679) – Originally part of Massachusetts land grants; became separate royal colony

New England

New York

Originally Dutch (New Netherland, founded for fur trade); seized by England in 1664, renamed for the Duke of York; diverse population inherited from Dutch rule

Middle Colonies

New Jersey

(1664) – Split off from New York grant, given to proprietors Berkeley and Carteret; attracted diverse settlers with liberal land policies

Middle Colonies

Pennsylvania

(1681) – Proprietary colony granted to William Penn (Quaker) as payment of a royal debt; "Holy Experiment" — religious tolerance, good relations with Native Americans, representative government

Middle Colonies

Delaware

(1638/1704) – Originally New Sweden, later absorbed by Pennsylvania/Penn; got its own assembly in 1704

Middle Colonies

Virginia

(1607) – Jamestown; Virginia Company, joint-stock venture seeking profit (initially gold, then tobacco under John Rolfe); first permanent English colony; House of Burgesses (1619) as first representative assembly

Southern Colonies (Chesapeake)

Maryland

(1634) – Proprietary colony granted to Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert) as a haven for English Catholics; Act of Toleration (1649) protected Christian religious practice

Southern Colonies (Chesapeake)

Carolinas

(1663, split into North/South 1712)

Proprietary grant to eight Lords Proprietors; South Carolina developed rice/indigo plantation economy with ties to Barbados slave system; North Carolina more small farmers, less commercial

Southern Colonies

Georgia

(1732) – Last colony founded; proprietary under James Oglethorpe; buffer against Spanish Florida; originally intended as a haven for English debtors, banned slavery early on (reversed later)

Southern Colonies

New England (Colonies, Geography + Climate, Economy, Society?)

Massachusetts (Plymouth absorbed in 1691), New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Geography & Climate: Rocky soil, dense forests, and long, cold winters made large-scale farming difficult.

Economy: Focused on fishing, shipbuilding, lumber, and maritime trade through busy ports.

Society: Settled largely by Puritan families seeking to build a devout religious community. Life centered around tight-knit towns and local self-governance

Middle Colonies (Colonies, Geography + Climate, Economy, Society?)

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware

Geography & Climate: Fertile soil, flat land, and wide river systems with a moderate climate.
Economy: Known as the "Breadbasket" because they produced massive amounts of grain, oats, and wheat. They also featured active commerce and shipping.

Society: Highly diverse with European settlers from England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, supported by a high degree of religious tolerance

Chesapeake (Colonies, Geography + Climate, Economy, Society?)

Virginia and Maryland

Geography & Climate: Warm weather and fertile coastal plains ideal for cash crops.

Economy: Heavily reliant on a single cash crop— tobacco.

Society: Relied initially on indentured servants for labor, shifting rapidly toward enslaved African labor after events like Bacon's Rebellion. Society was largely rural and centered around large plantations

Southern Colonies (Colonies, Geography + Climate, Economy, Society?)

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Geography & Climate: Subtropical temperatures, long growing seasons, and swampy coastal lowlands.

Economy: Focused on labor-intensive plantation crops like rice, indigo, and later cotton.

Society: Dominated by a wealthy planter elite and heavily dependent on the forced labor of enslaved African people, who often made up a massive portion of the population.