Early American Colonization and Colonial Unrest

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, places, events, and economic concepts from the Roanoke voyages to colonial Virginia, the Carolinas, Plymouth, and the Stono Rebellion.

Sir Walter Raleigh

An English nobleman, courtier, and explorer who sponsored and organized England's earliest colonial ventures to North America, including the Roanoke settlements.

Northwest Passage

A hypothetical sea route through the Arctic and North American continent sought by European explorers as a direct trade passage to Asia.

Roanoke Island

An island off the coast of present-day North Carolina that served as the location for England's first attempts at American colonization.

The Lane Colony

The first English settlement attempt on Roanoke Island in 1585, organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and led by Ralph Lane as a military and exploration outpost.

John White

An English artist and cartographer who served as the governor of the 1587 Roanoke settlement and returned in 1590 to find the colony vanished.

The White Colony

The civilian settlement established on Roanoke Island in 1587 under Governor John White, consisting of men, women, and children.

The Lost Colony

The historical term for the 1587 White settlement at Roanoke Island after its colonists mysteriously disappeared, leaving only the carving 'CROATOAN.'

Croatan Indians

A Native American group residing on nearby Hatteras Island (Croatoan) who maintained friendly contact with the English and are traditionally linked to the fate of the Lost Colony.

Joint-Stock Company

A business organization in which multiple private investors pool their capital by purchasing shares to fund ventures, such as overseas colonization, while sharing profits and financial risks.

Charter

A formal written document granted by a monarch or government that establishes legal rights, territorial boundaries, and governing authority for a colony or corporation.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607 along the James River near the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

Chesapeake Bay

A large estuary in Virginia and Maryland along which early English settlements, notably Jamestown, were founded.

John Smith

An English soldier and leader of Jamestown who enforced strict work discipline ('he that will not work shall not eat') and established essential trade with local indigenous tribes.

Starving Time

The brutal winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown where disease, food shortages, and conflict with Native Americans decimated the population following John Smith's departure.

Powhatan

The paramount chief of the Powhatan confederacy in Virginia who managed complex, shifting diplomatic and trade relationships with the early Jamestown colonists.

John Rolfe

A Jamestown settler who transformed Virginia's economy by introducing the cultivation of sweet West Indian tobacco and married Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas.

Indentured Servants

Laborers who signed a legal contract to work without wages for a set period of years in exchange for transatlantic passage, food, and shelter, often settling on the colonial frontier upon freedom.

House of Burgesses

The representative legislative assembly established in Virginia in 1619, marking the first democratic, representative government in the English American colonies.

Nathaniel Bacon

A Virginia frontier planter who led an armed rebellion in 1676 against Governor William Berkeley over frontier defense policies, taxation, and Native American trade.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 uprising in Virginia by frontier farmers and former indentured servants against royal authority that led to the burning of Jamestown and accelerated the colony's shift toward enslaved African labor.

Pilgrims

A congregation of English Separatists who fled religious persecution in England and traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620 to establish Plymouth Colony.

Separatists

Radical English Puritans who believed the Church of England was thoroughly corrupt and chose to separate from it completely to form their own independent congregations.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to 'purify' the Church of England of remaining Roman Catholic practices and rituals, later founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 legal agreement signed by Pilgrims and non-Separatists aboard the Mayflower establishing a civil government and self-rule based on majority consent.

Plymouth

The New England settlement founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims along Cape Cod Bay in present-day Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

A major English Puritan settlement established in 1630 around Boston, formed by colonists seeking religious autonomy and a model Christian community.

Squanto

A Patuxet Native American who served as an interpreter, guide, and agricultural instructor for the Plymouth settlers, teaching them how to plant maize and fertilize soil with fish.

Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper

One of the original eight Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina who helped draft its foundational governance and organize the settlement of Charles Towne.

Charles Towne

A major settlement and port city founded in 1670 in South Carolina that became an economic hub for commerce, shipping, and plantation agriculture.

Carolina Gold

The nickname for the profitable, high-quality rice cultivated in the South Carolina lowcountry, which drove the expansion of plantation slavery in the colony.

Stono Rebellion

A 1739 slave revolt near the Stono River in South Carolina where enslaved Africans seized weapons and attempted to march to freedom in Spanish Florida, leading to armed clashes and suppression.

Slave Code of 1740

A strict South Carolina law enacted in response to the Stono Rebellion that severely curtailed enslaved people's assembly, movement, literacy, and ability to earn money.

Mercantilism

An economic policy and philosophy where colonies serve primarily to enrich the mother country by providing raw materials and exclusive markets to ensure a favorable balance of trade.

Sir Walter Raleigh

An English nobleman, courtier, and explorer who sponsored and organized England's earliest colonial ventures to North America during the 1580s, including the Roanoke settlements.

Northwest Passage

A hypothetical northern sea route sought by European explorers during the 16th and 17th centuries as a direct trade passage to Asia.

Roanoke Island

An island off the coast of present-day North Carolina that served as the location for England's first attempts at American colonization in the 1580s.

The Lane Colony

The first English settlement attempt on Roanoke Island, founded in 1585 by Ralph Lane under the sponsorship of Sir Walter Raleigh as a military outpost.

John White

An English artist and cartographer who governed the 1587 Roanoke settlement and returned from England in 1590 to find the colony deserted.

The White Colony

The civilian settlement established on Roanoke Island in 1587 consisting of men, women, and children under Governor John White.

The Lost Colony

The 1587 settlement on Roanoke Island discovered missing in 1590, leaving only the cryptic carving 'CROATOAN' behind.

Croatan Indians

A Native American group residing on nearby Hatteras Island (Croatoan) who maintained friendly contact with the 1587 English settlers and are linked to their fate.

Joint-Stock Company

A business structure developed in early modern Europe in which investors pooled capital by purchasing shares to fund ventures, such as the 1606 Virginia Company.

Charter

A formal written document granted by a monarch or government establishing legal rights, boundaries, and governing authority for a colony or corporation.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607 along the James River near the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

Chesapeake Bay

A large estuary in Virginia and Maryland along which early English settlements, notably Jamestown in 1607, were established.

John Smith

An English soldier and early leader of Jamestown who imposed strict work discipline between 1608 and 1609 to help the settlement survive.

Starving Time

The winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown where severe food shortages, disease, and conflict decimated the colony down to roughly sixty survivors.

Powhatan

The paramount chief of the Powhatan confederacy in Virginia who managed diplomatic and trade relationships with early Jamestown colonists during the early 1600s.

John Rolfe

A Jamestown settler who introduced the profitable cultivation of sweet West Indian tobacco in 1612 and married Pocahontas in 1614.

Indentured Servants

Laborers who bound themselves by legal contract to work without wages for four to seven years in exchange for passage to America and living provisions.

House of Burgesses

The representative legislative assembly established in Virginia in 1619, marking the first democratic representative government in the English colonies.

Nathaniel Bacon

A Virginia frontier planter who organized and led an armed rebellion in 1676 against Governor William Berkeley.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 armed uprising by frontier farmers and former indentured servants against royal authority that burned Jamestown and hastened the adoption of enslaved African labor.

Pilgrims

A congregation of English Separatists who fled religious persecution and sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 to establish Plymouth Colony.

Separatists

A radical wing of English Puritans who completely broke away from the Church of England to establish independent congregations in the early 17th century.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to reform and purify the Church of England of Catholic traditions, establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 legal agreement signed aboard the Mayflower by Pilgrim and non-Pilgrim men establishing a civil body politic ruled by majority consent.

Plymouth

The New England colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims along Cape Cod Bay in modern-day Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

A major Puritan settlement chartered and established in 1630 around Boston under Governor John Winthrop.

Squanto

A Patuxet Native American who assisted the Plymouth settlers starting in 1621 by serving as an interpreter and demonstrating local corn planting techniques.

Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper

One of the original eight Lords Proprietors who received the 1663 Carolina Charter and helped organize the settlement of Charles Towne.

Charles Towne

A major port settlement founded in South Carolina in 1670 that grew into a critical center for shipping and plantation agriculture.

Carolina Gold

The nickname for the lucrative rice crop cultivated in the South Carolina lowcountry starting in the late 17th century that fueled the growth of plantation slavery.

Stono Rebellion

A major slave revolt that erupted on September 9, 1739 near the Stono River in South Carolina where enslaved people attempted to reach Spanish Florida.

Slave Code of 1740

A comprehensive South Carolina law enacted in 1740 following the Stono Rebellion that severely curtailed enslaved people's assembly, movement, and education.

Mercantilism

An economic policy dominant throughout the 17th and 18th centuries in which colonies existed to enrich the mother country through raw resources and trade monopolies.