Exploration and Colonization

What factors allowed/motivated England to explore North America?

1. Trade - needed raw goods/money to get out of economic depression

2. Religion - wanted to spread Protestantism

3. Competition - vying for land that Spain/France had already claimed much of

Which nations led the race for colonies? Why? Who lagged behind? Why?

Spain and Portugal led the race for colonies because they colonized further South (Caribbean etc) and had better conditions, gold, and resources

England lagged behind because of religious/political conflict (Protestants vs Catholics, monarch vs Parliament) and and an economic depression (couldn’t afford to send explorers/colonize)

Compare and contrast English and French colonial geography.

French colonies - cold, icy, harsh winters, lots of waterways for trade

English colonies - harsh winters, poor soil, ocean for trade

Compare and contrast English and French colonial religion.

French colonies - mandatory Catholicism

English colonies - mandatory Puritanism (Protestantism); later religious toleration as other colonies were established

Compare and contrast English and French colonial economics.

French colonies - fur trade,

English colonies - mercantilism (more exports than imports); exporting raw goods to England

^North: shipbuilding, timber, fishing

^Middle: farming, shipbuilding

^South: large plantations, cash crops (tobacco, rice, indigo)

Compare and contrast English and French colonial population.

French colonies - low, grew very slowly (only 3,200 people by 1660s)

English colonies - large population due to migration from an overpopulated England

What role did companies play in English colonization? The crown? How did this change over time?

Royal - charters issued by the monarch to create a settlement with a constitutional framework (ex. RI royal charter allowed religious tolerance and self-governance)

Company - managed by joint-stock companies; pooling private capital to fund risky ventures; colonists work for companies in return for self-governance (ex. Virginia Company before it went bankrupt)

Proprietary - granted large tracts of land and governing rights from the monarch; elected landlord(s) (ex. Maryland led by Lord Baltimore)

How did conditions in England encourage colonization?

1. Urbanization - overcrowded from a large population; too many jailed debtors = not enough people to work

2. Industrialization - needed more resources than they had

3. Richard Hakluyt - sad England had a right to the land; it was unpossessed by Christians; wanted to find the Northwest Passage

How did interactions between Native Americans and colonists change over time?

1. Cooperation - Native Americans tolerated colonists and didn’t intervene with them

2. Dependence - formed alliances; Natives taught survival skills and traded with the colonists

3. Competition - colonists wanted more land, more resources, and more power; began infringing upon Native American land

4. Conflict - war broke out; Native American population decreased severely and tribes were displaced

What role did religion and social conflict play for the Puritans in Massachusetts and Plymouth?

Religion was the foundation of society - theocracy

Social conflict such as land disputes, tensions with Natives, and religious disagreements led to Plymouth being absorbed by Massachusetts

What role did religion and social conflict play in RI, Pennsylvania, and Maryland?

They were founded on the basis of religious freedom (RI, PA) or tolerance (MD)

Social conflict led founders to leave their colony and form a new one

What role did religion and social conflict play in Bacon’s Rebellion?

Believed in divine favor and thought they had the holy right to fight the Native Americans and take their land.

Class war between poor frontiersmen (white and Black laborers, former indentured servants) and the wealthy elite led by Governor Berkeley