Colonial Foundations and Key Events in Early American History

Corporate Colonies

Colonies operated by joint-stock companies, like early Jamestown.

Royal Colonies

Colonies directly controlled by the crown, governors appointed by the king.

Proprietary Colonies

Colonies granted to individuals or groups by the king (e.g., Maryland, Pennsylvania).

Chesapeake Colonies

Virginia and Maryland; based on tobacco economy, relied on indentured servants and slaves.

George Calvert

First Lord Baltimore; founded Maryland as a haven for Catholics.

Lord Baltimore

Cecil Calvert, son of George; carried out the Maryland colony vision of religious refuge for Catholics.

House of Delegates

The lower house of the Virginia legislature, gave colonists self-government.

Act of Toleration (1649)

Maryland law giving religious freedom to all Christians, but executed those who denied Jesus' divinity.

Virginia

First permanent English colony, founded in 1607 at Jamestown.

Sir William Berkeley

Royal governor of Virginia, disliked by small farmers; his favoritism sparked Bacon's Rebellion.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

Frontier revolt against Governor Berkeley over Native policy and class tensions.

Indentured Servant

Laborers who worked a fixed term in exchange for passage to America.

Headright System

Virginia system granting 50 acres to anyone who paid for passage of a settler.

Slavery

System of forced African labor that expanded after the 1670s and became dominant in the South.

Roger Williams

Banished Puritan minister; founded Providence and Rhode Island, supported religious freedom.

Providence

Settlement in Rhode Island founded by Williams in 1636; tolerant and fair with Natives.

Anne Hutchinson

Banished Puritan who preached antinomianism; settled in Rhode Island.

Antinomianism

Belief that faith alone is enough for salvation, not deeds.

Rhode Island

Colony founded by Williams; offered religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Thomas Hooker

Puritan who founded Connecticut; extended voting rights.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

First written constitution in America; representative government.

Connecticut

Colony founded by Hooker; known for democratic principles.

Praying Towns

Villages meant to convert and assimilate Natives into Puritan Christianity.

New Hampshire

Royal colony created in 1679, originally part of Massachusetts.

New England Confederation (1643)

Military alliance of New England colonies for defense against Natives and Dutch.

Metacom (King Philip's War)

Native leader who united tribes against settlers in 1675-76; ended major Native resistance in New England.

The Carolinas

Colonies granted to nobles; South Carolina focused on rice plantations, North on small farms.

Rice Plantations

Large Southern farms using African slave labor, especially in South Carolina.

Tobacco Farms

Main crop of Chesapeake and North Carolina, fueled by slave labor.

New York

Taken from the Dutch in 1664; diverse colony, frequent tension with royal governors.

New Jersey

Split from New York; started as proprietary, later royal colony.

Pennsylvania

Founded by William Penn as a Quaker refuge.

Quakers

Religious group advocating pacifism, equality, and tolerance; persecuted in England.

William Penn

Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, promoted self-government and tolerance.

Holy Experiment

Penn's plan for Pennsylvania as a model colony of religious freedom and fair Native relations.

Delaware

Once part of Pennsylvania, got its own assembly in 1703.

Georgia

Last colony, founded in 1733 as a debtor haven and buffer against Spanish Florida.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia; banned slavery at first, envisioned reform for debtors.

Navigation Acts (1650-1673)

British mercantilist laws restricting colonial trade to benefit England.

Dominion of New England (1686-89)

Royal merger of New England colonies under Governor Andros; resisted by colonists.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

Overthrow of James II in England; inspired colonial resistance and increased self-rule.

Triangle Trade

Transatlantic trade of slaves, rum, and manufactured goods between Africa, Americas, and Europe.

Slave Trade

Transport and sale of Africans into slavery in the colonies.

Middle Passage

Brutal ocean voyage bringing enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

Slave revolt in South Carolina; led to harsher slave codes.