Colonial America — Key Concepts and Events

Flashcards covering types of colonies, key figures, major events, labor systems, religious movements, governance, and imperial trade in colonial America.

What are the three types of English colonies and who controlled each type?

Corporate Colonies were run by joint‑stock companies; Royal Colonies were under direct authority of the king; Proprietary Colonies were granted by the crown to individuals.

Which colonies are known as the Chesapeake Colonies?

Virginia and Maryland; tobacco-based economies that relied on indentured servants and later slavery.

Who founded Maryland and what was the goal for Maryland?

George Calvert (Lord Baltimore); to create a Catholic refuge.

What was the House of Burgesses and why is it significant?

The first representative assembly in the colonies (in Virginia); it evolved into the House of Delegates.

What did the Act of Toleration (1649) in Maryland establish?

Religious freedom for all Christians.

What landmark event established Virginia as the first permanent English colony and in what year?

Jamestown, established in 1607.

Who was Sir William Berkeley and what conflict did he have in Virginia?

Governor of Virginia; clashed with Nathaniel Bacon, leading to Bacon’s Rebellion.

What was the significance of Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)?

Revealed class tensions between poor farmers and elites and sped the shift from indentured servitude to slavery.

What were indentured servants?

Poor Europeans who worked 4–7 years in exchange for passage to the colonies.

What was the Headright System?

Land grants to those who paid for passage, encouraging immigration.

How did labor systems in the Chesapeake shift over time?

Slavery became the permanent labor system, gradually replacing indentured servitude.

Who founded Providence and for what purpose?

Roger Williams; to establish religious freedom in Rhode Island after banishment from Massachusetts.

What happened to Anne Hutchinson and why is she notable?

Banished for challenging ministers; helped found Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

What is Antinomianism?

The belief that faith alone saves, not deeds.

Which colony became the most tolerant and how was it formed?

Rhode Island; Williams and Hutchinson merged towns to create religious tolerance.

Who founded Hartford and what important document did he draft?

Thomas Hooker; Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first written constitution.

What were Praying Towns?

Settlements for Native converts to Christianity.

Which colony split from Massachusetts to become a royal colony?

New Hampshire.

What was the New England Confederation?

A military alliance of New England colonies for defense against Native groups and the Dutch.

Who was Metacom and what war is associated with him?

Metacom (King Philip); King Philip’s War (1675–76) pitted Native alliance against New Englanders; colonists ultimately prevailed.

What were the Carolinas and how did their geography influence their crops?

Proprietary colonies; rice plantations in the south and tobacco in the north.

What type of plantations were prominent in the Carolinas?

Rice plantations that relied on enslaved labor.

What was the backbone crop of the Chesapeake and North Carolina economies?

Tobacco farms.

What happened to New York after it was taken from the Dutch?

It became a proprietary colony and later royal; it was diverse and cosmopolitan.

What became of New Jersey in relation to New York?

Split off from New York; developed as a mix of small farms and trade.

What was Pennsylvania’s status and who founded it?

A proprietary colony founded by William Penn.

Who were the Quakers and what were their early beliefs in Pennsylvania?

Pacifists who emphasized equality and were early opponents of slavery.

What was the Holy Experiment?

Penn’s vision for Pennsylvania emphasizing religious toleration and fair treatment of Native peoples.

What was Delaware’s relationship to Pennsylvania?

Delaware split from Pennsylvania but shared the same governor for a period.

What was Georgia’s purpose as a colony and who founded it?

A buffer against Spanish Florida and a refuge for debtors; founded by James Oglethorpe.

What initial restrictions did Georgia impose?

No slavery and no rum (alcohol) at the outset.

What were the Navigation Acts?

Mercantilist laws requiring colonies to trade only with England.

What was the Dominion of New England and who led it?

A merged set of colonies under one royal governor, Edmund Andros; it was very unpopular.

What was the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its impact on the colonies?

Overthrew James II; the Dominion collapsed and the colonies regained self-government.

What is the Triangle Trade?

A trade network involving rum, enslaved people, and sugar between the colonies, Africa, and the Caribbean.

What was the primary driver of the Atlantic Slave Trade?

A growing transatlantic demand for labor.

What was the Middle Passage?

The brutal transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans to the Americas.