Colonial America: Types, Key Figures, and Political Developments

Corporate Colonies

Colonies funded and operated by joint-stock companies for profit; settlers hoped to make money while the company managed government and trade (e.g., early Jamestown).

Royal Colonies

Colonies directly controlled by the king through appointed governors and councils; laws and trade were subject to royal authority.

Proprietary Colonies

Colonies granted by the crown to individuals or families (proprietors) who had full governing rights, like Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Jamestown (1607)

First permanent English settlement in North America; established by the Virginia Company for profit; struggled early but survived with leadership and tobacco economy.

Captain John Smith

Leader who helped Jamestown survive through discipline, trade with Native Americans, and enforcing "he who works not, eats not."

Headright System

Policy granting land (usually 50 acres) to colonists who paid their passage or sponsored others; encouraged settlement and indentured servitude.

Plymouth Colony / Separatists (Pilgrims)

Founded in 1620 by religious dissenters seeking separation from the Church of England; relied on self-government and cooperation with Native Americans.

Massachusetts Bay Colony / Puritans

Established in 1630 by Puritans aiming to "purify" the Church of England; emphasized strict religious community and moral order.

John Winthrop

Puritan leader and governor of Massachusetts Bay; promoted idea of "City upon a Hill" as a moral example for the world.

Great Migration

Movement of 20,000+ Puritans to New England in the 1630s to escape religious persecution and establish communities.

Cecil Calvert (Lord Baltimore)

Founded Maryland as a safe haven for Catholics; promoted religious tolerance and proprietary rule.

Maryland Act of Toleration (1649)

Law granting religious freedom to all Christians in Maryland; did not extend to non-Christians.

New England (region)

Northern colonies with small farms, trade, shipbuilding, and tight-knit religious communities; economy less reliant on slavery.

Roger Williams

Minister who challenged Puritan authority; founded Rhode Island advocating religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Anne Hutchinson

Banished Puritan woman who challenged gender roles and clergy authority; emphasized personal interpretation of Scripture.

Halfway Covenant

Allowed partial church membership for children of baptized but non-converted Puritans to maintain church influence.

William Penn

Quaker leader who founded Pennsylvania; promoted religious tolerance, fair treatment of Native Americans, and representative government.

Quakers

Religious group emphasizing pacifism, equality, and the "inner light"; often persecuted in other colonies.

James Oglethorpe

Founded Georgia as a buffer colony against Spanish Florida and a refuge for debtors; initially banned slavery.

Virginia House of Burgesses

First representative assembly in the colonies (1619); allowed colonists a voice in government.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement among Pilgrims to self-govern and follow majority rule; early example of colonial democracy.

Triangular Trade

Trade network linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas, including slaves, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

Mercantilism

Economic policy where colonies exist to enrich the mother country; emphasized trade surplus and resource control.

Navigation Acts

Laws requiring colonial trade to pass through England, limiting colonial economic independence.

Salutary Neglect

Period when Britain loosely enforced trade laws, allowing colonies self-rule as long as trade benefited England.

Dominion of New England

1686 attempt by James II to unite northern colonies under royal control, centralized government, and stricter enforcement of trade laws.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

Overthrow of James II in England; reinforced colonial self-government and limited royal power.

Metacom's War / King Philip's War

1675-76 Native revolt in New England against English expansion; many towns were destroyed, but the war ended Native resistance in the region.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon of Virginia against colonial elites and Native policies; exposed class tensions and encouraged a shift toward African slavery.

Pueblo Revolt (Popé's Rebellion)

1680 Native uprising in New Mexico that temporarily expelled Spanish colonists; restored Pueblo culture and religion for 12 years.

Indentured Servants

Colonists who worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage to America; major labor source before slavery.

First Great Awakening

1730s-40s religious revival emphasizing personal faith, emotion, and challenging traditional clergy.

Jonathan Edwards

Preacher who delivered "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", emphasizing personal salvation and fear of damnation.

George Whitefield

Traveling preacher who spread revivalism through emotional sermons across the colonies.

"Old Lights" & "New Lights"

Division during the Great Awakening; Old = traditional clergy, New = revivalist ministers embracing emotional preaching.

Benjamin Franklin

Colonial thinker, inventor, diplomat, and writer; symbolized Enlightenment ideals in America.

Phillis Wheatley

Enslaved African poet; first published African-American female writer, showed intellectual contribution of enslaved people.

John Peter Zenger

Journalist whose trial established freedom of the press principle in the colonies.

(American) Enlightenment

Intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, progress, and natural rights; influenced colonial political thought.

John Locke / Natural Rights

Philosopher who argued that life, liberty, and property are inherent rights; influenced American revolutionary thinking.