Unit 2: Period 2: 1607-1754

Spanish Colonization (1607–1754)

Spanish settlements focused on southwestern regions (NM, AZ, CA, TX), featuring aggressive attempts to convert Native Americans to Christianity and forced labor systems.

Dutch Colonization

Settlements in present-day NY and NJ that consisted mostly of men, focused on the fur trade, intermarried with Native Americans, and maintained religious diversity.

French Colonization

Settlements along the Mississippi River and Great Lakes primarily consisting of male fur traders who intermarried with Native Americans and converted some to Catholicism.

English Colonization

Settlements driven by economic opportunity and religious escape, focusing on permanent family colonies, limited intermarriage, and land expansion that created conflict with Native Americans.

Chesapeake Region Economy

An economy heavily dependent on tobacco farming, relying initially on indentured servants and increasingly on enslaved African labor.

New England Region

Colonies founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom, characterized by family units, a diversified economy (farming, fishing, trade, shipbuilding), and strict social hierarchies.

Middle Colonies Region

Religiously and ethnically diverse colonies focused on growing cereal crops like wheat; included Quaker-founded Pennsylvania, which opposed slavery and promoted human equality. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware

West Indies Colonial Economy

A plantation economy with long growing seasons centered on labor-intensive cash crops—primarily sugar cane—driving massive demand for African slave labor.

Jamestown (1607)

The first permanent English settlement in North America, funded by a joint-stock company; survived severe mortality rates after John Rolfe introduced profitable tobacco cultivation.

Joint-Stock Company

A business entity where corporate ownership is divided into transferrable shares, allowing private investors to pool capital to fund colonial endeavors like Jamestown.

Great Migration (1630s)

The mass migration of Puritan family groups from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony seeking religious freedom and self-governance.

House of Burgesses

The first elected representative legislative assembly in colonial Virginia, historically dominated by wealthy plantation elites.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

An early agreement authored by Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower establishing a self-governing civil body politic based on majority rule.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

A foundational colonial document setting up the structure of Connecticut's government, widely considered the first written constitution in North America.

John Winthrop

Puritan leader and governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony who articulated the ideal of a 'city upon a hill,' establishing early notions of American exceptionalism.

Roger Williams

A religious dissenter banished from Massachusetts for advocating the separation of church and state and fair treatment of Native Americans; founded Rhode Island.

Anne Hutchinson

A religious dissenter in Massachusetts Bay Colony banished after challenging the authority and doctrines of the Puritan clergy.

Pequot War (1636)

A conflict between New England colonists and the Pequot tribe over land and fur trade dominance, resulting in the violent destruction of the Pequot population.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

An uprising of Virginia frontier settlers and indentured servants against Governor Berkeley's government; led elites to transition from indentured servitude to enslaved African labor.

Metacom's War / King Philip's War (1675–1678)

A widespread conflict between New England colonists and a Native American coalition led by Wampanoag chief Metacom, resulting in English victory and accelerated land expansion.

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

A successful Native American uprising in present-day New Mexico that temporarily drove the Spanish out and forced them to compromise on Native religious traditions.

Salem Witch Trials (1692)

A wave of mass paranoia and judicial executions in Salem, Massachusetts, triggered by witchcraft accusations reflecting deep social and religious tensions.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where colonies exist to supply raw materials to the mother country and purchase manufactured goods, maximizing national wealth and control.

Navigation Acts (1651)

A series of English laws enforcing mercantilism by restricting colonial trade to English ships and markets, raising colonial resentment.

The Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing rationalism, individual liberty, popular sovereignty, and self-governance, shaping the American Revolution.

Natural Rights

John Locke's Enlightenment philosophy stating that all humans inherently possess rights to life, liberty, and property that no government can legitimately violate.

Social Contract Theory

The concept that individuals surrender some freedoms to a government in exchange for protection of their natural rights, retaining the right to alter or overthrow a tyrannical government.

First Great Awakening (1730s)

A Protestant religious revival across the American colonies marked by emotional itinerant preaching led by figures like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

Middle Passage

The brutal forced transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans to the Americas as part of the Triangular Trade network.

Chattel Slavery

A legal system of slavery in which human beings are treated as personal property that can be bought, sold, inherited, and owned perpetually.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

An armed slave revolt in South Carolina that resulted in harsh military suppression and the enactment of stricter, more restrictive colonial slave codes.

Jamestown (1607)

The first permanent English settlement established in North America (Virginia).

Quebec Settlement (1608)

The establishment of the first permanent French settlement in North America.

1619 Jamestown Milestones

The establishment of the House of Burgesses (first elected assembly) and the arrival of the first documented enslaved Africans in the English colonies.

Capture of New Amsterdam (1664)

The English conquest of Dutch New Amsterdam, renaming the colony New York.

King Philip's War (1676)

A major conflict in New England representing violent Native American resistance against expanding English colonial settlements.

Establishment of Georgia (1733)

The founding of the 13th and final British mainland colony in North America.

Outbreak of Seven Years' War / French and Indian War (1754)

The conflict between Great Britain and France that began over territorial disputes in the Ohio River Valley.

Chesapeake Colonies (Economy & Labor)

Virginia and Maryland. Colonies whose economy was driven by cash-crop tobacco farming, relying on the headright system, indentured servitude, and later enslaved African labor.

New England Colonies (Society & Economy)

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire. Colonies settled primarily by Puritans in family units, featuring town meetings, religious focus, and a diversified economy based on family farming, trade, and shipbuilding.

Middle Colonies (Key Features)

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Region known as the 'breadbasket' for its grain farming, characterized by high ethnic and religious diversity as well as religious tolerance.

Southern Colonies

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Colonies dominated by large plantation economies focused on cash crops like rice and indigo, relying heavily on enslaved labor.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

An agreement created by Pilgrim settlers aboard their ship to establish a civil self-government based on majority rule.

Virginia House of Burgesses

The first elected representative legislative assembly established in the English North American colonies.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

A colonial governing document widely considered the first written constitution in American history.

Joint-Stock Company

A business structure in which private investors pool capital by purchasing shares to finance colonial endeavors for profit.

Mercantilism

An economic policy holding that colonies exist to enrich the mother country by providing raw materials and consuming manufactured exports.

Navigation Acts

A series of English laws enforcing mercantilism by restricting colonial trade exclusively to English ships and markets.

Headright System

A colonial land policy granting 50 acres of land to anyone who paid for an indentured servant's passage to Virginia.

Middle Passage

The horrific forced transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans to the Americas as part of the Triangular Trade network.

Roger Williams & Anne Hutchinson

Puritan dissenters banished from Massachusetts for challenging clerical authority and doctrine, who subsequently helped settle Rhode Island.

Halfway Covenant (1662)

A Puritan arrangement granting partial church membership to the children of baptized members to stem declining church participation.

First Great Awakening

A major Protestant religious revival across the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized personal emotional faith and challenged traditional religious authority.

John Peter Zenger Trial (1735)

A landmark colonial trial that established an early precedent for freedom of the press in North America.

1607 to 1754 Era

Exploration gave way to expanding colonization, ending with the start of a decisive war for control of the continent.

Four Main European Colonizers

Spanish, French, Dutch, and British.

British Colonial Territory

Dominated the region from Canada to the Caribbean islands, establishing 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast.

First Two Successful British Colonies

Jamestown (in the Chesapeake/Virginia) and Plymouth (in New England/Massachusetts).

Early Contact Trade Desires

Colonists wanted a dependable food supply, while Native Americans wanted iron tools and guns.

Native American Alliances

Tribes like the Iroquois and Huron allied with Europeans to advance their own interests and fight rivals.

Transatlantic Trade Evolution

Early trade created strong bonds via religion and language; by the mid-1700s, trade became a point of conflict as colonists resisted British control.

Native American Labor (Why It Failed)

European attempts to enslave Native Americans failed because Native Americans knew the land and could easily escape.

Indentured Servant

A person who agreed to work for a master for a set number of years (usually 7) in exchange for free transportation from Europe to the Americas.

Shift to African Slavery

When indentured servants failed to provide sufficient labor for landowners, the British followed Spain's example and began importing enslaved laborers from Africa.

3 Main Motivations for 17th-Century Colonization

Wealth (gold, silver, trade, land), Religion (spreading Christianity or escaping persecution), and Demographics (finding a better life due to a crowded European population).

Spanish Demographic Feature

Colonizers were mostly men, and their colonial society gradually incorporated Native Americans and Africans.

Spanish Religious Motivation

A deep passion for missionary work (Roman Catholicism) and a desire to stop the expanding global influence of the Protestant Reformation.

St. Augustine, Florida (1565)

The oldest city founded by Europeans in the mainland United States, established over 50 years before Jamestown.

Why Spanish Expansion in North America Was Slow

Limited mineral resources (little gold/silver), strong opposition from American Indians, and environmental challenges like periodic hurricanes.

Why Spain Settled Texas & California

Texas was settled to block French exploration of the lower Mississippi River, while California was settled to block Russian exploration coming down from Alaska.

French Economy & Demographics

Populated by very few Frenchmen (mostly male fur traders and missionaries), depending heavily on the fur trade industry for economic survival.

French-Native American Relationships

Relied heavily on alliances with American Indians, with many traders intermarrying with native women who served as vital guides and translators.

French Geography & Key Cities

Settled along rivers for trade transportation, including Quebec (1608, first settlement on the St. Lawrence River) and New Orleans (1718, trade hub at the mouth of the Mississippi River).

Henry Hudson (1609 Expedition)

English sailor hired by the Netherlands to find a path to Asia who sailed the Hudson River, establishing Dutch claims to New Amsterdam (New York).

Dutch West India Company

A chartered company granted the right by the Dutch government to control the region for economic gain.

Dutch Settlement Patterns

Consisted of small numbers of traders focused on trade networks, settled strictly in trading posts near coasts/rivers, and rarely intermarried with native populations.

England's Domestic Push Factors

A rapidly growing population outpaced the economy, creating a massive wave of poor and landless families seeking opportunities elsewhere.

British Demographics vs. Other Europeans

Included a much higher percentage of families and single females, attracting a far more ethnically and religiously diverse group of European settlers.

British Economy & Native Relations

Focused primarily on agriculture and farming, aggressively claimed American Indian land, and rarely intermarried with native populations.

Why British Colonies Developed Regional Differences

Topography and natural resources, climate differences, and the unique backgrounds of the settlers.

3 Types of Colonial Charters

Corporate (operated by joint-stock companies like early Jamestown), Royal (under direct rule of the king's government like Virginia after 1624), and Proprietary (owned by individuals granted authority by the king like Maryland).

British Political Tradition

A strong tradition of representative government where property owners elected leaders to vote on taxes.

Jamestown's Environmental Problems

Built on a swampy area along the James River, causing fatal outbreaks of dysentery and malaria.

Why Early Jamestown Settlers Starved

Many settlers were gold hunters who refused to farm, and conflicts with Native Americans stopped vital trade.

Jamestown's Economic Savior

John Rolfe, who developed a popular variety of tobacco that became a highly profitable crop in Europe.

Virginia's Labor Shift

Planters initially relied mostly on White indentured servants, but by the end of the 1600s shifted heavily to enslaved Africans.

Why Virginia Became a Royal Colony (1624)

High death rates from disease and conflict led King James I to revoke the charter and take direct control.

Primary Goal of New England Settlers

Driven by religious motivation rather than wealth, fleeing persecution from the Church of England (Anglican Church).

Separatists (Pilgrims) vs. Puritans

Separatists wanted a completely independent church separate from royal control, whereas Puritans wanted to reform or purify the Church of England from within.

The Great Migration (1630s)

Civil conflict in England drove 15,000 Puritan settlers to Massachusetts Bay.

New England Economy & Society

Composed of small towns and family farms with an economy relying on a blend of commerce and agriculture.

Original Purpose of Maryland (1634)

Founded by Lord Baltimore as a haven for Catholics facing persecution.

Act of Toleration (1649)

The first colonial law granting religious freedom to all Christians, while calling for the death of anyone denying the divinity of Jesus.

Outcome of Maryland's Protestant Civil War

Protestants repealed the Act of Toleration, causing Catholics to permanently lose the right to vote in elections.

Why Rhode Island Was Founded

Created as a refuge for religious dissidents banished from Massachusetts.

Roger Williams (Core Beliefs)

Believed a person's conscience was free from church or government control, recognized the rights of American Indians, and paid them for their land.

Providence (1636 Features)

Allowed Catholics, Quakers, and Jews to worship freely, serving as the site of one of the first Baptist churches in America.

Anne Hutchinson & Antinomianism

Believed faith alone brings salvation, meaning people do not have to follow traditional moral laws; banished from Massachusetts and founded Portsmouth (1638).

Thomas Hooker (Hartford)

Led a group of Puritans out of Massachusetts to found Hartford (1636).

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

The first written constitution in American history, establishing a representative government with an elected legislature.