Chapter 3: Creating New Social Orders — The Impact of Colonization

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the notes on the impact of colonization, slavery, Puritans, and Native American relations.

Indentured servitude

A labor system where a person works for a fixed period in exchange for passage to the colonies; some servants eventually gain freedom, while others (e.g., John Casor) end up in lifelong servitude.

Slavery in the American colonies

System of racialized perpetual labor; first definite evidence in Virginia around 1640; the institution expanded after Bacon’s Rebellion and the shift from indentured servitude to lifelong slavery.

Royal African Company

English trading company that supplied enslaved Africans to English colonies in the Americas.

Anthony Johnson

Angolan-born settler who arrived as an indentured servant in 1620, later became a free landowner; his case illustrates early questions about citizenship and race in colonial Virginia (died 1670).

John Casor

Johnson’s indentured servant who was declared bound for life, one of the earliest legal recognitions of lifelong slavery.

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 uprising by white and Black indentured servants that alarmed colonial elites and helped accelerate the transition from indentured servitude to slavery.

Epidemics among Native Americans

Between 1520 and 1918, 93 epidemics (smallpox, measles, influenza, tuberculosis, etc.) caused extremely high mortality—often around 90%—among Native populations.

Crops from the Americas (corn and potatoes)

Major crops originating in the Americas; their adoption spurred population growth in Africa and Europe and facilitated shifts in global power dynamics.

Plymouth Colony

Founded in 1620 by Puritan Separatists; funded by the London Company; settlement aided by the Mayflower voyage; later incorporated into Massachusetts.

Mayflower Compact

Early colonial social contract signed by Plymouth settlers to establish self-government and cooperative governance.

Pequot War (1637)

First major conflict in New England between Puritans and the Pequot, with substantial casualties and a lasting impact on Native-settler relations.

King Philip’s War (1675–1676)

Conflict led by Metacom (King Philip) against English settlers in New England; heavy casualties on both sides; Metacom was captured and beheaded.

Metacom (King Philip)

Wampanoag leader who united Native American groups against English encroachment; executed in 1676.

A City upon a Hill

Puritan vision of Massachusetts as a model Christian commonwealth emphasizing communal discipline, self-government, and eventual theocracy.

The London Company

Financed the Plymouth voyage and settlement; arranged debt repayment terms to support colonization.

Puritan governance: theocracy vs. democracy

Puritan leaders favored rule guided by religious principles (theocracy) rather than broad democratic participation; representation emerged in towns by 1634.