IV–VI: English Colonization, Jamestown, and New England Puritans

A comprehensive set of Q&A flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on English colonization, Jamestown, and New England Puritans.

What is mercantilism as described in Elizabethan England?

A state-supported system of manufacturing and trading designed to create markets, expand wealth, and fund naval power.

What social and economic changes unsettled England between 1500 and 1650, contributing to colonization?

Rapid population growth, rising rents and enclosure, declining farming income, stagnating wages, and rising poverty.

Who were Richard Hakluyt the Younger and John Dee, and what did they argue about colonization?

Advocates who argued colonization would glorify God, England, and Protestantism, and Christianize the New World's pagan peoples.

What is the Black Legend?

The English portrayal of Spanish cruelty in the Americas used to justify Protestant colonization and opposition to Catholic Spain.

What benefits did Hakluyt claim the New World would provide besides religious goals?

Economic advantages such as trade, resource extraction, a strong navy, and employment for landless poor.

What was the Virginia Company (1606)?

A chartered company intended to establish a Virginia colony, seeking gold, furs, and other commodities while expanding English influence.

Who were the Sea Dogs and why were they important?

Sailors sponsored by Elizabeth I to raid Spanish ships and colonies; privateering profits for individuals and the Crown.

What was the outcome of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and why does it matter?

The Armada was defeated, safeguarding England's Protestant status and enabling future expansion.

Where and when did Jamestown settle?

On the James River in present-day Virginia, founded in 1607.

Who were the Powhatan Confederacy and Pocahontas?

A powerful Algonquian-speaking alliance in the Chesapeake; Pocahontas, Powhatan's daughter, aided John Smith and later married John Rolfe.

What happened to the Roanoke Colony?

Abandoned by 1587-1590; Croatoan carved on a post; its fate remains unknown.

Why did tobacco become crucial to Jamestown's survival?

It produced profits and a cash crop export, drawing settlers and capital and enabling colonial growth.

What was the 1618 headright system?

A grant of 50 acres to every immigrant, plus 50 acres for paying the passage of an immigrant.

What was the House of Burgesses (1619)?

Virginia's first representative assembly, established in Jamestown.

What is significant about 1619 in Virginia?

A Dutch slave ship brought twenty Africans to Virginia, marking the beginnings of African slavery in English North America.

What happened in 1622 under Opechancanough?

A surprise attack by Powhatan's successor killed about 350 colonists, roughly a third of Virginia's population.

How did English conceptions of race and superiority influence colonization?

The English imagined themselves superior to Native Americans and invoked the Black Legend; race ideas hardened as slavery expanded.

What did Hakluyt's 1584 Discourse on Western Planting advocate?

Promoted religious, moral, and economic benefits of colonization and argued it could be a bulwark against Catholic Spain.

What was the Great Migration (1630–1640)?

About 20,000 Puritans moved to New England seeking religious reform and a godly community.

What is the 'City upon a Hill' concept?

John Winthrop's vision of a virtuous, exemplary Puritan colony in America to inspire reform back home.

What beliefs defined Puritans?

Calvinist predestination, belief in the Elect, emphasis on Bible reading, and reforming the Church of England.

How did Puritans structure New England towns?

Family-based settlements, small landholders, town meetings, covenants, 'commons,' and limited democratic participation.

What is a jeremiad?

A sermon lamenting moral decline and covenant violation; a late-17th-century Puritan literary form.

What happened to Christmas and holidays in early New England?

Puritans originally limited festive observances; by the early 18th century, Christmas celebrations reappeared publicly and privately.

Why were Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams banished?

Dissenters who challenged Puritan authority, exemplifying religious intolerance within the colony.

How did disease affect English colonization in New England and relations with Native Americans?

New England's climate reduced tropical diseases; however, a 1610s smallpox pandemic devastated Native Americans, aiding European settlement.

What was the meaning of 'commons' in New England town governance?

Undivided land held for future generations; towns allocated home lots and governed by town meetings and selectmen.

How did the Puritans view Native Americans and land rights?

A sense of entitlement to Indigenous lands rooted in conquest and a belief in cultural/religious superiority.