APUSH Period 2 Notes

Characteristics and Types of English Colonies

English settlements along the Atlantic coast varied significantly in structure and governance, primarily for economic profit and representative government.

  1. Types of Colonies

    • Corporate Colonies: Managed by joint-stock companies, focused on profits.

    • Royal Colonies: Under direct control of the monarch, reflecting royal interests.

    • Proprietary Colonies: Governed by individuals who received land grants from the king, promoting personal investment in settlement.

The Chesapeake Region

  • Jamestown (1607): The first permanent English settlement in North America, established by a charter from King James I to joint-stock companies.

    • Key figure: Captain John Smith who enforced strict work orders and relied on Native American assistance.

    • The colony faced severe challenges during the Starving Time (1609–1610), reducing its population from 500 to about 60.

    • John Rolfe introduced tobacco cultivation, which blossomed into Virginia's economic backbone, leading to the Headright System incentivizing land settlement.

    • Representative government emerged with the House of Burgesses (1619).

    • The introduction of African slaves marked a shift to a labor system focused on enslaved Africans following the economic tensions of Bacon's Rebellion (1676).

  • Maryland: Founded by Lord Baltimore (George Calvert) as a refuge for Catholics, it later passed the Maryland Act of Religious Toleration (1649) to balance the rising Protestant majority and ensure freedom of worship for all Christians.

The New England Colonies

  • Plymouth (1620): Established by Pilgrims led by William Bradford, who signed the Mayflower Compact to create a self-governing body.

    • Massachusetts Bay Colony: Settled by Puritans under John Winthrop, marking a strict theocratic society where law and governance were intertwined with religious doctrine.

    • High literacy rates (90%) were achieved due to mandatory Bible reading.

    • Notable dissenters like Anne Hutchinson were banished for advocating religious freedoms, while the Salem Witch Trials (1692) highlighted the perils of rigid conformity.

  • Connecticut: Founded by Thomas Hooker, adopting the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639), America’s first written constitution.

  • Rhode Island: Established by Roger Williams, promoting complete separation of church and state, religious freedom, and respecting Native American land rights.

  • Conflicts with Native populations escalated, evidenced by the Pequot War (1636–1638) and King Philip's War (1675–1678), which ended in native defeat and further English settlement.

The Middle and Southern Colonies

  • Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn as a "Holy Experiment" for Quakers, fostering religious tolerance, democratic governance, a commitment to peace, and gender equality in a diverse society.

  • Southern Colonies: Included North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

    • Georgia was established by James Oglethorpe as a military buffer against Spanish territories and a haven for English debtors. It initially prohibited slavery but allowed it by 1750, shifting from its founding ideals.

Imperial Economic Policies

  • British colonial policy adhered to mercantilism, aiming to enhance wealth through a trade surplus.

  • The Navigation Acts (1660s) enforced trade restrictions to benefit England, although weak enforcement led to rampant colonial smuggling. This dynamic fostered ongoing tensions between the colonies and Britain.