1. Colonial Charters and Founding Reasons:
- Jamestown (1607): First permanent English colony, founded for economic reasons (joint-stock company).
- Plymouth (1620): Pilgrims seeking religious freedom.
- Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630): Puritans seeking religious freedom.
- Maryland (1634): Founded as a safe haven for Catholics (proprietary colony).
- Rhode Island (1636): Founded for religious freedom (Roger Williams).
- The Carolinas (1663): Founded for profit and agriculture (proprietary colony).
- Pennsylvania (1681): Founded by William Penn as a Quaker colony (proprietary colony).
- Georgia (1732): Founded as a buffer against Spanish Florida and a haven for debtors.
2. Joint Stock Company: A company whose stock is owned jointly by shareholders; used to fund colonies like Jamestown.
3. Proprietary Colony: A colony owned by an individual or family, e.g., Maryland or Pennsylvania.
4. Indentured Servitude: People who worked for a specified number of years in exchange for passage to the New World.
5. Headright System: A system where settlers were granted land in exchange for bringing indentured servants to the colonies.
6. Common Characteristics of the 13 Colonies:
- Social: Family-centered, community-focused, with varying degrees of slavery (especially in the South).
- Political: Varied from democratic town meetings (New England) to aristocratic control (Southern colonies).
- Economic: Agriculture (tobacco, rice, wheat), fishing, and trade. The economy was more diversified in the North, and more plantation-based in the South.
7. Colonial Regions and Geography:
- New England: Rocky soil, cold climate, and forests; economy based on fishing, shipbuilding, and trade.
- Middle Colonies: Fertile soil, moderate climate; wheat, corn, and trade.
- Chesapeake: Fertile land; tobacco plantations.
- Southern Colonies: Warm climate, fertile soil; large plantations growing tobacco, rice, and indigo.
8. The First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s): A religious revival movement that emphasized personal faith and challenged traditional authority. Key figures included Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.
9. Navigation Acts (1651-1673): Laws that restricted colonial trade to England, designed to ensure that the colonies' wealth benefited the mother country.
10. Stono Rebellion (1739): A major slave uprising in South Carolina, leading to harsher slave laws.
11. Salutary Neglect: A policy where England relaxed enforcement of most regulations in the colonies, allowing them to flourish economically.