contextualizing period 2
starting with jamestown, va (1607) → georgia (1733)
13 colonies run by english charters
corporate colonies (ex. jamestown), royal colonies (VA >1624), proprietary colonies (MD, PA)
rep. govty
poli + religious conflicts, but also desire for independence
TL;DR: started in 1607, ended in 1733, 13 colonies by eng. charters, corp., royal, proprietary cols. w/ rep govt, desire for independence
early english settlements
started colonizing in early 1600s
rep. for large naval power (1588)
ppl liked the idea of the americas
tons of joint-stock companies to spread risk
large number of english settlers
jamestown
chartered by virginia company, founded by king james 1
virginia company = joint-stock company (1607)
1st perm. eng. colony
early problems
settlers screwed up a LOT in jamestown
swampy area + james river = dysentry + malaria outbreaks
many not used to actually working
some ppl wanted gold
traded w/ natives, but when conflict came, settlers were cooked
starvation = big issue
capt. john smith = leader
john rolfe + pocahontas = leaders after capt. john smith, made tobacco
transition to royal colony
pop. >6k, but only 2k alive
super deep in debt, so king james took over
1st royal colony aka virginia
plymouth + massachusetts bay
religious motivation = plymouth + massachusetts bay
english protestants who didn’t support church of england
church of england left pope, so not roman catholic
however, church still kept a lot of catholic ways which dissenters didn’t like
king james 1 saw dissenters as threat (1603-1625)
plymouth colony
dissenters known as separatists
wanted to organize separate church w/o royal control
england → holland for religious freedom
became known as pilgrims
chose plymouth to go to, set sail in 1620
sailed aboard the mayflower
got to massachusetts instead, but js stayed there and went to plymouth
early hardships
winter killed half of them
friendly natives decided to help them post-winter
first thanksgiving happened (1621)
capt. miles standish + gov. william bradford = leaders
fish, furs, lumber = big 3 economy
massachusetts bay colony
moderate dissenters wanted CoE reform
wanted to purify CoE, aka puritans
charles 1 reign = persecution (1625)
royal charter for massachusetts bay co. (1629)
1k puritans led by john winthrop → MA (1630)
founded boston + towns
civil war (1630s england) got 15k more to come, aka great migration
TL;DR: jamestown 1st perm. english colony where settlers screwed up a lot, became super deep in debt, became 1st royal colony aka virginia, plymouth colony founded by pilgrims in 1620 when they were helped by natives to get it together, puritans founded massachusetts bay colony w/ great migration in 1630s
early political institutions
colonies wanted self-rule, started early on
rep. assembly in virginia
virginia co. guaranteed colonists same rights as they had in england
organized first rep. assembly, house of burguesses (1619)
rep. govt. in new england
pilgrims made + signed mayflower compact (1620)
self-govt + constitution
freemen (male puritan church members) had the right to take part in yearly elections
limits to colonial democracy
most colonists excluded from democracy
male property owners included, landless + women excluded
slaves + indentured servants had zero rights
govts = unlimited powers
democracy existed w/ antidemocracy
TL;DR: colonies wanted self-rule, virginia made first rep. assembly, the house of burguesses (1619), pilgrims made mayflower contract (1620), men had most power, anyone else was cooked, democracies existed w/ antidemocracies
cheseapeake colonies
king charles 1 subdivided virginia colony (1632)
chartered 2 new colonies on chesapeake bay, gave control of 1 to lord baltimore (george calvert)
maryland became first proprietary colony
religious issues in maryland
king wanted proprietors to do what he said to give him control over his colony
died before he got everything he wanted done
passed down to son cecil calvert, who completed his father’s wishes
act of toleration
wealthy english catholics → maryland
outnumbered by protestant farmers
calvert wanted act of toleration adopted
religious freedom for all christians BUT anyone who didn’t believe in divinity of jesus = dead
protestant revolt
protestant resentment against catholic proprietor = civil war
protestant W, act of toleration repealed
catholics lost right to vote in maryland assembly elections
maryland eco + society similar to virginia, but more religious tolerance + diversity
labor shortages
landowners (maryland + virginia) saw opportunities
got land by taking it or trading with natives
europeans really wanted tobacco, but not enough laborers
high death rate (disease), food shortages, indian resistance = slow pop. growth
indentured servants
first attempt to get the workers they wanted
young people work for room + board (british isles)
under rule of masters until time was up, but got freedom after
only a temporary fix, not really a permanent solution
headright system
wanted to get immigrants w/ offers of land
50 acres to each immigrant who paid for themselves + plantation owners who paid for an immigrant
slavery
dutch ship brought africans to the americas as indentured servants (1619)
they were only indentured servants for a while, children were free
colonists were too poor to pay for slaves anyway
became slaves by the end of the 1660s as laws were enacted
economic problems
low tobacco prices from overproduction = hard times for maryland + virginia
tried to raise prices on tobacco, but london merchants raised prices on products → virginia
conflict in virginia
sir william berkeley = royal gov. virginia (1641-1652, 1660-1677)
used dictatorship to govern for large planters, pissed off smaller farmers bc he didn’t protect them from native attacks
bacon’s rebellion
nathaniel bacon led rebellion against berkeley’s govt
didn’t like political + economic control by large planters
rebelled in 1676, was accused by berkeley of rebelling against govt
bacon pulled off the W, but died of dysentery, then govt executed 23 rebels
lasting problems
bacon’s rebellion highlighted huge class differences btwn wealthy + poor, colonizer resistance to royals controlling govt
huge problems would last for a while before actually being resolved
TL;DR: virginia + maryland = chesapeake colonies, maryland became first proprietary colony, religious freedom for all christians in maryland, lots of issues w/ labor shortages, so attempted to use indentured servants, headright sys., slavery, but there were still economic problems + conflicts (bacon’s rebellion) that would last for a long time before actually getting things resolved
development of new england
religious convictions = more struggle for settlers in massachusetts + plymouth bay colonies
puritan leaders didn’t tolerate anyone who questioned their beliefs
banished ppl who disagreed w/ them, banished created connecticut + rhode island
rhode island
roger williams → boston (1631)
had views that differed from puritan leaders + was banished
fled to narragansett bay + founded providence (1636)
unique bc it paid natives for use of land + allowed quakers, catholics, jewish ppl to worship freely
anne hutchinson also banished, founded colony of portsmouth (1638), went to long island and killed in native uprising
roger williams got charter (1644) that merged providence + portsmouth → rhode island
connecticut
connecticut river valley attracted settlers unhappy w/ massachusetts leaders
rev. thomas hooker led a ton of ppl to create colony of hartford (1636)
ppl there created first constitution, orders of connecticut (1639)
second settlement in connecticut valley named new haven (1637)
new haven + hartford = connecticut (1665)
royal charter gave limited self-government
new hampshire
last colony to be founded in new england
initially part of mass. bay, but seperated for more royal control over colonies
made it a royal colony in 1679
halfway covenant
full puritan = conversion required
wanted influence, so halfway covenant was offered to become partial church member
not everyone liked it, but some did, so it was a thing
puritans were weak anyway so it just stayed a thing
new england confederation
new england colonies constantly under attack (hello natives, dutch AND french!)
not much from england, so mass. bay, plymouth, connecticut, + new haven formed military alliance aka new england confederation (1643)
two reps. from each colony
limited powers, lasted until 1684
king philip’s war
king philip (metacom) got a ton of tribes together to fight the settlers
settlers constantly stealing native land, war lasted for 2 years (1675-1676)
colonial ppl W, ended most native resistance
TL;DR: puritan leaders banished ppl who questioned them, created more struggle, but also led to founding of providence, portsmouth (became rhode island), hartford, new haven (became connecticut), new hampshire became royal colony, all constantly under attack, led to founding of new england confederation until 1684, colonial W in king philip’s war led to end of native resistance (mostly)
restoration colonies
new colonies founded in late 17th cen.
founded during restoration period
the carolinas
charles 2 gave 8 nobles a ton of land in btwn VA + south FL, became proprietors in 1663
north + south carolina came to be in 1729, became royal colonies
south carolina
founded by english colonists + planters from barbados (1670)
economy based on fur trade + providing food for west indies
eventually got rice-growing plantations + slaves to work those plantations (mid 18th-century)
very similar economy + culture to west indies)
north carolina
farmers from virginia + new england started up tobacco farms
less large plantations bc transportation sucked and barely any good harbors
didn’t really use (or need) slaves
had very democratic views + autonomy from british control
new york
charles 2 wanted to close the gap between new england + chesapeake colonies
needed dutch to give up their new amsterdam colony
gave duke of york land between CT + DE
duke of york took new amsterdam away from the dutch and anmed his colony new york
treated the dutch well, gave them religious freedom + allowed them to speak whatever language they wanted
did whatever he wanted and didn’t allow a representative assembly
taxation w/o rep pissed off english-speaking settlers
allowed NY gov. to give civil + political rights + rep. assembly (1683)
new jersey
james 2 (duke of york) split the land up (1664)
gave the land beyond the hudson to lord john berkeley + sir george carteret
split between west nj + east nj
gave out really good land offers + religious freedom to attract ppl
kind of hot potato w/ the land until NJ was formed + became a royal colony (1702)
pennsylvania + delaware
pennsylvania owned by quakers
quakers
members of religious society of friends, aka quakers
equality of all men + women, nonviolence, don’t serve in military
religious authority within soul, nowhere else
challenge to religious authorities
persecuted + jailed for beliefs
william penn
convert to quaker
father served king as admiral
dad made him rich + royal family gave him land, made that land colony of pennsylvania
the holy experiment
wanted colony to be refuge for quakers + ppl who were persecuted
wanted to have liberal ideas in gvmt + money for himself
gave colony frame of gvmt (1682-1683), guaranteed rep. assembly, written constitution (charter of liberties - 1701), freedom of worship, unrestricted immigration
helped supervise founding of philly
penn’s treatment of natives viewed as unusual
promised political + religious freedom w/ lots of land
dutch + swedish colonists helped ppl arriving to PA
delaware
gave 3 lower counties of PA separate assembly, became delaware (1702)
georgia: the last colony
georgia = 13th colony chartered
last of british colonies, only one to get direct support from gvmt in london
britain wanted defense against spanish + ppl being imprisoned for debt
shipped debtors over to georgia to get crowds out of jails
special regulations
royal charter for proprietary colony (how does that work??)
philanthropists led by george oglethorpe founded savannah, georgia (1733)
oglethorpe = first governor, had very elaborate plans to ensure georgia thrived
no slavery and no drinking rum allowed
constant threat of spanish attacking, so didn’t actually prosper
royal colony
oglethorpe + group gave up on their plan (1752)
georgia became royal colony after being taken over by british govt
rum + slavery allowed after british govt took over
grew slowly by using plantations like south carolina
georgia = smallest + poorest out of all the colonies
TL;DR: plantations used in georgia + south carolina for economical gain, NC, SC, GA royal colonies, NY created to bridge gap btwn new england + chesapeake colonies, NJ created bc NY was way too big, PA + DE religious haven for quakers
mercantilism and the empire
european kingdoms used mercantilism (trade + colonies + wealth = basis for military + political strength)
government should regulate trade + production so it can do fine on its own
colonies provide materials to countries to grow + profit that country’s industries
colonies exist to help countries
helped both spanish + french colonies from the start
started to be applied to english colonies after civil war (their civil war) was over
acts of trade + navigation
made navigation acts (1650-1673) to govern colonial trade
1. trade to + from colonies done only by english or colonial ships, only operated by english or colonial crews
2. all goods imported to colonies had to pass through ports in england
3. enumerated goods from colonies could only be exported to england
impact on the colonies
new england shipbuilding really prospered
chesapeake tobacco = monopoly
english military forces protect colonies
severely hurt colonial developing
chesapeake farmers forced to accept low prices for crops
colonists paid high prices for manufactured english goods
mercantilism was rlly unnecessary
economic advantages hurt by colonial political relations
colonials didn’t like these acts and smuggled in goods from other countries
enforcement of the acts
didn’t really enforce the acts
agents were super corrupt
revoked massachusetts bay charter bc smuggling
dominion of new england
james 2 got the throne (1685)
wanted more royal control over colonies
all the new england colonies combined into the dominion of new england (1686)
sir edmund andros served as gov., levied taxes, limited town meetings, revoked land titles, made himself look really bad
james 2 didn’t have power for long, was rebelled against
glorious revolution of 1688 got rid of james, replaced him with william and mary
dominion of new england ended, colonies went back to being colonies
permanent restrictions
mercantilist policies still stuck around
more english officials in colonies, but still poor enforcement
widely resented + resisted
TL;DR: european countries used mercantilism, put it on the colonies, temporarily benefitted colonies until political relations came in, not really enforced anyway w/ super corrupt agents, james 2 came to power, created dominion of new england, overthrown + replaced w/ william + mary, but mercantilist policies stayed
the institution of slavery
slavery = more important than mercantilism in early 18th cen.
half of VA pop. + 2/3 of SC pop. enslaved (1750)
increased demand for slaves
3 main factors as to why slavery increased
1. reduced migration - wage increases in england meant less supply of immigrants for colonies
2. workforce being dependable - large plantation owners didn’t like small farmer demands + indentured servants, or bacon’s rebellion, but slavery was a stable labor force completely controlled by them
3. cheap labor - rice + indigo became most profitable crops, so lots of land + cheap labor required
slave laws
number of slaves increasing = white colonists creating laws to ensure bondage for life + inheritance of slave status
massachusetts was first colony to acknowledge enslavement of captives (“lawful”) (1641)
virginia established laws that ensured that children would get mom’s enslaved status permanently (1661)
maryland decided baptism didn’t matter for enslaved ppl, white women can’t marry african american men, slavery + racism normalized (1664)
triangular trade
english trade for slaves became monopolized by royal african company (RAC)
post-monopoly, merchants entered slave trade
triangular trade: NE port (rum) → atl. ocean → west africa, rum traded for captive africans
part 2 tt: west africa → middle passage, survivors traded as slaves in west indies for sugarcane
part 3 tt: ship returns to NE port, sugar sold for making rum
merchants usually made huge profit if slade trade succeeded
TL;DR: slavery is more important than mercantilism (early 18th cen.), large populations of slaves = laws to ensure perm. bondage. reduced migration + dependable workforce + cheap labor = increase in slavery. virginia + maryland normalizing racism + slavery w/ various laws, NE using triangular trade to make a ton of profit off slave trade