APUSH Period 2 (1607–1754): The Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire — Comprehensive Study Notes
PERIOD 2: 1607-1754
Overview:
The British established 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast (1607–1754) that supported profitable trade and attracted diverse groups.
Early colonial life focused on survival, then on building permanent farms, plantations, towns, and cities.
Settlers brought various cultures, economic plans, and governing ideas, all seeking to dominate Native peoples to some extent.
British pride in a tradition of free farmers working the land framed colonial self-image.
Regional/sectional differences developed due to topography, resources, climate, and settler backgrounds.
Labor demands emerged with agriculture, leading to growing use of slavery and the Atlantic slave trade.
The start of the Seven Years' War signified the maturity of the colonies and the impact of European conflicts on North America.
Alternate View (historical dating):
Some historians mark the end of the colonial era as the end of the Seven Years’ War (1763), the start of the American Revolution (1775), or the peace treaty (1783).
Others emphasize cultural aspects, including non-English residents (e.g., Scotch-Irish, Germans, enslaved Africans).
Key Concepts (AP U.S. History Framework):
2.1 Differences in imperial goals, cultures, and environments led Europeans to develop diverse patterns of colonization.
2.2 European colonization stimulated intercultural contact and intensified conflict among colonizers and native peoples.
2.3 Increasing exchanges within the Atlantic World profoundly shaped colonial development in North America.
Setting the stage: Atlantic world dynamics
Colonization efforts reflected competition among European powers, evolving governance, and evolving labor systems.
The Atlantic World connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas through trade, slavery, and cultural exchange.
Scope of the notes
Cover major colonies, political and religious foundations, economic systems (mercantilism, labor), key conflicts, and the development of colonial identity.
Include important mechanisms (charters, assemblies, navigation laws), and the evolution of colonial institutions and slavery.
THE THIRTEEN COLONIES AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE, 1607-1754
Jamestown to Georgia (overview)
Starting point: Jamestown, Virginia ().
Ending point often cited as Georgia ().
Each colony received its identity and authority via a charter from the English crown describing relationship with the crown.
Three main types of charters/colonies developed:
Corporate colonies: operated by joint‑stock companies (e.g., Jamestown).
Royal colonies: under direct king’s rule (e.g., Virginia after ).
Proprietary colonies: owned by individuals granted charters by the king (e.g., Maryland, Pennsylvania).
Unlike French/Spanish colonists, English colonies carried a tradition of representative government, with elections for representatives to speak for property owners.
Tensions between the Crown and colonial subjects grew, laying groundwork for later independence movements.
Early English Settlements (foundations and motives)
England’s rise as a naval power post‑Armada ( ) and population growth amid economic depression spurred colonization.
Joint‑stock financing reduced risk for costly colonial ventures.
Jamestown: chartered by King James I to the Virginia Company; founded in .
Early Jamestown problems: swampy location, disease (dysentery, malaria), non‑laboring gentlemen, gold seekers’ lack of farming, and disrupted trade with natives.
Captain John Smith's leadership helped survival; John Rolfe and Pocahontas developed a tobacco variation that became profitable.
Transition to a royal colony: by , the Virginia Company debt and mismanagement led King James I to revoke the charter; colony became Virginia, a royal colony.
Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay
Motive: religious, not primarily wealth; dissenters left England for religious freedom.
Separatists (Pilgrims) sought independence from Anglican Church; Mayflower voyage () to Plymouth.
Plymouth hardships: first winter casualties; aid from friendly Native Americans; 1621 Thanksgiving.
Plymouth’s economy: fishing, fur, lumber.
Massachusetts Bay Colony: Puritans sought to reform the Church of England; royal charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company ().
Great Migration: influx of ~ Puritans in the 1630s due to English civil strife.
Boston and other towns founded; strong church–state nexus in governance.
Early Political Institutions
Foundations of self-rule
Virginia Company guaranteed settlers English rights including representation; House of Burgesses established in .
Mayflower Compact (1620): pilgrims aboard the Mayflower pledged to govern by majority rule; early form of self‑government.
Massachusetts Bay Colony: freemen (male church members) could vote for governor, assistants, and a representative assembly.
Limits to democracy
Franchise restricted to male property owners; women, landless workers, slaves, and indentured servants had limited or no political rights.
Governors often wielded autocratic powers, reporting to the crown or colonial financial backers.
Summary: gradual democratic ideas existed alongside anti‑democratic practices (slavery, mistreatment of Native Americans).
The Chesapeake Colonies (Maryland and Virginia focus)
1632: Charles I subdivided Virginia; Lord Baltimore established Maryland as a proprietary colony in gratitude for service.
Act of Toleration (1649) protected Catholics in Maryland but mandated death for those denying the divinity of Jesus; Protestant majority later repealed this act.
Protestant revolt in late 1600s led to the repeal of the Act of Toleration; Catholics lost voting rights.
Labor shortages across Chesapeake colonies: tobacco demand spurred labor demand; indentured servitude and later slavery became central.
Labor systems and economics
Indentured Servants: contract laborers who worked years in exchange for passage, room, and board; freedom after term.
Headright System: 50 acres of land granted to immigrants who paid their passage or to plantation owners who paid for an immigrant’s passage.
Slavery: 1619 arrival of enslaved Africans on a Dutch ship; initial status was not lifelong bondage, but by laws established hereditary bondage and race-based slavery.
Economic pressures: falling tobacco prices in the 1660s, mercantile constraints affecting colonial profits.
Bacon’s Rebellion (1676): Nathaniel Bacon led western farmers against Berkeley’s government; highlighted sharp class tensions and colonial resistance to royal control.
Development of New England: mass emigration and governance
Rhode Island: Roger Williams (1631–1636 departure from Boston; 1636 Providence founded) emphasized religious liberty and fair treatment of Native lands; permitted Catholics, Quakers, and Jews to worship freely.
Anne Hutchinson: antinomianism challenge; banished to Portsmouth (1638) and later Long Island; Hutchinson killed in native uprising.
Connecticut: Hartford founded by Thomas Hooker (1636), Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639) established a representative government with a governor elected by the legislature; New Haven later joined Connecticut.
New Netherland: Dutch colony, later taken by English; religious freedoms and local governance allowed tolerance of various communities.
New Hampshire: separated from Massachusetts Bay ( ); became a royal colony.
Halfway Covenant (1660s): allowed partial church membership to maintain Puritan church membership amid waning conversions.
New England Confederation (1643–1684): military alliance among Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven to handle external threats; established precedent for colonial cooperation.
King Philip’s War (1675–1676): Metacom (King Philip) led a major conflict; colonists prevailed but it signaled ongoing Indian resistance and shifting balance of power.
Restoration Colonies: after Restoration of Charles II in 1660, new colonies emerged (Carolinas, Georgia) as part of imperial policy.
The Carolinas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Georgia
The Carolinas (1663–1729)
Charles II granted a vast territory to eight nobles who became lord proprietors of the Carolinas.
In 1729, the area split into two royal colonies: South Carolina and North Carolina; plantation economy in the south; smaller farms in the north; different labor patterns and social structures.
New York and New Jersey
1664: Charles II awarded the lands between Connecticut and Delaware Bay to the Duke of York; renamed New York.
James II (as Duke of York) asserted right to govern with limited or no representative assemblies; opposition led to eventual establishment of a broad rights framework in 1683.
New Jersey formed from East and West Jersey; eventually united into a single royal colony (1702).
Emphasis on rights and assemblies, religious tolerance, and landholding incentives to attract settlers.
Pennsylvania and Delaware
Penn’s Holy Experiment: Quaker William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 as a liberal, religiously tolerant colony with a written constitution (Charter of Liberties, 1701) and a Frame of Government (1682–1683) with a representative assembly.
Delaware: originally part of Pennsylvania; in 1702, separate assembly granted while governors remained common.
Philadelphia planned with a grid layout; fair treatment of Native Americans in land purchases.
Religious toleration and free immigration policies helped attract diverse settlers.
Georgia: the last colony (1732–1752 as a royal colony)
James Oglethorpe and philanthropists founded Savannah (1733) as a proprietary colony with strict prohibitions on rum and slavery; intended as a buffer against Spanish Florida and as a haven for debtors.
By 1752, Georgia became a royal colony; rum and slavery restrictions were dropped; plantation system modeled after South Carolina; Georgia remained the smallest and poorest colony at the onset of the American Revolution.
Mercantilism and the Empire
Mercantilist doctrine (17th century) and colonial integration
Colonies exist to enrich the parent country; trade, colonies, and wealth accumulation strengthen national power.
English mercantilist policies were adopted after the English Civil War.
Navigation Acts (–)
Trade restricted to English or colonial ships; goods had to pass through English ports (except perishables); enumerated goods (e.g., tobacco) could only be exported to England.
Originally included tobacco; later expanded to other goods.
Effects on the colonies
Positive: shipbuilding in New England; Chesapeake tobacco access to England; protection by English military forces.
Negative: limited colonial manufacturing; depressed prices for crops; higher costs for manufactured goods from England.
Colonial resentment and smuggling resistance grew; enforcement was inconsistent and often corrupt.
The Dominion of New England (1686–1689)
James II merged New York, New Jersey, and New England colonies into a single administrative unit, governed by Sir Edmund Andros.
Andros imposed taxes, limited town meetings, and revoked land titles; opposed by colonists.
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 deposed James II; the dominion collapsed, and separate charters were restored.
Permanent restrictions and colonial reaction
Despite Glorious Revolution, mercantilist policies persisted in the 18th century with a strong English presence in the colonies.
Colonial resistance to trade regulation persisted and shaped later revolutionary tension.
The Institution of Slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade
Slavery’s rise in the early 18th century
By , about half of Virginia’s population and two‑thirds of South Carolina’s population were enslaved.
Reasons for rising slave labor demand
Reduced European immigration reduced labor supply.
Large planters desired a stable, controllable labor force (laborer under masters’ control).
Economic shifts: tobacco profits declined; rice and indigo required large tracts of land and many workers.
Slave laws and racialization
Early laws (e.g., Massachusetts, 1641) recognized enslaved status; Virginia (1661) established hereditary bondage for children of enslaved status; by 1664, Maryland codified inheritance of enslaved status regardless of baptism; white supremacy and racial caste systems became entrenched.
Triangular Trade and its mechanics
New England merchants participated in the slave trade, following a three‑part route: rum from NE to West Africa, enslaved Africans to the Caribbean, sugar to NE for rum production.
The Middle Passage transported enslaved Africans to the Americas under brutal conditions; profits from the trade reinforced economic power for New England merchants and colonial elites.
Cultural, Social, and Political Evolution in the Atlantic World
The Atlantic World and intercultural contact
Interactions among English settlers, Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans created complex cultural exchanges and conflicts.
Conflicts included land disputes, resistance to encroachment, and evolving colonial policies toward Native peoples.
Puritan influence and historiography
Historians debate Puritan contributions: some argue Puritans suppressed individualism through moral conformity; others argue Puritan communities fostered independent thought and local self‑rule.
The Puritan fragmenting effects (banishments, dissident colonies) contributed to broader patterns of religious liberty and pluralism.
Key Terms by Theme
Religion: Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore; Act of Toleration; Roger Williams; Providence; Anne Hutchinson; antinomianism; Rhode Island; Halfway Covenant; Quakers; William Penn; Holy Experiment; Charter of Liberties (1701).
Crops/Environment (ENV): rice plantations; tobacco farms; Massachusetts Bay Colony; John Winthrop; Great Migration.
Early Settlements (PEO): The Carolinas; New York; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Delaware; Georgia; James Oglethorpe; Early leadership.
Conflict (PEO): Wampanoags; King Philip’s War; Authority (WOR): corporate, royal, proprietary colonies; Chesapeake colonies; joint‑stock company; Virginia Company; Royal Authority (WOR): mercantilism; Navigation Acts; Dominion of New England; Sir Edmund Andros; Glorious Revolution; Labor (WXT): indentured servants; headright system; slavery; triangular trade; Middle Passage; Self‑Rule (POL): John Cabot; Metacom; Jamestown; King Philip’s War; Captain John Smith; John Rolfe; Pocahontas; Puritans; Separatists; Pilgrims; Mayflower; Plymouth Colony; Mayflower Compact; Virginia House of Burgesses; Sir William Berkeley; Bacon’s Rebellion; Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639); New England Confederation; Frame of Government (1682).
Historical Perspectives and Essay Prompts
Puritans’ influence on American culture remains debated: some emphasize conformity and moral code, others highlight individualism and local self‑rule within Puritan communities.
THINK AS A HISTORIAN: Continuity and Change
Essay prompts emphasize comparing colonial differences (Massachusetts vs. Chesapeake), resistance to authority, evolving attitudes toward equality, the relation of the colonies to England, and drivers of colonial economic prosperity.
Sample prompts from the transcript include: 1) Massachusetts vs. Chesapeake differences; 2) development of resistance to authority in New England and Virginia; 3) evolution of attitudes toward equality; 4) continuity/change between 1607 and 1754; 5) causes of colonial economic prosperity.
Short‑Answer and Practice Questions (Representative Examples)
Maryland Act of Toleration (1649)
Purpose: protect Catholics in Maryland; required belief in Jesus; later repealed; discuss the implications for religious liberty and political power.
Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)
Who led; what grievances; who opposed; what it revealed about class and colonial governance; effects on future colonial policies.
Concepts to connect
How mercantilism shaped colonial economies and political relations with Britain.
How the Great Migration and religious motives influenced settlement patterns in New England.
How slavery evolved from early chattel concepts to a deeply entrenched race-based system by the mid‑18th century.
Practice Questions (Study Prompts)
Compare and contrast the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay with the colonists in the Chesapeake in terms of motives, social structure, and political institutions.
Explain how the Navigation Acts restricted colonial economic activity and how colonists responded.
Describe the development of self‑government in the colonial era, citing the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact.
Assess the role of religious toleration in the colonial era, focusing on Maryland and Pennsylvania’s approaches to religious freedom.
Discuss the emergence and significance of slavery in the British North American colonies, including its legal codification and economic rationale.
Notes on Dates, People, and Places to Remember (Quick Reference)
Jamestown established: ; tobacco as a cash crop later under John Rolfe.
Plymouth Colony founded by Separatists (Pilgrims): ; Mayflower Compact (1620).
Massachusetts Bay Colony founded: charter ; Great Migration in .
Virginia Company’s charter revoked: ; transition to Virginia, a royal colony.
Maryland Act of Toleration: ; repeal and religious tensions in late 1600s.
Bacon’s Rebellion: .
New England Confederation: –.
Dominion of New England: –; end with Glorious Revolution ( ).
The Carolinas established as proprietaries: ; split into royal colonies .
Pennsylvania founded: ; Frame of Government (1682–1683); Charter of Liberties (1701).
Georgia founded: ; Savannah established; royal colony status by .
Connections to Foundational Principles and Real‑World Relevance
The colonial era demonstrated the shift from a corporate/monarchical governance model to early forms of representative and participatory government, foreshadowing republican ideals.
The mercantilist framework tied colonial economics to imperial power, setting the stage for later conflicts over taxation and regulatory authority.
Slavery’s entrenchment created enduring social and political structures with long‑term consequences for American society, including regional economic development and racialized social hierarchies.
Religious liberty experiments (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island) contributed to the evolving American tradition of pluralism and constitutional governance.
Note: For exam preparation, focus on how colonies differed (Massachusetts vs. Chesapeake), the evolution of political institutions (e.g., House of Burgesses, Mayflower Compact, colonial assemblies), economic systems (mercantilism, headright, indentured servitude, and slavery), and major conflicts and turning points (King Philip’s War, Bacon’s Rebellion, Dominion of New England, Glorious Revolution). Also be comfortable with the key terms and the connections among mercantilism, trade, and colonial policy.