Context and Development of British Colonies in North America (1607-1754) - Vocabulary Flashcards
Contextualizing Period 2 (2.1)
Objective: Explain the context for the colonization of North America from 1607 to 1754.
European exploration and colonization dynamics:
European exploration was dominated by the Spanish.
Other European powers (French, Dutch, British) established colonies in the Americas.
The British established 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast, providing a profitable trade network and a home to a diverse population.
Colonies began as explorations and gradually evolved into organized colonization and settlement.
Early settlement and migration patterns:
Earliest Europeans in the Americas were Spanish and Portuguese in Central and South America; the Spanish slowly migrated northward into parts of present-day North America.
The first two successful British colonies along the Atlantic coast were Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (1620), which served as starting points for the 13 colonies.
Trade and labor dynamics:
Transatlantic trade (tobacco, timber, rice) was important for economic development but caused conflicts as colonies resisted British control over trade.
Trade was a major initial contact between Europeans and Native Americans; colonists sought dependable food supplies, while natives sought iron tools and guns.
Labor systems and labor transitions:
Early labor attempts included enslaving Native Americans (difficult due to escape) and using indentured servants (insufficient labor supply).
The Spanish and then the British/colonists began importing enslaved Africans as a labor source.
Social development of the colonies:
The 13 colonies gradually developed societies that both mirrored and varied from British society.
Key terms and actors to remember:
Joint-stock companies (financing risky colonial ventures).
Headright system (land grants to attract settlers).
Early forms of self-government that would evolve into colonial assemblies.
European Colonization in North America (2.2)
Spanish colonies:
Juan de León claimed lands for Spain in 1513.
There was strong resistance from American Indians in these regions.
Permanent Spanish settlements: St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565 (oldest European-founded city in what is now the United States).
Spanish found little immediate wealth (silver and gold), faced declines in native population due to wars and disease, and were affected by periodic hurricanes.
Florida was settled by American Indians for centuries; Spanish colonists began arriving in the late 16th century, with Santa Fe as the capital of New Mexico in 1610.
New Mexico & Arizona (regional influence and settlements) developed alongside Spanish missions.
By 1784, the Franciscan order and Father Junípero Serra had established missions along the California coast.
French colonies:
Colonists were mainly men; French colonies had fewer settlers than other powers.
Motivations included Christian missionary work and the lucrative fur trade; many traders married Native women who served as guides, translators, and negotiators.
Rivers were crucial arteries for trade and exploration.
Texas & California: settlement grew in the 1700s; Russia began exploring from Alaska, prompting Spanish settlement in the Southwest (e.g., San Diego in 1769).
By 1784, franciscan missions were established along the California coast.
New France and river systems:
Quebec (first French settlement in America) was founded by Samuel de Champlain (the “father of New France”) in 1608 on the St. Lawrence River.
Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette explored the upper Mississippi River.
Robert de La Salle explored the Mississippi basin in 1682 and named it Louisiana after King Louis XIV.
In 1673, the French king moved southward down the Mississippi River and established a permanent settlement at New Orleans, which became a prosperous trade center by the early 18th century (growth around the Mississippi River system).
Other colonial expansion:
By the 1760s–1780s, settlement waves included Spanish, French, and later British expansion into various regions (e.g., Texas, California, Louisiana).
Key points to connect:
The French relied on alliances and intermarriage with Native groups to a greater extent than some other powers, shaping cultural and trade networks.
Mission systems (Franciscan) played a major role in defense, culture, and conversion in the West.
Dutch Colonies and the British Colonies (2.3)
Dutch colonies:
The Netherlands sponsored voyages of exploration and built trade networks with American Indians.
Dutch colonies tended to be trading-post outfits rather than large agrarian settlements; smaller permanent settlements near coasts or major rivers were common.
They were less likely to intermarry with Native Americans compared to some other colonies.
Henry Hudson and the Dutch West India Company (private company chartered by the Dutch government) established control over the region for economic gain, notably along the Hudson River.
British colonies (general):
Compared to other European colonies, English settlements included a higher share of families and single women; there was stronger emphasis on farming.
English settlers often claimed land from Native Americans and were less likely to intermarry with Indigenous peoples.
The English attracted a more diverse group of European settlers who migrated seeking better lives or religious freedom.
English colonial organization and financing:
England’s population was growing faster than its economy, prompting poor families to migrate to the Americas.
Use of joint-stock companies to finance colonization ventures.
The English colonies gradually evolved into a mix of corporate, royal, and proprietary models.
Key terms:
Joint-stock company: a company whose shareholders fund colonization ventures with shared profits and risks.
Dutch West India Company: granted rights to explore and control the region for economic gain.
Regions and Organization of British Colonies (2.4)
Colonial structures and governance:
Corporate colonies: like Virginia (1624) under direct king’s authority; early governance under royal or corporate control.
Royal colonies: Maryland and Pennsylvania under royal authority or chartered ownership by the king.
Proprietary colonies: early English settlements with land grants to proprietors who often acted as governors.
Early English settlements and labor:
The Virginia Company founded Jamestown; initial settlers faced dysentery, malaria, and food shortages; leadership by Captain John Smith helped stabilize the settlement for the first years.
John Rolfe and Pocahontas developed a tobacco variety that became profitable in Europe, driving economic viability for Virginia.
The headright system granted 50 acres of land to attract settlers and indentured servants to the colony, helping to populate the region (land ownership emphasized as incentive).
King James I revoked the Virginia Company's charter after near-collapse, turning Virginia into England’s first royal colony and setting the stage for continued colonization.
Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay:
Settlements driven by religious motives: English Protestants dissenting from the Church of England (Anglican Church).
A significant Puritan migration occurred (often called the Great Migration) with around 15{,}000 Puritans moving to Massachusetts Bay.
John Winthrop led the Great Migration and established a congregationalist society around Boston.
Religious motivations and dissenters:
Separatists sought a church independent of royal control; some traveled on the Mayflower to New England; they anchored Plymouth Colony (1620).
New England religious and political culture:
Puritan communities: mixture of small towns and family farms with commerce and agriculture.
Early religious dissenters: Roger Williams (Rhode Island) and Anne Hutchinson (Massachusetts) challenged Puritan orthodoxy; Williams advocated freedom of conscience and fair land purchases from Native peoples; Hutchinson argued for inner spiritual guidance beyond church authority.
Rhode Island and Connecticut formed as places of relative religious liberty and limited government (e.g., Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1639).
The Atlantic colonies and the evolution of governance:
The Mayflower Compact (1620): self-governing framework created by the Plymouth settlers.
Virginia’s House of Burgesses: an early example of representative colonial government.
Limits to democracy: voting restrictions often favored propertied white men; women, indentured servants, enslaved people, and many Native Americans were excluded.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639): often considered one of the first written constitutions; established a representative legislature elected by popular vote and a governor chosen by that legislature.
Rhode Island and Connecticut leadership:
Roger Williams founded Providence (Providence Plantations) and later joined with Portsmouth to form Rhode Island; Williams promoted religious liberty and fair Native land purchases.
Anne Hutchinson’s banishment led to founding settlements elsewhere; her colony was short-lived.
Development and Settlement of the American Colonies (2.4 continued)
The Carolinas and New York area:
1664: Charles II granted land between the Hudson and Delaware Bays to Lords Berkeley and Carteret; the area split into East and West New Jersey by 1674; later became Royal (1702) with broader rights.
The Carolinas were royal/proprietary colonies that developed into two regions: South Carolina (rice plantations and enslaved labor) and North Carolina (smaller tobacco farms, less reliance on slavery, strong local governance, democratic tendencies).
The restoration period saw new colonies and consolidation, including the split of the Carolinas.
New York and the Middle Colonies:
The Duke of York (future James II) took New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664 and renamed it New York; initially, religious and cultural freedoms persisted but taxes and governance limitations were imposed; a representative assembly and broader rights emerged after colonial resistance in 1683.
New Jersey formed from land grants and consolidated into a royal colony by 1702, with East and West Jersey later reunited.
Pennsylvania and Delaware:
William Penn, a Quaker, founded Pennsylvania as a refuge and a profit venture; established liberal government documents (Frame of Government, Charter of Liberties) guaranteeing assembly rule and religious freedom.
Philadelphia was planned as the colony’s capital city; Penn sought fair treatment of Native Americans and a tolerant colony for persecuted Quakers and other groups.
In 1702, the lower three counties became Delaware and functioned as a separate colony under a shared governor.
Georgia:
Chartered in 1732 and founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe as a buffer against Spanish Florida and as a haven for debtors.
Early bans on rum and slavery were later dropped when Georgia became a royal colony and adopted plantation agriculture.
New England’s development, religious toleration, and government:
Rhode Island and Connecticut provided religious liberty to Catholics, Quakers, and Jews (where possible), and recognized Native land rights and compensated use.
The region’s political evolution featured limited self-government, representative assemblies, and conflicts over land and authority.
The Chesapeake and Maryland (2.5 and 2.4 continuation)
The Chesapeake region and Maryland:
King Charles I created Maryland as a proprietary colony (to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore) as a haven for Catholics and to reward his service to the Crown.
Establishment of plantations with Catholic haven and Protestant majority; tension over religious liberty and governance.
Act of Toleration granted religious freedom to all Christians but mandated death for anyone denying the divinity of Jesus, illustrating the era’s religious complexities and policy experiments.
Interactions Between American Indians and Europeans (2.5)
Conflicts and diplomacy in New England:
Europeans often viewed natives as inferior or as labor, land, or potential allies; Native groups resisted through alliances or selective accommodation.
Disease and warfare caused dramatic declines in many Native communities.
The New England Confederation formed as a military alliance for mutual defense and limited cooperation among Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven.
Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War), 1675–1676:
Wampanoag leader Metacom united tribes to resist colonial land loss; widespread attacks and village burnings occurred; settlers and allied tribes eventually prevailed, ending most organized Native resistance in New England.
Virginia and frontier conflicts:
Governor Berkeley’s policies favored elite planters and failed to protect frontier farmers from Indian attacks.
Bacon’s Rebellion (1676): Nathaniel Bacon led frontier settlers in attacks on Native villages and called for reform of colonial governance; rebellion collapsed after Bacon’s death, revealing class tensions and imperial authority challenges.
Spanish conflicts and colonial policy:
Pueblo Revolt (1680): Pueblo peoples expelled Spanish colonizers for over a decade; returned by 1692 with more accommodative policies to reduce conflict.
Slavery in the British Colonies (2.6)
Labor demand and the shift to slavery:
A labor shortage for plantation agriculture led colonists to shift from indentured servants and Native labor to enslaved Africans, especially in the South.
Indentured servitude and the headright system:
Indentured servitude and the headright system were used earlier to attract workers, but slavery grew as a more permanent, controllable labor force.
Key dates and developments:
1619: First Africans arrive in English North America (Virginia). 1619
1641: Massachusetts recognizes enslavement of captives. 1641
1661–1664: Virginia and other colonies enact laws formalizing hereditary slavery. 1661{-}1664
By 1750: Very high enslaved proportions in Southern colonies (e.g., Virginia, South Carolina). 1750
The slave laws and racial ideology:
Slave laws codified racial slavery, established that children inherit the mother's status, baptism did not free enslaved people, and marriage across race was limited.
These laws embedded racism in colonial law and social structures.
Resistance to slavery:
Enslaved people resisted through preserving culture and family, slow work, tool-breaking, running away, and occasional revolts; responses included harsher controls and more restrictive laws.
Impact:
Strengthened the plantation economy and reinforced racial hierarchy across the colonies.
Colonial Society & Culture (2.7)
Population growth and immigration:
Population growth from natural increase and immigration shaped regional identities.
Immigrants by origin: English (Puritans/Anglicans); Quakers; German; Scots-Irish; Dutch; Swedes; Huguenots; enslaved Africans.
Enslaved Africans and Native Americans:
Africans: the largest enslaved population; many urban and rural laborers; by 1775 about 20% of the colonial population when combining enslaved and free Black people; enslaved populations concentrated in the South, with South Carolina and Georgia having majorities.
Native Americans: formed defensive alliances (Powhatan Confederacy, Iroquois) and engaged in diplomacy or conflict; some tribes allied with Europeans against rivals.
Family and society:
Family was central; high birth rates; many lived on farms.
Opportunities and liberty varied by region; more social mobility than Europe but no universal democracy.
Religion varied: Rhode Island and Pennsylvania offered greater toleration; Massachusetts more restrictive.
The economy and monetary system:
Settlements were primarily agricultural with regional specializations; mercantilism limited colonial manufacturing.
The colonial economy relied on water transport (ports: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston) and improving overland travel in the 18th century.
Taverns served as social and political hubs; postal systems developed by the mid-18th century.
Religion and religious denominations:
Regional denominations: New England (Congregationalists/Presbyterians), New York (Reformed/Anglicans), Pennsylvania (Lutherans, Quakers), South (Anglicans).
Established churches were tax-supported early but later faced reduced government support as religious pluralism grew.
The Great Awakening (1730s–1740s):
Revivalist movement led by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield; emotional preaching, rise of evangelical sects; weakened ministerial authority and encouraged calls for church–state separation; helped forge a shared colonial experience.
Achievements in arts and sciences:
Georgian architecture in towns; frontier dwellings were simple log cabins.
Itinerant painters and later artists (e.g., Benjamin West, John Copley) sought training in England.
Colonial writing focused on religion and politics; Benjamin Franklin became a leading writer (Poor Richard’s Almanack).
Education and the press:
Basic schooling varied by region: tax-supported primary schools in New England; church/private schools in the Middle Colonies; tutors/plantation schooling in the South.
Early colleges were sectarian (Harvard 1636, William & Mary 1694, Yale 1701); College of Philadelphia (1765) was nonsectarian.
The press: by 1776, around 40 weekly newspapers circulated; the Zenger trial (1735) supported freedom of the press and criticisms of government.
Professions and intellectual culture:
Respected professions included ministry, medicine, and law; Enlightenment ideas (Locke) influenced colonial leaders and the push toward revolution.
The Colonial Relationship with Britain and Identity (2.8) / Comparison in Period 2
Colonial identity and politics:
Colonies shared English language, legal traditions, and commerce, but developed distinct regional identities and a sense of self-government.
Tensions with Britain grew over western expansion, enforcement of trade rules, and differing expectations about autonomy after 1763.
A growing sense of colonial identity emerged from shared experiences (religion, economy, and governance) that later contributed to revolutionary sentiments.
Colonial governance and representation:
Governments generally included a governor and a bicameral legislature; lower houses were elected by white male property owners.
Upper houses often included an appointed council or governor’s advisory role; representation and franchise varied by colony.
Local government structures:
New England: town meetings allowed direct democracy for many issues among free residents (usually male).
Southern colonies relied more on county government structures with sheriffs and officials overseeing large areas.
Voting and democracy limits:
Voting was broadly restricted: included white men who owned property; excluded white women, many poor white men, enslaved people, most free Blacks, and many Native Americans.
Variation existed among colonies: e.g., Virginia restricted to wealthy landowners; Massachusetts allowed small farmers greater access.
The Dominion of New England and post-1688 changes:
James II created the Dominion of New England (1686) to centralize control; collapsed after the Glorious Revolution (1688).
Mercantilist laws persisted but enforcement remained uneven until after 1763, contributing to ongoing colonial resistance.
Summary of period 2 dynamics:
The colonies shared core English institutions and values but diverged regionally in religion, economy, and social structure.
Tensions with Britain built gradually, culminating in a clash over sovereignty and representation in the mid-to-late 18th century.
Key Figures, Dates, and Concepts to Remember
Mayflower Compact (1620): self-government agreement of Plymouth settlers.
Jamestown (founded 1607) and Plymouth (1620): early English colonies on the Atlantic coast.
Virginia House of Burgesses: early representative colonial government.
Act of Toleration (Maryland): religious toleration for Christians, with limits on those denying the divinity of Jesus.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639): early written constitution.
Roger Williams (Rhode Island) and Anne Hutchinson (Massachusetts): advocates of religious liberty and dissent.
The Great Migration (early to mid-17th century): large-scale Puritan movement to Massachusetts Bay.
The Zenger Case (1735): established press freedom norms and criticized government actions.
The Dominion of New England (1686–1689): attempted centralized control by the Crown.
The Enlightenment ideas: natural rights, government by consent, right to revolt; influence on colonial leaders.
The Great Awakening (1730s–1740s): religious revival shaping colonial religious culture and politics.
Slavery timeline: first Africans in 1619; hereditary slavery codified in the 1660s–1664; growth of enslaved populations in the South by 1750.
Key economic concepts: mercantilism and the Navigation Acts; salutary neglect as enforcement waned before 1763.
The regional economies: New England (shipbuilding, trade, small farms), Middle Colonies (breadbasket, diversified economy), The South (tobacco, rice, indigo, plantations).
Connections to the bigger picture
Colonial development connected to wider transatlantic dynamics (trade networks, migrations, and imperial competition).
Environmental and geographic factors shaped settlement patterns, labor systems, and economic specialization across regions.
Conflicts with Native Americans and with European powers influenced imperial policies and colonial identities.
The evolution from exploration to colonization set the stage for later political revolutions, with debates over representation, liberty, and taxation remaining central to the American Revolution.
Quick-reference numerics and dates (for quick recall)
1607 to 1754: period of focus for colonization North America.
13 colonies along the Atlantic coast.
1565: St. Augustine founded (Florida) by Spain.
1608: Quebec founded by Champlain (first French settlement in North America).
1619: First Africans arrive in Virginia.
1620: Plymouth Colony founded; Mayflower Compact established.
1624: Virginia Company charter converts to Royal Colony.
1639: Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.
1641: Massachusetts recognizes enslaved people.
1661{-}1664: Laws formalizing hereditary slavery in several colonies.
1686{-}1689: Dominion of New England (centralized royal control).
1735: Zenger trial.
1730s{-}1740s: Great Awakening.
1763: End of French and Indian War; beginning of renewed imperial tensions (postwar era turns toward revolution).
1765 onwards: growing resistance to British policies and mercantilist restrictions.