The 13 Colonies

Unit 1: Colonization- 1.1 An Old “New” World

BC- Before Christ AD- After Death

The 13 colonies were for Britain.

1492- That was when Christopher Columbus founded “India” when in reality he discovered America

Amerigo Vespucci figured out that Columbus was wrong and America was named after America (which is the female version of his name)
Amerigo was an Italian explorer
The “New” world, aka the Western Hemisphere (North, Central, and South Americas) was only new to Europeans
Columbus sailed from Spain thinking he was going to find a quick trade route to China and Japan.
What he found was technically the Bahamas and Native Americans had been living there undisturbed for roughly 20,000 years.
Christopher was not the first person to discover America, he was the first European
Christopher thinks the Native Americans were “Indians”
Marco Polo wrote the “Adventures of Marco Polo” which was very impactful for Asia (especially spices)
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Beringia Land Bridge

Paleo- Indians crossed Beringia (Siberia to Alaska) and spread all over North and South America
Hunter-gatherers: large mammals (ex: wooly mammoths, mastodons, Giant Bison, Giant sloths, single hump camels, gigantic beavers), wild plants, berries, seeds
The Ice Age made the food for hunter-gatherers made food scarce
Skeletons, Fossils, and early paintings tell how the Hunter-gatherers lived their world: hunted, spears, etc.
The Beringia Land Bridge connected Asia and Alaska
The first Homosapiens spread out throughout North America, South America, and Central America
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In 1491, there were roughly 10 million people in North America. About 240 indian societies (tribes) over 300 different languages spoken
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Aztec and Mayans- Mexico

Mayans

They live in Pecutan Peninsula
The Mayans (1800 BC - 900 AD)
Agriculture: Maize, squash, beans, chili peppers, avocado
Moved around less → cultivated art, music, culture, cities
They have a stable life, traditional art, and had some pyramids/ temples
They made the first clock, it is a calendar and represents a 13-hour day, 20-day month, and 365 years- they are an advanced civilization
Mayans are most featured with silver and expensive jewelry with colorful clothing

Mexico

The Mexica (Europeans called them the Aztecs) (1300-1521)
Capital City: Tenochtitlán on Lake Tetzcoco (Modern day Mexico City)
Killed out by disease spread by Spanish explored, Hernan Cortes
Hernan Cortes introduces Horses, donkeys, and disease from Europeans to Mexico
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Native Americans in the Southwest

Anasazi cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
They made houses made of clay and they are called wet houses
They are one of the first people to make pottery
They made irrigation systems like wells because it is hOT.
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Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest

They made raincoats made out of tree bark
They made Totem poles
They live in Plank Houses
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The Age of Exploration (1500s - 1600s)

In the 15th Century, European navigators began to conduct voyages to the far corners of the world
As a result, nation states including: Spain, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, and England began to build large colonial empires
Trading stations and settlements in Africa, the Americas, and Asia
Each nation competed for an economic and military advantage over one another
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Developments in Europe set the stage for exploration

The Renaissance spurred a willingness to to challenge the traditional models of thought
The invention of the printing press
The rediscovery of science front the ancient Greeks and Romans
A growing interest in astronomy, which contributed to a new age of intellectual growth
Italian economic expansion into the middle east
Trade routes to Asia as an option to trade with the East
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Technological Innovations

Accurate magnetic compass
Better maps (Marco Polo published The Travels of Marco Polo in 1477)
Navigational instruments (used sun and stars to determine location)
Gunpowder, cannons, firearms
The first terrestrial globe
Rudders
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Role of Christianity

Hand in hand with the desire for commercial success, was the desire to convert more people in the New World to Christianity
Missionaries and chaplains were devoted to converting Native Americans
The Spanish and the Portuguese helped enlarge the Catholic Church
While Christianity shaped their view of indigenous “heathens”
Reasons for exploring and colonizing the New World can be summed up in the 3 G’s

Glory
God
Gold
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1492- The Columbian Exchange

Worldwide exchanges of people, plants, animals, and diseases between the New World and Old World after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492
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People

Mostly one way (Old World to the New World)

Europeans to America for exploration and new opportunity
Forced migration of Africans against their will- used for slave labor

Cause the repopulation of the new World with Europeans (after disease killed most Native Americans)
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Plants

Increase food supply for both humans and animals
Leads to a huge population boom in Europe 1650→ 1850 The world population doubles

Animals
Horses, Cows, and Pigs totally changed the nature of travel and work in the New World
New World:
Bison
Iguana
Cougar
Armadillos
Opossum
Sloths
Hummingbirds
Turkeys
Guinea Pigs
Llamas
Alpacas

Old World:
Sheep
Chickens
Goats
Rats
Horses
Cows
Pigs

Disease
90% of the population in the New World was wiped out by the arrival of Europeans
Brutality, but also disease (smallpox, measles, mumps, chicken pox, typhus, and many more)
Many Native Americans had never been exposed before
This caused:
Death of Native rules → violence, destabilization, rebellion
Starvation: not enough people around to grow crops
Malnutrition to those who survive

1.2 Jamestown: Jamestown Colony- Established 1607 The king of England, James I, chartered a joint stock company called the Virginia Company to create a colony in the New World Joint stock company which raised by selling shares of company stock to investors. Designed to make $ for the king and the investors 3 ships carrying 100 men and boys from prominent English families (“gentlemen”) 1606 it was the first English colony in the United States Traveled 40 miles up the James River and Built a fort they called Jamestown (named after the King of England, James I) disease, famine, lack of skilled labor, attack by Native Americans

John Smith: Smith was the first leader of Jamestown. He Took control of the colony, made settlers work to earn their food, and finished the fort construction Encouraged more farming Not well-liked but known for saving the colony “He who does not work, shall not eat!” Cannibalism is a part of this time period because of the Starvation period

Chief Powhatan: Leader of the Powhatan tribes; huge confederacy of tribes in the Chesapeake Bay region Peaceful relationship with Jamestown settlers at first Helped settlers survive the first winter by sharing corn As more settlers arrived to grow tobacco on cash crop farms, Europeans wanted more land. Native American relations worsened Chief Powhatan died in 1618 and his brother Opechcanough took the throne and launched a series of attacks

Pocahontas Matoaka (Pocahontas): married Kocoum in 1610. In 1613, she was kidnapped by the English settlers and baptized into Christianity. She took the Christian name “Rebecca.” In 1614, she married John Rolfe. In 1616, she, Rolfe, and their son Thomas set sail for London where she was received as a princess of the Powhatan Empire and was presented to King James I. In 1617, as she and her family were departing England to return to Virginia, she fell ill and died. She was 22 years old. Rebecca Rolfe (Pocahontas) Was buried in Gravesend, England. Her son Thomas was brought up in England

John Rolfe: Arrived in Jamestown from the Caribbean in 1610 Brought tobacco from the Caribbean, which ended up being the major cash crop of the Virginia colony Started sending tobacco back to England for profit Married (consensual or forced) Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan’s daughter

Jamestown: 1610 “The Starving Time” So they started a new recruiting technique: The Headright system If you buy a share in the VA company, you get 50 acres and an additional 50 acres for every servant you bring with you Indentured servants: men, women, and children, who wanted to escape poverty and harsh living conditions in England but couldn't pay for their own ticket to the New World. So they sold their freedom for 4 to 7 years when you finish your contract you are paid. Many hoped to buy a farm of their own Virginia became mostly plantations growing tobacco This structured society: was mostly men (5 to 1) a small class of wealthy landowners -and a large class of indentured servants First slaves arrived in 1619 the House of Burgesses

1.3 Push/ Pull Factors for the New World- England is a Constitutional Monarchy, which means: A monarch (a king or queen) and A legislative body- Parliament In England, their legislative body is called Parliament, which is made up of two houses:

House of Lords: hereditary and appointed
House of Commons: elected by the people

The Six Wives of King Henry VIII- History Because of King Henry VIII, their religion changed from the Catholic Church to the Church of England where it is exactly the same but this time you can get a divorce and the Monarch is the Pope The Church of England- Anglican, and Episcopalian The Archbishop of Canterberry is like our head Pope The monarch also made the English people change their religion to Anglican

The English Monarchy:

King Henry VIII (1509- 1547)- wanted a divorce so he created the Church of England Edward VI- Protestant Mary I- Catholic Queen Elizabeth I (1558- 1603)- died without a child heir, Protestant King James I- QE’s distant cousin, Catholic Charles I- Protestant but had a super Catholic wife, canceled all meetings of Parliament, started an English Civil War, then beheaded by the House of Parliament Protestant= Christian, just not Catholic

Religious Persecution:

On top of the political issues ,England was already divided over religion The Dissenters: Puritans believed the Church of England needed to be “Purified” No Catholic rituals: no holy water, no wedding rings, no organ, no robes, no priests, no bishops ONLY people worshiping God Anglicans/ The Church of England VS. Puritans Separatists (aka the Pilgrims) Not as intense as Puritans but still thought the Church of England needed some work 10% of Puritans became Pilgrims and they settled on Massachusetts, All Pilgrims are Puritans but not all Puritans are Pilgrims

English Colonization in the Americas was led by two different groups: Those seeking land and profits Those seeking freedom from religious persecution in England, both Protestants and Catholics, And sometimes both

1.4 New England Colonies: Plymouth Colony Separatists aka the Pilgrims, were forced to leave England because they did not worship in the Church of England Wanted to create a model Christian society in the New World 100 Pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower. On Board, they signed the Mayflower Compact, a pledge saying they would govern themselves according to majority rule Landed at Cape Cod. Were later absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Massachusetts Bay Colony (MBC): was Settled by 1000 Puritans led by John Winthrop- who wanted to “purify” their religion from Catholic Rituals Puritans preached a very strong work ethic and a society with a lot of very strict rules Puritans believed in hard work proved religious devotion. If you did not work hard or spoke against the church, you would be kicked out. Did not believe in religious tolerance, social equality, or giving political rights to non-church members. THE PURITAN CHURCH= LIFE!

“City Upon a Hill” (1630) or the “The Arabella Sermon”:

Leader John Winthrop made a very famous speech leaving England aboard a ship called the Arabella, where he argued that their ability to prosper as a colony through hard work would prove their devotion to God and become a symbol to the world.

Salem Witch Trials (1692): Puritans tightly controlled the political and social structure of the community. Communities were run by town meetings- and only male members of the church could vote on town matters Women had a very small role in Puritan society In 1692, 3 young girls in the Massachusetts Bay Colony fell ill with symptoms including convulsions (seizures) and “fits”- they accused several local residents of using witchcraft to put the illness on them. This caused mass hysteria. Over 150 people were accused 29 were convicted 19 were hanged and another 6 people died in prison.

The New England Colonies:

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire
Poor, thin, rocky soils and a short growing season makes farming difficult
Main industries: forestry(cutting down trees), shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, and trade
Merchants live in towns like Boston which are the main shipping hubs for trade with Europe
Founded as a safe haven from religious persecution in England
Maine was a big part that was owned by Massachusetts
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Rhode Island

Leader Roger Williams was banished from MBC so he started his own
He wanted: individual rights, justice for Native Americans, and to ditch Anglican Church leadership
****1st Settlement for total religious freedom and they actually PAID for the land they took from Native Americans (crazy concept!!)
Anne Hutchinson- also banished from MBC
She believed people could have a relationship with God without church leaders, held bible studies in her home
As a woman, this was a direct challenge to Puritan Church leaders
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Connecticut

Leader: Reverend Thomas Hooker, a Puritan minister from Massachusetts
First colony in New England to open voting to non-church members
1st colony to write a constitution, called The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Required separation of church and state
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New Hampshire

Massachusetts took over New Hampshire
A bunch of scattered farms
They also tried to take over Maine
Hampshire is a place in England and the colonists decided to name the colony New Hampshire
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Relationship with Native Americans

Puritans thought natives needed to be “saved” by church because they were not Christian
Diplomatic relations at first
Natives outnumbered Puritans
Traded with natives and needed them for survival
More settlers arrive → begin to war with natives
A series of bloody wars:
Most important: King Philip’s War (MA) and Pequot’s War (CT)
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1.5 Mid- Atlantic Colonies

Impact of Location & Place

New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware
United the East Coast for the English geographically & economically
Developed trade ports (like New England)
Mild climate- moderate growing season
Developed commercial farms (plantations) (like the South)
Cash crops: wheat & corn
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The Mid-Atlantic Colonies

Were part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, sold to King Charles II in 1664
Good harbors and river systems (Hudson & Delaware). Rivers were like highways for transporting goods.
Transported furs (traded with Native Americans for tools & guns) to the coast and then sent to Europe on a boat
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New York

Founded as a trade center for the Netherlands. They traded lots of fur with Native Americans
The English attacked the Dutch until they surrendered
King Charles II gave the colony to his brother James (Duke of York)
New Netherlands Colony→ New York
New Amsterdam(capital of the Netherlands)→ New York City
The most diverse colony- freedoms to other Europeans in the region (language, religion)
Allowed Dutch citizens to stay living there
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New Jersey

New York colony is too large to run
James, Duke of York, give portions to his friends (Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret)
They created the New Jersey colony
Land sold to settlers for cheap to encourage people to settle there
It comes from the Dutch
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Pennsylvania

Founder: William Penn- son of an English admiral (navy officer). King owed his father money for his navy service so he was given land in the New World.
Penn belonged to a religious group- Religious Society of Friends aka the Quakers
Pacifists, equality of the sexes, said everyone could experience a personal revelation with God → persecuted by Puritans
Extremely religiously tolerant
Practiced religious freedom
Fair treatment of Native Americans
Philadelphia- became larger port city
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Delaware

Owned by Sweden (New Swedes)
Taken over by New Netherland (1631)
Taken over by New York (1664)
Given to Pennsylvania (1682)
Became separate colony (1704)
River and lots of coastline
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1.6 The Southern Colonies

The Southern Colonies

Virginia, Maryland, Carolina, and Georgia
Rich soil
Long growing season
Agriculturally- based economy
Founded for economic profit (“cash crops”- rice, indigo-almost like a beautiful blue flower plant-, tobacco)
Deep rivers for transportation of goods to the coastal ports which ship to Europe
Along ‘fall line’- area where rivers with waterfalls flow down to the ocean
North of fall line: subsistence farms, which mean they only grow for the household; some cash crops but not on a large scale
South of fall line: commercial farms (grew ‘cash crops’ for export)
Slave labor was more common in south to cultivate cash crops
As you travel east from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the land suddenly drops down in elevation
This happens at the foothills of the mountains. Then the land becomes flatter along the coast. This sudden drop is called the fall line.
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Virginia (1607)

Jamestown- first permanent English colony (1607)
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Maryland (1632)

1632- King Charles I granted Lord Baltimore rights to land in the Chesapeake Bay Region for his service to the King
The colony was founded for religious freedom for Catholics (who were being persecuted by Protestants in England)
Soil was good for growing tobacco (like neighboring Virginia), Catholics became outnumbered so…
Lord Baltimore passed the Acts of Toleration (laws granting religious freedom for all Christians- Protestants and Catholics.)
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The Carolina Colony

Located between Spanish Florida and Virginia
1663- King Charles I gives land to 8 nobles (rich men) who helped get his crown was threatened by Oliver Cromwell
1712- Colony divided into South & North, became royal colonies
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South Carolina

Cash crops: rice and indigo (coastal plantations)
Charleston- trade port to England
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North Carolina

Above the fall line
Mountainous, colder
Small tobacco farms
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North Carolina became a colony of small farms.

South Carolina was a colony of large plantations.

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Georgia (1732)

Last of the 13 original colonies
Established as

A defensive buffer between Spanish Florida and $$$ South Carolina plantations
As a debtors colony- Created to reduce the amount of people in English prisons; allow them a fresh start
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General James Oglethorpe has strict rules:

Small farms only- less big gape in social classes like in South Carolina
Slavery was banned
Alcohol was banned
- Eventually enough people complained that the rules were slackened
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Virginia, Maryland, Carolina, and Georgia

Southern Colonies Review:

Reasons established: economic profit
Impact of location & place: warm climate, fertile soil
Relations with Native Americans: Powhatan tribe, peaceful (gave crops to survive winter), later conflicts (colonists spread to grow tobacco)
Economic development: cash crops (tobacco, rice, indigo)
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1.7 Colonial Self- Government

In the 1500s-1600s, naval Powers: Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands created colonies in North America.
Goal = global supremacy
England wanted to collect as many colonies abroad which instilled pure chaos
European wars started to spread to the New World
The English and the Dutch combined while Spain and France combined together in Protestant VS. Catholic wars

Geography

England becomes Great Britain in 1707
Great Britain= 4 states

England
Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
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New Spain

Sparsely populated
More interested in the conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism and gold
Colonies in: Mexico, Florida, Texas, and Caribbean
Conquistador Hernando Cortés
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New France

Involved relatively few European settlers
Intermarried and relied on trade alliances with Native Americans to trade fur (beavers, otters, mink pelts) which they exported to Europe
Controlled the inland rivers, the love of the continent (St. Lawrence Rivers and Mississippi)
Set up Catholic colonies in the Caribbean, Canada (Quebec), and west of the Appalachian Mountains.
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Great Britain’s Colonies

Controlled by the British monarchy
Headed by a royal governor or proprietor who had the power to: appoint and remove elected officials, command the military, and grant pardons to people convicted of crimes
But also had elected legislative assemblies that could control the budget and pass laws
A policy of Salutary Neglect: England gave the colonies freedom to pursue their own political and economic interests as long as they remained obedient.
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Mercantilism

European countries founded colonies in America for conquest, trade, and religious mission
England aka ‘Mother Country’ wanted colonies for resources
English colonists ultimately wanted their independence from England
Economic, religious, and political independence
England needed ‘raw materials
Raw Materials are: fur, fish, grains, timber, sugar, tobacco, indigo, tar, coal, iron, ore, wool, rice
These are used in England to produce manufactured goods
Manufactured goods are: cigarettes, clothes, furniture, jewelry
Then the manufactured goods were sold back to the colonists in North America and people all over the world

Trans- Atlantic Trade

Also known as the triangular trade (because of its shape between the 3 continents)
England had economic power over colonies
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Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Poor, white colonists and formerly Indentured servants could only afford to buy land in the township, so they were forced to move to the frontier
Frequent, violent conflicts with Native Americans here
Nathaniel Bacon asked for Jamestown Governor William Berkeley’s help. Berkeley refused
Bacon led a raid of 1,000 colonists
Killed hundreds of Native Americans
Then marched to Jamestown, burned part of the town, and threatened Governor Berkeley
Berkeley hung 23 rebels
He is upset over the brutality of indentured servants- it isn’t fair

Historical significance:

A turning point in colonial history
End of indentured servants being brought to VA
Replaced with enslaved labor from Africa
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Middle Passage: part of Transatlantic trade connection Africa with the New World

Crowded, dangerous slave ships
300-400 slaves per ship
Packed in cargo holds
Lots of sickness, death & brutality
2 out of 10 died
The Portuguesse are one of the first ones to direct slave hassles which make them very wealthy in slave trade
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The interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Published 1789

Great Awakening (1740s- 1770s)

A religious revival
Placed an emphasis on the individual religious experience rather than the religious experiences through church doctrine
Questioned the authorities of the Church of England, but also the English monarchy
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The effects of the Enlightenment

The Great Awakening was part of the Enlightenment, a movement that emphasized the logic and reason through individual thought
This works for religion as well- the individual can rely on a more personal approach to salvation
Instead of through attending church, through a more personal understanding of the scripture
Has a large attraction to lots of different people in the colonies
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Challenged Authority

Famous ministers: Jonathan Edwards, William Tennet, and George Whitefield
Wanted people to adopt a more emotional involvement in Christianity, through fervent prayer and personal study of the Bible
Talks appealed to the heart, not just the head
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New vs. Old

New denominations: Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians
Challenged the old established colonial denominations
Practicing religion was now an emotional experience, not just an intellectual one
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