Colonial America Notes

Period 2: 1607-1754

  • Overview of British and French Dominions in North America.
  • Territorial disputes and encroachments.

British Colonial Regions

  • New England Colonies
  • Middle Colonies
  • Southern Colonies

Thirteen Original Colonies (1775)

  • Maine (part of Massachusetts/Nova Scotia)
  • New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • Rhode Island
  • Connecticut
  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • Delaware
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Georgia

Reasons for Colonization

  • Religious freedom
    • Practice faith freely.
    • Avoid government-controlled religion.
  • Problems in England
    • Official religion: Church of England (Anglican).
    • Penalties for not attending church.
    • No separation of church and state.
    • King is head of government and church.
    • Resemblance to Catholic Church.

Types of Colonies

  • Proprietary: Founded by private individuals with power to make and execute laws.
  • Royal: Under direct control of the King of England, who appoints a governor.
  • Self-governing/Charter: King grants charter to a joint-stock company, which develops government independent of the crown.

Southern Colonies

  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Georgia

Maryland

  • Catholics faced persecution in England.
  • Catholic leaders aimed to establish an all-Catholic colony.
  • 1632: King Charles I granted charter to Lord Baltimore.
  • Proprietary colony named after Catholic Queen Mary.
  • Settlement of Catholics and Protestants led to religious conflicts.
  • Maryland Act of Toleration
    • Religious toleration to all Christians.
    • Exclusion: Jews, atheists, and those who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ faced the death penalty.

Carolinas

  • 1663: King Charles II interested in unsettled lands between Virginia and Spanish Florida.
  • Open to all Christians.
  • Close economic ties with the West Indies.
  • Settlers from Barbados brought "slave codes".
  • African slaves worked on rice plantations.
  • Regions split when investors sold land in the north to the crown, creating North and South Carolina.
North Carolina (Separate in 1712)
  • Strong-willed and independent people.
  • Resistance to authority.
  • Lacked good ports with sparse populations.
  • Tobacco cultivation.
  • Use of pine/pine tar for commercial goods.
  • Major cities: New Bern, Bath.
South Carolina
  • More aristocratic and wealthier population.
  • Ports, including Charles Towne (Charleston).
  • Massive plantations: sugar cane, tobacco, rice, and indigo.
  • Heavy reliance on slave labor from West Indies.

Georgia

  • Last colony established.
  • Buffer zone between British colonies and Spanish settlements in Florida.
  • 1720: James Oglethorpe sought to establish a colony for poor debtors.
  • Humanitarian focus.
  • Charter granted in 1732 by King George II.
  • Founded Savannah, GA.
  • Religious toleration for all Christians except Catholics.

Middle Colonies

  • Pennsylvania
  • Delaware
  • New York
  • New Jersey

Pennsylvania

  • Founded by William Penn.
  • Philadelphia: "City of Brotherly Love".
  • Settled by Quakers:
    • Believed in equality.
    • Non-violent.
    • No church hierarchy.
    • Simple meetings.
  • Germans appreciated the farmland.

Delaware

  • Royal colony.
  • Originally settled by Swedes, then Dutch, then seized by England.
  • Given to William Penn for access to the Delaware River.
  • Religious freedom for Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups.

New York

  • Explored by the Dutch in 1609.
  • Religious and national diversity.
  • Originally named New Amsterdam.
  • 1674: English seized it from the Dutch.
  • King James II renamed it New York.
  • Royal colony.

New Jersey

  • Partially settled by the Dutch and Swedish.
  • 1664: Area surrendered to the English.
  • Ruled by Lord Berkeley.

New England Colonies

  • Massachusetts
  • Connecticut
  • Rhode Island
  • New Hampshire

New England Settlements

Puritans
  • Sought to "purify" the Church of England.
  • Remove Catholic elements and fix corruption.
  • Hoped to reform the church.
Pilgrims
  • Also called "separatists".
  • Wanted to separate from the English Church.
  • Forced to leave England due to treason laws.
  • Went to Holland, but wanted to maintain English culture.

Plymouth Colony

  • 1620: 102 passengers sailed on the Mayflower.
  • Landed in Plymouth (Massachusetts), originally aimed for VA.
  • Pilgrims (separatists).
  • Led by William Bradford.
  • Second permanent English settlement.
Reasons for travel
  • “for the glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honour of our king and countrie.” - William Bradford

Mayflower Compact

  • Created before disembarking.
  • Signed by 41 men.
  • Agreement to abide by laws made by elected leaders.
  • Decisions made by "majority rule".
  • Foundation for democracy and self-rule.

First Winter

  • High mortality rate (only 44 survived).
  • Survival dependent on Native American assistance.
  • Wampanoag Tribe (Squanto, a Christian NA who spoke English, taught farming).
  • Pilgrims and Native Americans signed a peace treaty.

First Thanksgiving

  • Natives taught Pilgrims how to grow crops and hunt.
  • Celebrated harvest with a feast in the fall of 1621.
  • Basis of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630)

  • Created by Puritans seeking religious freedom.
  • About 500 colonists settled Boston.
  • John Winthrop: Governor/religious leader.
  • “City upon a Hill” sermon: A Christian example for the world.
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony absorbed Plymouth settlement in 1691.
Religious Attitudes
  • Very intolerant.
  • People banished for differing beliefs.

City Upon a Hill - John Winthrop

  • "For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us…".

Life with the Puritans

  • Believed women were inferior.
  • High literacy rates (to read the Bible).
  • Mandatory church attendance.
  • Intolerant to other religions.
  • Severe punishments, including death.
  • Religion controlled society.
  • Believed in predestination.

Rhode Island

  • Founded by Roger Williams in 1636.
  • Banished from MA Bay Colony.
Beliefs
  • Separation of church and state.
  • Compensation for Native American land.
  • Religious freedom for all.

Anne Hutchinson

  • Questioned religious leaders.
  • Seen as a threat and arrested for heresy.
  • Banished from MA Bay and went to Rhode Island.
  • Puritan, women’s rights reformer, religious reformer.

Connecticut

  • Founded by Thomas Hooker in 1636.
  • Puritan minister.
  • Disagreed with limiting voting rights to church members.
  • More democratic.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)
  • First written constitution in New World.
  • Elected governor and two-house legislature.

New Hampshire

  • First settled in the 1620s.
  • Populated by people leaving Massachusetts.
  • Became a royal colony in 1692.

Shaping the Colonies

  • Religion played a major role.