Elizabeth I

• Daughter of Henry VIII + Anne Boleyn

• Took advantage of New World discoveries

• Became Queen of England in 1558

• After ending conflict over religion, Elizabeth unified England + strengthened the military

• When she refused to marry Philip II of Spain, war broke out

• Died in 1603

Francis Drake

• Pirate + celebrated sea captain

• Sailed the Golden Hind to Spanish empire + plundered Spanish ports

• Circumnavigated the globe from 1577-1580

• Returned with a ship filled with gold + spices from West Indies

• Defeated Spanish Armada in naval war in 1588

Sir Walter Raleigh

• Fought Irish + Spanish

• 1578 - Established colonies in Virginia (failed)

• Published Discourse Concerning Western Planting, which provided rationale for English colonization of the New World

• After attempting to attack the Spanish, he was beheaded by James I

Primogeniture

• Property of English nobleman is passed to 1st-born son

• Stabilized English land holdings + politics

• Other sons didn’t have anything to do (because they had no land)

• Huge tracts of available land in colonial America

• Because of widespread refusal to do manual labor, Jamestown nearly collapsed

Charter

• British gov’t permits settlement of English colonies

• English colonists have equal rights to Englishmen to England

Joint-Stock Companies

• 1602 - Chartered by English gov’t

• When citizens purchase stock in companies, they receive a share in profits

  • This minimized risk to companies

• Companies made risky decisions based on search for profit

• Greater autonomy

Spanish Armada

• Defeated by England in 1588

• England earned long-time supremacy of seas

• With greater nautical freedom, England was able to extend + defend shipping, boosting their economy

Powhatan Wars

• Colonist encroachment into Native American territory led to war between Virginians + Native Americans led by Chief Powhatan

• 1614 - When Pocahontas + John Rolfe married, the 1st war was ended

• 2nd war broke out in 1644

Virginia

• 1607 - 1st permanent English settlement

• 1619 - John Rolfe cultivates hybrid tobacco + establishes cash-crop agriculture (which would eventually become the basis of the Southern economy)

• Ruled by the House of Burgesses

• African slavery

• Became royal colony governed by William Berkeley in 1642

Lord De la Warr

• Governor + captain of Virginia

• 1610 - Under his powerful rule, Jamestown was saved from ruin

• Gave private property to Virginians

• Sowed seeds of American Dream + capitalism

House of Burgesses

• 1619 - 1st representative assembly established in Virginia to protect property + rights

• Burgs (villages in Virginia) + burgesses (elected representatives)

• Declaration of Independence stated that powers of legislation are incapable of annihilation

• Shared power w/ legislation (balance of powers)

Indentured Servitude

• Because of a population boom + failed wool market in England, poor Englishmen looked for opportunity in America

• Servants received a free voyage to America BUT had to provide 4-7 years of service

• Servants often did not survive + had stingy masters

Chattel Slavery

• Begins in Virginia in 1619

• African-American legal status equal to cattle (“property”)

• Removed all human rights

• Slaves subject to cruelty

Plymouth Colony

• 1620 - Founded in Cape Cod, Massachusetts by Separatists

• Mayflower Compact

• Prioritized integrity + faith

• Eventually absorbed by Massachusetts Bay Colony

• Governed by William Bradford

New England Wars

• Colonists faced major conflicts with Native Americans

• 1637 - Pequot War (Puritans in Connecticut vs. Pequots)

• 1675 - King Philip’s War (Colonists vs. King Philip/Metacom)

Mayflower Compact

• 1st written constitution

• Covered laws on gov’t, civil body politic, fair laws, obedience + mutual support

• Because the colonists weren’t governed by the English constitution, they wanted a tangible social contract, leading to the creation of the Mayflower Compact

Massachusetts Bay Colony

• 1629 - Massachusetts Bay Company founds Puritan colony

• The Great Migration was when Puritans came to America fleeing religious persecution

• Formed families + church congregations

• 1636 - Harvard University is founded to educate ministers

• The General Court was a colonial legislature similar to House of Burgesses

Anne Hutchinson

• Because she taught forbidden heretical doctrines, she was placed on trial for heresy

• She believed there was no need to manifest grace through obedience + everyone receives divine revelation

• She was banished in 1638 + lived in Rhode Island

• American religious liberty

Roger Williams

• Advocated separation of church and state

• 1643 - Founded Rhode Island (which gave complete religious tolerance to all citizens)

• Father of Baptist churches

Maryland

• Founded by Lord Baltimore in 1632

• Refuge for Roman Catholics

• 1649 - Act of Toleration is passed to give all Christians freedom of worship

• Thriving shipping center + strong economy

John Locke

• Believed that gov’t is required to provide life, liberty, property + balance of powers

• Influenced many Founding Fathers

• 1670 - Wrote Fundamental Constitution for Carolina (set standards of utopian planning)

• Ideas on distribution of land + easy citizenship standards + religious freedom

William Penn

• 1677 - Founded 1st colony in West Jersey

• Quakerism

• Humanitarian + libertarian principles

• Believed in peaceful relations w/ Native Americans

• Pennsylvania’s thriving economy embodied the “American legacy”

Blue Laws

• Pennsylvania

• Restrictions against vice

• No theater, gambling, revelry

• Enforced Sabbath + prohibition

Pennsylvania

• 1681 - William Penn receives separate charter

• Diverse society + large colonial city (Philadelphia)

• Its diversified economy included grain farming, basic manufacturing, shipping

• The Mason-Dixon Line was a symbolic border b/w North + South

• Western expansion led to clashes b/w colonists + Native Americans

• Because they refused to support violence, the Penn family lost control of colony

BIG PICTURE

• Started w/ disorganization + failure BUT great societal vitality

• Near disaster → Stable economy + self-gov’t

• English colonies contributed legacies

• Labor shortage → Indentured servitude + chattel slavery

• Defeat of Spanish Armada (1588) + viable colonies (1607) - England can create world empire

• New Amsterdam

  • Established trade + thriving merchant class

  • Difficult to attract permanent settlers → Welcoming environment

• Jesuits

  • Established by Ignatius Loyola during Counter-Reformation

  • Wanted to convert Native Americans in New France to Roman Catholicism

• Sir Walter Raleigh

  • Founded + named area of exploration “Virginia” (The Virgin Queen)

  • Settlement on Roanoke Island failed (disappeared without a trace) but paved way for settlement of Jamestown

• Mississippi River

  • Provided water, soil, trade routes → Encouraged expansion across continent

• Hudson Bay Company

  • Lucrative fur trade for British

  • De facto gov’t structure

• Why did the Treaty of Tordesillas become obsolete?

  • Waning power of Spain and Portugal

  • Increasing power + exploration of Britain + France

• What encouraged European exploration in the 15th century?

  • Age of Nationalism + emergence of powerful monarchs

  • Could only stay powerful w/ wealthy economies

• Why did British exploration lag behind Spain’s?

  • Britain was consumed in religious warfare

  • British victory against Spanish Armada began British exploration