Chapter 4 - English Colonization

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

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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

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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

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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

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Charter

  • ^^British gov’t permits settlement of English colonies^^
  • English colonists have equal rights to Englishmen to England

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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

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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^^

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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Chattel Slavery

  • Begins in Virginia in 1619
  • ^^African-American legal status equal to cattle (“property”)^^
  • Removed all human rights
  • Slaves subject to cruelty

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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

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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)

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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^^

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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

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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

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Roger Williams

  • Advocated separation of church and state
  • 1643 - Founded Rhode Island (which gave complete religious tolerance to all citizens)
  • Father of Baptist churches

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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

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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

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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”

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Blue Laws

  • Pennsylvania
  • Restrictions against vice
  • No theater, gambling, revelry
  • Enforced Sabbath + prohibition

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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

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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

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  • 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

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