Period Two: The Chesapeake Colonies and Carolinas

Maryland was established in 1632 by King Charles I. King Charles I granted Lord Baltimore and his
descendants the power to govern Maryland
Lord Baltimore was a Catholic and had faced persecution from the Church of England.
Therefore, he wanted to make Maryland into a relative refuge for religious toleration (toleration was granted to Christians only) where Catholics and Protestants could worship in face
There was conflict between members of the small Catholic elite and the Protestant majority. As a result, Governor Calvert convinced the Maryland assembly to pass the Act of Religious Toleration in 1649, granting religious freedom to all Christians
In England, leaders were appointed who were not tolerant of Catholics and prohibited the open practice of it. Maryland’s policies were influenced by this and in 1718, Catholics were barred from voting

England used joint stock companies (investors purchased shares in the company, mitigated risk, and ability to raise money quickly) to colonize North America
Virginia Company was formed by a group of merchants and given the right to settle an area that stretched from New York to North Carolina by King James I
The Virginia Company claimed the land for themselves and for England.
In 1612, tobacco was planted in Virginia and production rapidly increased due to investments
As the price of tobacco decreased due to increased production, the only way to increase profits was to cultivate more and more land. In conjunction, the cultivation of more land led to the need for more labor
The Virginia Company was willing to offer land to indentured laborers who spent seven years working on the tobacco plantations
Headright System: Rewarded those who imported indentured servants and later enslaved Africans with land
Even with the use of the headright system, the Virginia Company struggled to import enough indentured servants to keep its cash crop economy based on tobacco stable and profitable
The Virginia Company take action to increase the settlement of Virginia by transporting English prisoners as indentured servants, actively recruiting female settlers, and transporting African to be enslaved

Virginia House of Burgesses:

The House of Burgesses was an assembly of elected representatives from Virginia that met from 1643 to 1776
Each county sent two burgesses to the house
The members of the House of Burgesses could make laws and levy taxes, although the English governor and the company council in London held veto power
It fostered the idea that the Virginia Company honored the traditional rights of English men

Like the Chesapeake colonies, North Carolina relied on the cultivation of tobacco
However, tobacco plantations were on a smaller scale in North Carolina due to fewer harbors and poor transportation
The proprietors of North Carolina hoped to create a feudal manor in N. America. Few migrants were willing to come to North Carolina and face the same system they did in England

South Carolina initially profited from the fur trade and growing food for the West Indies
By the 18th century, South Carolina had large rice plantations, worked by enslaved Africans