13 Colonies Quick Review

Part 1: Who came to the colonies from Europe and why?

  • Seven immigrant groups with common goals but different contexts:

    • Economically disadvantaged: land in Europe owned by aristocracy; sought cheap land in America; 1650s wave of royalist English migrants
    • Religious dissenters: Puritans etc.; aimed to establish their own religious colonies; not tolerant of other beliefs in practice; examples: Puritan intolerance; later colonies (Maryland, Pennsylvania)
    • Social-status seekers: Europe limited social mobility; in America, wealth/land could raise status
    • Indentured servants: 5–7 year contracts; temporary slavery; some rights; primary workforce in 1600s; many men, some women
    • Petty criminals: hundreds of thousands transported as felons/debtors; used as labor in the colonies
    • Women seeking husbands: 1619 Jamestown brought unmarried women to marry settlers
    • Slaves: first Africans arrived in 1619; slavery codified by the 1640s; present in all 13 colonies; PA (Quakers) least tolerant of slavery

  • Quick takeaway: Slavery existed in all colonies; religious colonies often started from dissent but evolved toward broader religious freedom over time.

Part 2: How did the settlements get started?

  • Coastal settlements favored for access to supplies; lands cleared by Indigenous populations; seasoning time with high early death rates
  • About a generation (~20 years) later, life expectancy rose due to:
    • Lower disease density and fewer epidemics
    • Rare famines; land could feed more people
    • Higher birth rates; need for labor in farms and households
    • Colonies became prosperous, land was available, and property accumulation increased

Part 3: Why were the British successful in their colonies?

  • Lack of centralized planning allowed private experimentation and flexibility; vs. heavily controlled French/Spanish colonies
  • Yankee ingenuity and empiricism: solving problems through observation (e.g., Indigo cultivation by Eliza Lucas Pinckney)
  • Benjamin Franklin demonstrations of electricity; kite experiment and the lightning rod
  • Geography: smaller, more compact colonies between the Atlantic and Appalachians; easier supply and trade; fostered cooperation and later unity

Part 4: England in the 1600s and effects on colonial government

  • Power struggles in England:
    • James I and Charles I: divine-right monarchy; religious persecution; migration of Puritans, Separatists, Catholics to America
    • English Civil War: Parliament vs. crown; Cromwell’s Commonwealth; Puritan rule; Charles II restored monarchy in 1660
  • Foreign wars and mercantilism reduced attention to colonies; colonists traded broadly
  • Mercantilist policy and Navigation Acts:
    • 1651: English ships with English/colonial crews for exports
    • 1660: specified goods (tobacco, indigo, cotton, sugar) could ship only to England
    • 1663: all goods through England to be taxed
  • Enforcement weak; Lords of Trade (1675) to enforce; Dominion of New England under James II; resistance to taxation without representation
  • Glorious Revolution (1688) and aftermath planted seeds of colonial discontent; Board of Trade (1714) replaced Lords of Trade; enforcement still weak
  • Overall: colonies enjoyed naval protection and intra-empire trade but operated with substantial autonomy (salutary neglect)

Part 5: Colonial government structure

  • Types of colonies: royal, proprietary, charter
  • Three governing components in each colony:
    • Governor: appointed by king (royal), proprietor (proprietary), or company (charter); powers include summoning/dissolving the legislature, veto, leading militia, pardons, appointments
    • Council: advisory body; typically the colony’s wealthiest or newly arrived elites
    • Assembly (legislature): elected by property owners (and sometimes church members); could propose laws and pass them subject to governor’s veto; controlled taxation and spending; set governor’s salary
  • With Parliament less distracted, colonies asserted local governance; shared structure across regions aided eventual unification

Part 6: Were the colonies more democratic than England?

  • Colonies modeled after English governance; emphasized separation of powers; influenced by Locke and the social contract: life, liberty, property
  • Voting rights tied to property; many white men could vote at some point; exclusions included women, Africans, Indians, non-religious, non-property owners
  • Overall, colonies were more democratic and politically literate than England, aiding later unity and independence