Colonization First Attempts at Colonization 1576 English nobleman

Colonization

First Attempts at Colonization � � � 1576: English nobleman Sir Humphrey Gilbert believed England should find colonies & NW Passage � sent sea captain Martin Frobisher to look for passage � brought back fool’s gold 1578: Gilbert obtain charter allowing him to found a colony with his own funds � guarantee settlers with all rights of those born & residing in England � his colony in Newfoundland failed � later lost at sea 1580 s: half brother – Sir Walter Raliegh � turn attention to southern N. America coastline � named Virginia (after unmarried Queen) � 1 st settlement : Roanoke Island 1587: settlers land in Roanoke � 1587 -expedition leader, John White left for supplies � 1590 - return delayed b/c war with Spain & found colony deserted � unknown as to what happened to settlers Next 15 years: English interest in American colonization submerged b/c: � Inadequate financial resources � Ongoing war with Spain

Virginia

Joint Stock Companies � � � Early from of a modern corporation Allowed them to sell shares of stock in their company Use the pooled investment capital to outfit and supply overseas expeditions 2 groups of merchants gained charters: � (1) Virginia Company of Plymouth � (2) Virginia Company of London � Based in Plymouth Granted the right to colonize in North America from the Potomac to the northern border of present-day Maine. 1607 - attempted to plant a colony in Maine but colonists returned after one winter Based in London Received a charter to North America between what are now the Hudson & the Cape Fear rivers 1607 - sent out expedition to plant a colony 40 miles up the James River from Chesapeake Bay (name colony- Jamestown) Became the first permanent English settlement in North America Early years- starvation, disease & hostile relations with Indians

Why early years so difficult? � Lack of incentive- Entire colony was owned by the company everyone share the profits regardless of how much or who little they worked � Gold-seeking adventurers � Poor location- low & swampy breeding ground for disease � Hostile relations with Indians- Powhatan � Puritans thought hey could take advantage of Natives (like Aztcs) but the Natives had no wealth & not densely populated in one area

Turning Point: � 1608 -1609: leadership of John Smith: “He who works not, eats not. ” � 1612: John Rolfe discovers superior strain of tobacco (“Sot weed”) � Indenture System- secure more settlers & boost labor force but gain reputation for harsh treatment ( esp. dictatorial power of governors) � RESULT: Need workers � Change in government: � Attract more settlers- promise colonists with same rights they had in England � 1619: House of Burgesses (a representative assembly) was founded – 1 st in America � Institute private ownership of land � 1619: introduce Africans to colony due to continued difficulty to attract settlers (more like indentured servants than slaves)

Changes � Relations � 1622 with Indians & 1644: massacres � Establishment � King of Virginia as a Royal colony James I impressed by the potential profits from tobacco growing � 1624: James revoked the London’s Company charter by using high morality rate & Indian massacre as excuse � Result: James revoked all political rights & the rep, assembly but restored 15 years later by his son, King Charles I.

Maryland

Important “Firsts” � � � By the 1630 s- English crown taking a more direct interest in exercising control over the colonies Result: turned away from the practice of granting charters to joint-stock companies Instead- grant such charters to single individuals or groups of individuals known as proprietors � � � 1 st proprietary colony – Maryland � � Colonists ignored and set up own land with indentured servants, etc… But more Protestants than Catholics came � � � 1632 -charter granted to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore Refuge for English Catholics Calvert died before the colony was planted Initial land policy: feudal like � � Proprietors would own the colony & be directly responsible for it to the king Similar to feudal system Result: 1649 - Act of Religious Toleration Guarantee political rights to Christians of all persuasions Government � � Representative assembly Economically & Socially- Maryland developed a virtual carbon copy of Virginia

Life in the Chesapeake � Family deferred until after indenture complete � RESULT: Only Minority marry 3 x more men � Marriage fragile b/c: � � Disease- die within 7 years � Vulnerability of pregnant women � Death claim for ½ kids born � Women remarry quickly � RESULT: � Blended families End Result: Land of immigrants � Social institutions slow to develop � Poor/housing (small & cramped) � Few possessions � Took 4 generations to get refined life

The Pilgrims at Plymouth

The Pilgrims at Plymouth � � Many Englishmen came from England for religious reasons. Puritans: Disagree with the Church of England � Why? � 2 groups: � Non-separatists- believe Church of England need to be changed Separatists – believed Church of England was beyond saving & must separate Reform society: � Too similar to Catholic Church (customs) Concept of individual undermine the notion of community Emphasis on work Organize into religious congregations- achieve personal salvation & support others Assume responsibility for the “unconverted” people around them Conflict with English government: James I (1603 - 1625: rule by divine right Head of Church of England Harass Puritans b/c of their rising power Charles I (1625 - 1649) Worsen situation for Puritans Dissolved Parliament (source of Puritan power) Unleashed William Laud (bishop of London)

� Pilgrims (separatists) � Suffering government harassment fled to Holland � Decided to got to America—became Pilgrims � Led by William Bradford � Departed in 1620 � Obtained charter from London Company to settle just south of Hudson River � Ship, Mayflower due to storm made landfall at Cape Cod (Mass) � Decided it was God’s will for them to settle in that area � Problem: put them outside the jurisdiction of any established government � Result: Mayflower Compact Established a foundation for orderly government based on the consent of the governed � Did not expect to convert a sinful world � They wanted to be left alone � Absorbed by Mass. Bay Colony in 1691

Massachusetts Bay Company � � � � The Puritans were far more numerous than the Separatists They did not dress in drab clothes Were not ignorant or bigoted Took the Bible and their religion seriously Believed the Anglican Church still retained too many unscriptural practices left over from Roman Catholicism King James I – refrain from confrontation due to their growing political power 1629: charter a joint-stock company – Massachusetts Bay Company charter neglected to specify where the company’s headquarters should be located � Result: base their headquarters in the colony itself � � John Winthrop- leader Taught a new colony should provide the whole world with a model of what a Christian society ought to be � “City upon a hill” � � 1630 - arrive in Massachusetts � � � very well organized Result: did not undergo the “starving time” like other colonies Massachusetts Government Governor � Representative assembly (General Court) selected by “freemen” (adult male church members) � � Growing population By 1642 - 20, 000 Puritans came to Massachusetts (AKA – Great Migration) � Result: Charter new towns � Towns clustered around the church house and the village green �

� Puritans saw their colony not as a place to do whatever might strike ones fancy but as a place to serve God and build hit kingdom. � Dissidents would be tolerated…. as long as they do not interfere with the colony’s mission

Rhode Island, Connecticut, & New Hampshire

Dissidenters � Roger Puritan preacher Talent for carrying things to their logical extremes Asked to leave the colony Fled to the wilderness & bought land from Indians Founded the settlement of Providence (1636) � Anne Williams Hutchinson Openly taught things contrary to Puritan doctrine Called before the General Court to answer for her teachings She claimed to have had special revelations from God superseding the Bible Unthinkable in Puritan theology Banished form colony Help find the settlement of Portsmouth (1638)

Rhode Island � 1644: Roger Williams secured from Parliament a charter to combine Providence, Portsmouth & other settlements that had sprung up in the area into the colony of Rhode Island � granted religious tolerance � suffered constant political turmoil

Connecticut � founded by Puritans who had slight religious disagreements with the leadership of Massachusetts � 1636: Thomas Hooker led a group of settlers westward to found Hartford � 1639: the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was drawn 1 st written constitution in America Provided for representative government � 1637: John Davenport founded the neighboring colony of New Haven believed Winthrop was not being strict enough � 1662 - a new charter combined both New Haven & Connecticut into an officially recognized colony of Connecticut

New Hampshire � Did not involve nay disagreement at all among the Puritans � Simply settled as an overflow from Massachusetts � 1677 - King Charles II chartered the separate royal colony of New Hampshire � remained economically dependent on Massachusetts

New Englanders relations with Natives � Prohibited from selling arms to Natives � Natives not allowed to enter towns � Disease � Smallpox � Puritans outbreaks directed by God to control the land � Help to justify land hunger � Resulted in war (1637) � Missionary work

Life in New England � � � Agriculture � Climate & soil unsuited to large-scale farming � Developed a prosperous economy based on farming, home industry, fishing, trade & large shipbuilding industry “Restraint” Meetinghouse Role of ministers Obtaining settlement grants Local authority (town meetings) Role of family � Emphasis on the family � Importance of reading – Bible � Result: More stable & well-ordered society than Chesapeake � Typical New England Family More children Higher survival rate Longer life expectancy (15 years – England & 25 years- Chesapeake) Economy � International port Life expectancy Role of women Literacy

Halfway Convent � Many Puritans fear New England was drifting away from its religious purpose � Focus on money than creating a godly society � RESULT: Halfway Covenant � Provide a sort of half-way church membership for the children of members (even though they did not profess saving grace was normally required for Puritan membership) � Hope to keep church membership rolls full & preserve church influence

Important Events… � English Civil War (1642 -1649) 1649 -Charles I is beheaded � Commonwealth Period (1649 - 1660) Puritans in England had the opportunity to complete the reform of religion and society at home. � Result: Migration to New England abruptly ceased � � � Confederation of New England 1643 - need to combat the problems of dispersion (Maine to Long Island) � coordinate government among the various Puritan settlements � provide greater defense against the French the Dutch & the Natives � the pact bound together Mass, Plymouth, New Haven, & river towns of Connecticut � 1 st American attempt at federalism �

New France French opened with the Indians a lucrative fur trade in furs � St. Lawrence River- French gateway to the interior of North America � 1608: Samuel de Champlain established a trading post in Quebec � Small number of Frenchmen came to America � � Result: � maintain good relations with the Indians French exploration and settlement spread through the Great Lakes region and the valleys of the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers � French settlements in the Midwest were not generally real towns� More forts and trading posts � Handicapped by: � Inadequate population � Lack of support the parent country

New Netherlands � � 1609: Holland sent Henry Hudson to explore for NW Passage 1624: est’d Dutch trading outposts for fur trade with Indians � � � Patroon system� � large landed estates would be given to wealthy men who transported at least 50 families to New Netherlands these families would become tenant farmers on the estate of the patron who had transported them attracted few families due to healthy economy at home Condition of colony � � Manhattan Island (new Amsterdam) Fort Orange (present day – Albany) Weak & unstable Poorly governed “unstable plurarlism”- Population a mixture of people from all over Europe Relations with Natives � Did not mind b/c colonists were few in numbers did not have voracious appetites for land willing to exchange desirable goods for the pelts of animals

New York & New Jersey � � Charles II- cunning eye for increasing Britain’s power Dutch Colony of New Netherlandslye between Chesapeake & New England colonies � caught attention of Charles II � � 1664 - Charles gave his brother, James (Duke of York) title to all the Dutch lands in America (if he was able to conquer these lands first) Result: Send Colonel Richard Nicols with fleet � New Amsterdam fell without a shot & became New York � � James was adamantly opposed to representative assemblies � � � Result: ordered that their be none in New York Nicols granted as many other civil & political rights as possible But residents (especially Puritans who had settled on Long Island) cont’d to agitate for self-government 1680 s- James relented 1685 - Became king & broke his promise James granted a part of his new acquired domain to John Lord Berkeley & Sir George Carteret (two of the Carolina proprietors) Name their proprietorship –New Jersey � Problem: failed to tell Nicols � Result: Conflicitng claims on land ownership since both sides granted same land to different settlers � 1702 - Used as a pretext to make New Jersey a royal colony �

The Carolinas � � The most elaborate planned colony in English history Least successful in achieving amicable relations with natives 1663 - Charles II- restored to throne after 20 year Puritan revolution Reward 8 of the noblemen that helped him regain crown � � � To attract settlers- came up with an elaborate plan for a hierarchal (feudal like) society � � � Unworkable Result: slow population growth North Carolina- overflow from Virginia � � Grant them a charter for all the lands lying south of Virginia & north of Spanish Florida Known as Carolina (after the king) Similar economic & cultural features South Carolina- settled by English planters from island of Barbados � � � Founded Charles Town (Charleston) in 1670. Brought black slaves Rice cultivation

Pennsylvania � founded as a refuge for Quakers (society of friends) � � Radical religious sects that sprung up around the time of the English Civil War Many controversial beliefs � William Penn � Believed all persons had an “inner light” – allow them to commune directly with God Believed human institutions were unnecessary Placed little importance on the Bible Pacifists Rights of women- spiritual equality Declined to show customary deference to those who were considered to their social superiors RESULT: their aggressiveness in denouncing established institutions brought them trouble in both Britain & America 1681 - received charter from Charles II offered generous terms on land guaranteed a representative assembly full religious freedom helped to establish peaceful relations with Indians Growth of Pennsylvania Settlers flocked there from all over Europe Fertile soil- large exporter of grain

Delaware � First part of Pennsylvania � Penn granted a separate legislature � Until American Revolution – Pennsylvania’s proprietary governors also functioned as governor of Delaware