THE THIRTEEN COLONIES AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE 1607

THE THIRTEEN COLONIES AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE 1607 -1754 Period 2: 1607 -1754 | Amsco Chapter 2 Overview

TYPES OF BRITISH COLONIES There were three basic types Charter colonies: a charter was granted by the crown to a joint-stock company Private, merchant-based endeavors that took on the risk at their own expense Royal colonies: under direct authority of crown Proprietary colonies: under authority of individuals granted by the crown Maryland Pennsylvania All, being economic endeavors, carried some distinguished traits Self-sufficiency Representation amongst the colonies

EARLY ENGLISH ENDEAVORS After 1588, England emerged as a major naval power A booming population and struggling economy made colonies appealing King James I charted the Virginia Company: Jamestown 1607 The company’s land choice was poor: swampy Diseases broke out, mostly merchant-based craftsmen with limited survival knowledge Refused to hunt or farm; many died John Smith held them together John Rolfe married Pocahontas and introduced English to tobacco Cash crop Despite this, by 1624 the colony was near collapsing Massive debt Dwindling population King James I revoked the charter and made Virginia a royal colony

PLYMOUTH AND MASSACHUSETTS BAY English Reformation and the Church of England Calvinism in England predestination King James I saw these dissenters as threats and arrested them The most extreme of these (Separatists) left England for Holland: Became known as Pilgrims (travelers) Eventually, they sought haven in the colonies of the Virginia Company 1620, the Pilgrims chose a new land at Plymouth (Mass) The first winter killed half of them Native Americans assisted: Thanksgiving 1621 Under Charles I (1625), persecution of another group began (Puritans) Puritans gained charter for Massachusetts Bay Colony 1629 Led by John Winthrop, they founded Boston The English Civil War drove some 15, 000 more settlers to MBC (the Great Migration)

EARLY POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS Virginia The VC guaranteed the same rights as colonists had in England The House of Burgesses was a local, representative assembly New England The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower signed the Mayflower Compact A form of self-government and limited constitution Despite all this, most colonists were excluded from the political process Females and the landless had almost no rights Slaves and indentured servants had even less Only landed males could vote 1632, Charles I awarded Lord Baltimore with a proprietary colony Maryland: the first Catholic colony

LAND LABOR In both Maryland Virginia traded or took land from natives Tobacco was becoming very profitable To fill labor needs Indentured servitude: contracted Englishmen to the colonies for work (4 -7 years) They became, essentially, slaves until their contract was fulfilled: then rewarded land Headright system: land offered if you paid your way to the colony Slavery: originally, blacks came as indentured servants and were later freed In 1660 s, the House of Burgesses enacted discriminatory laws that created permanent bondage Economic struggles of the 1660 s led to Tensions between large planters and small farmers Nathaniel Bacon was a poor farmer who resented the few large planters calling shots Wanted to expand into native land Bacon’s rebellion 1676: massacred natives and burned Jamestown Put down, but divide between rich and poor was clear As well as a colonial resistance to rule

NEW ENGLAND Puritan intolerance of questioning led to a religious split Rhode Island: Roger Williams left Boston and found Providence in 1636 (more inviting) Anne Hutchinson was banned from Boston, established Portsmouth, later combined with Providence (tolerant) Connecticut: founded by those leaving Boston with more democratic principles New Hampshire: made into a royal colony to boost royal control New England Confederation 1643 Colonial expansion, wars with natives, and French/Dutch tension English Civil War ensured that England could not help King Philip’s War (1675 -6) Thousands killed on both sides as natives fought colonial expansion The Black Death: European diseases since Plymouth had killed an estimated 95% of natives Exhaustion meant natives could not resist

DAY TWO The Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire 1607 -1754

RESTORATION COLONIES Following the English Civil War, Charles II was “restored” to power: 1660 South Carolina c. 1670 grew to provide food for West Indies It utilized African slaves on large plantations (rice, was an early one) North Carolina, by contrast, had more small tobacco farmers Charles II wanted to unify the colonies: Dutch in the way In 1664, England took New Amsterdam: New York Split into two: New Jersey being the other Grants issued to pull in settlers William Penn (Quaker) granted Pennsylvania in 1681 “The Holy Experiment” to be kind to all (even natives) Attracted many settlers (Dutch resettled from New York, and Swedish from Delaware)

THE LAST COLONY AND MERCANTILISM Georgia was chartered in 1732 with direct assistance from London To create a buffer between colonies and Spanish Florida To work as a kind of penal colony to give Brits a “second chance” By 1752 it was a royal colony and the smallest/poorest of the 13 Mercantilism is government-regulated control based on Resource extraction from colonies Manufacturing of goods in mother country The selling of those goods in the colonies and abroad Britain was late to implement this due to the English Civil War A series of Navigation Acts 1650 -1673 Only English or colonial ships could be used for trade All colonial-imported goods must pass through English ports first Only “enumerated” goods could be exported by colonies and only to England (tobacco at first)

EFFECTS OF NAVIGATION ACTS Positive New England ship-building increased Chesapeake tobacco monopoly in England British protection of colonies from French/Spanish Negative Made crop prices low in Americas and cost of English goods were high Colonial resentment of regulation led to smuggling in/with West Indies Enforcement Britain was often lax But would enforce when needed (1684 Mass Bay lost its charter for smuggling)

THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY By 1750, 50% of Virginia and 66% of South Carolina were enslaved Demand for slaves increased Reduced migration and increased need for labor Need for dependable labor, not like Nathaniel Bacon and the lot Cheap labor due to low yield of crop prices in mercantile system Laws implemented to keep blacks in permanent bondage Virginia 1661: black children inherited slave status Virginia 1664: Baptism did not end slave status Racism was becoming integral to colonial society Triangular trade The “Middle Passage”