Chapters 1-5Discovering America

Why did Columbus, and the Europeans to follow, set sail and head west?

They went in search for faster and less expensive routes to the east

Early SettlementsSpain- Santa Fe 1610French- Quebec 1608English- Jamestown, VA 1607

Protestant vs. CatholicsHenry VIIIProtestant ReformationElizabeth I (champion of protestants)Catholic IrelandElizabeth’s pirates

Goals: Promote ProtestantismPlunder Spanish ships

Sir Walter Raleigh“Sea dog” for Elizabeth

IHelped found Roanoke

in 1585Beheaded by James I Tried to surpass the

Spanish in colonization for the English

Virginia

Joint-Stock Company: Virginia Company given charter from King James I (1606)

Main attraction: gold and desire for a passage to the Indies

Company only to last for a few yearsCharter: guaranteed the “rights of Englishmen” to

the colonists

Jamestown160740 die on the voyage overDisease, malnutrition and starvation main

killers in the colonyThey didn’t know how to survive, the were

from the upper class population; “gentlemen”John Smith – savior of Jamestown

“He who doesn’t work doesn’t eat”Pocahontas saves him from death after

capture ceremonial to show the Indians’ desire to live

peacefully with the Europeans“Starving time” winter of 1609-1610Lord De la Warr established a military regime

on the colony and the IndiansHe arrived spring of 1610

Native AmericansIntroduction of the horse from

Spanish (reach North America and the Great Plains by the 1700s)Lakota become nomadic

Disease is the biggest disruptor of lifeDisease, alcohol and guns changed their

lives forever“It had been the Powhatans’ calamitous

misfortune to fall victim to the 3 Ds: disease, disorganization, and disposability”

The peace treaty of 1646 effectively banished the Chesapeake Indians – the origins of the reservation system

Virginia and tobaccoJohn Rolfe became the father of the

tobacco industry in Virginia (1612)Tobacco ruins the soil and robs it of

nutrients 1619 Dutch sold the first Africans as slavesBy the 1700s 14% of the population of VA

was AfricanHouse of Burgesses (1619)- first

representative government in NA, similar to parliament

1624, James I revokes the charter of the VA Co. and they become a royal colony

MarylandCatholic haven for the English

established by Lord BaltimoreTobacco became a key cropIn the early years indentured servants

were used but that changed to slaves as time passed

Act of Toleration passed in 1649 by local representative assemblyGuaranteed toleration to all ChristiansIt decreed the death penalty to all who

denied the divinity of Christ (Jews and atheists)

Cloak of protection to what had become the Catholic minority

West IndiesSugar becomes the foundation for the economySlave trade increases through the West IndiesBarbados slave code of 1661- denies fundamental rights to

slaves and gives white masters full control of their livesWest Indies plantation owners spilled into the New World,

arriving in Carolina in 1670 and bringing the idea of the Barbados slave codes with them

Carolinas- South CarolinaSouth Carolina in 1670 was populated by

plantation owners from the West IndiesThey brought with them their slaves from the

CaribbeanOriginal intent was to create a colony that

could supply the West Indies with foodIndians were exported to the West Indies for

slave labor Rice became the principal crop in Carolina1710 Africans were the majority of the

populationCharleston became the most important

Atlantic seaport in the South

Carolinas-North CarolinaPopulation mixed of religious

outcasts and poor from Virginia

Known for their resistance and aid to pirates

NC and Rhode Island were the most democratic and independent minded colonies

Not an aristocratic colony, unlike VA and SC its neighbors

Georgia“Buffer Colony” Protect Carolina from Spanish

FloridaDebtors colony “Charity colony”Restrictions on slave labor Religious tolerance for everyone

except the Catholics

Slavery introduced after 1750Part of the “plantation colonies”

Pilgrims and PlymouthSeparatists that left Holland working with

the VA CompanyLeft with the Mayflower and SpeedwellMisjudged the destination and ended up

north of their goalMayflower Compact- agreement to a

government that the settlers would abide by the regulations set forward Set precedent for written constitutions

44 out of the 102 died in the first winter (43%)

William Bradford – most prominent leaderEventually merged with the Mass. Bay

Colony

Massachusetts Bay Puritans – wanted to purify (reform)

the Church of England from within1629 secured a charter During the “Great Migration” of

the1630s about 70,000 refugees came left England (only about 20,000 came to Mass.)

John Winthrop was the colony’s first governor

“City on a hill” (Matthew 5)Men only had the right to participate in

governmentReligious leaders had great impact on

the colony

Dissention and new coloniesReligious issues cause divisionAnne Hutchinson taught a holy life wasn’t a

sure sign of salvationTrue believers don’t need to worry about

obeying the law; grace vs. the law (antinomianism)

Hutchinson claimed to have received her intelligence from a direct revelation from God

Banished to Rhode IslandRoger Williams -challenged the legality of

the charter for taking the land from the Indians

Williams denied the authority of the civil gov’t. to regulate religious behavior

Rhode IslandWilliams required no

religious oaths for residentsMany were Quakers“Rogues Island”1636 started as a squatter

colonySecured a charter in 1644 Most religiously diverse

colony

New England Confederation4 colonies: Mass. Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and valley

settlements of Conn. (1643)Purpose: defend against enemies or potential enemies

(Indians, French, Dutch)First milestone towards colonial unityAlso addressed issues of servants and criminals who ran

away to other colonies.

New NetherlandDutch settlement (founded around 1615)Later bought Manhattan Island from IndiansBecame New York after the English overtook the Dutch (1664)Aristocratic societyDutch and the Indians did not get along

PennsylvaniaWilliam Penn1681 secures a large land grant

from the King Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woodlands)Quaker- don’t believe in serving in

military roles“society of friends”Best advertised of the coloniesPhiladelphia – Brotherly love Quakers had a good relationship

with the Indians