Early Colonial America (1492-1650)

1. Early Colonial America (1492-1650) European colonization and creation of new nations and peoples.

2. Era Timeline • 1565 - The first permanent European colony in North America is founded at St. Augustine (Florida) by the Spanish. • 1584 - Sir Walter Raleigh lands on Roanoke Island and names the surrounding area Virginia, in honor of Queen Elizabeth I of England. • •1608 - In January, 110 additional colonists arrive at Jamestown • 1609 - 1610 - Approximately 440 Jamestown settles die during the Starving Time. • •1609 - 1610 - Santa Fe established in New Mexico. • 1620 - November 9, the Mayflower shiplands at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with 101 colonists. • 1624 - Thirty families of Dutch colonists, sponsored by the Dutch West India Company arrive in New York. • 1630 - In March, John Winthrop leads a Puritan migration of 900 colonists to Massachusetts Bay • 1634 - First settlement in Maryland as 200 settlers, many of them Catholic, arrive in the lands granted to Roman Catholic Lord Baltimore by King Charles I.

3. Era Timeline Continued • 1636 - In June, Roger Williams founds Providence and Rhode Island. Williams had been banished from Massachusetts for "new and dangerous opinions" calling for religious and political freedoms, including separation of church and state, not granted under the Puritan rules. Providence then becomes a haven for many other colonists fleeing religious intolerance. • 1638 - Anne Hutchinson is banished from Massachusetts for nonconformist religious views that advocate personal revelation over the role of the clergy. She then travels with her family to Rhode Island.

4. Roger Williams • Roger Williams was an American Protestant theologian and one of the first advocators for separation of church and state. In 1636 he created the colony of Rhode Island, which provided refuge for religious minorities. He then created Americas first Baptist church. Overall Roger Williams was a very influential religious dissenter leader in early colonial America.

5. African Slave Labor • Slavery in the was the primary source of labor for Colonial Americans. Slavery stood as a source of free labor. The majority of the slaves were brought from Africa and sold to colonists. Slaves performed various tasks for their masters, including plantation work, cooking, and nanny work. The harsh ways of slavery in early America helped the economy grow early on, but lead to great conflicts later.

6. Columbian Exchange • The Columbian Exchange was the vast exchange between the colonists and the Native Americans of various animals, plants, cultures, diseases, and ideas. This began when Columbus landed in the Americas and 1492 and continued much later on. The Columbian exchange was a pivotal point in the meeting between the Old and New Worlds.

7. The Protestant Reformation • The Protestant Reformation was a Christian religious movement lead by Martin Luther in Europe during the early 1500’s, and lead to the formation of the Protestant belief. Although beginning in Europe the creation of the Protestant belief greatly effected colonial America, in that it was the reason numerous Europeans made the voyage to America, and also caused many conflicts later on between various parts of the colonies.

8. Overview Early colonial American society was the basis of what the country would later become. During this period the country grew in several ways, such as, politically, economically, and socially. Political Economic Social • The establishment of various new forms of government. • The formation of colonies. • Conflicts arise with Britain. • Tobacco becomes one of the colonies cash crops. • The majority of the colonies serve as a trade hub for Britain. • Slavery is the most used form of labor. • Various types of Christianity form, which lead to the formation of various colonies. • America became a safe-house for people of all races and religions. • Racism was extremely harsh during these times.