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Learn about the English Protestant Reformation and its impact on colonial America, including the founding of Jamestown and the settlement of Virginia. Discover the similarities of the plantation colonies and the use of slavery in the Southern colonies.
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AP/DC U.S. History – Lecture #2 Colonial America
The English Protestant Reformation • The Reformation was launched by Henry VIII’s decision to break with the Catholic Church in order to make himself the head of his own church in England and to control its properties. He called his church, the Church of England. • Puritans wanted to “purify” English Christianity of what they considered offensive features of Catholicism such as Catholic rituals and creeds. • An extreme group of Puritans known as “Separatists” vowed to break entirely with the church of England • They left England and ended up settling in Plymouth and Massachusetts.
English Beginnings in America • Elizabeth I encouraged the conflicts between Protestant England and Catholic Spain. • England under Elizabeth decided to colonize as well. The 1st attempt at colonization is Roanoke Island – it was a complete failure. • Spain attacked England with the “Invincible Armada” and loses due to faster English ships and the “Protestant Wind” which scatters the crippled Spanish fleet. The defeat = English naval dominance • With the Spanish as no longer a threat on either continent, England begins a more active role in colonization.
Jamestown Colonization and The Settlement of Virgina • Virginia Company of London in 1606 receives a charter from James I to settle a colony in the New World. Jamestown is founded in 1607. • The charter guaranteed the same rights of Englishmen to all colonies. • “Green-horn” colonists were too busy looking for gold to care about survival. Most of the original settlers were gentlemen and their servants. • Many died on the voyage or in the first year due to disease and mismanagement of the colony. • John Smith made them work to eat.
Pocahontas later saved John Smith and married John Rolfe. Their marriage brought peace to Jamestown. • John Rolfe saved Jamestown with the introduction of tobacco as an industry. • While tobacco was a profitable crop, it was very hard to find workers to work on the plantations. This would lead to indentured servitude in Virginia. • Indentured servants would work for the person who paid their way for a set number of years in return for passage to the colonies. Most indentured servants were poor young men from England.
This the beginning of English mercantilism and the colony of Virginia. • Colonization appealed to farmers and “second sons” because of the headright system which granted fifty acres of land to settlers who paid their own transportation to the colony. • A hierarchy would form in the Chesapeake region with land ownership being the deciding factor as to where a colonist was within the social structure of society. The more land a man owned, the higher he was on the hierarchy. • After the death of Pocahontas, the Powhatan Indians eventually fell to Lord De La War. Add: Mercantilism is an economic theory which believes that a country is only as powerful as the amount of gold and silver in its treasury. Therefore, the colonies exist to benefit the mother country through trade which will in turn build up the treasury.
The English West Indies developed to produce sugar and therefore began to practice large scale slavery. • 1619 – 1st slaves arrive in Jamestown (unsure of their official status as slaves or indentures) • The reason that slaves would eventually replace indentured servants was the fact that the slaves provided a constant labor force and servitude was for life. • In time, Virginia would create a local burgesses or governing body in which free adult males were allowed to vote on local issues. It was the beginning of democracy in the colonies.
Other Plantation Colonies • Maryland – Lord Baltimore creates a haven for Catholics and the colony will practice religious tolerance.
Carolina – named for Charles II, originally practiced Indian slavery. Their primary crop was rice and they eventually used slavery much like the West Indies. • North Carolina was settled by mostly “squatters” who raised tobacco on small farms. They did not have a great need for slavery. There were Indian wars with the Tuscaroras who fled to join the Iroquois.
Georgia originated as a buffer state that was founded by England. • It separated Spanish Florida from French Louisiana. • It was founded by James Oglethorpe as a refuge for debtors and became a melting pot community.
Similarities of Plantation Colonies“Southern Colonies” • They exported commercial agricultural staple crops (tobacco/rice) • They all used slaves to some degree • Large amounts of land ended up in the hands of aristocrats (except N. Carolina) • The large plantations and farms retarded the growth of cities.
All permitted some form of religious toleration. • All were eventually expansionary due to overuse of soil. • All had conflicts with Indians due to expansion. • These colonies were not founded for religious reasons. • All paid taxes to the Church of England • Through the sale of tobacco, rice and indigo, the Southern colonies became the richest of all the colonies.
Plymouth Colony (1620) • A group of Separatists leave Holland on the Mayflower and settle in Plymouth Bay outside of the domain of the Virginia Company. • They sign the Mayflower Compact setting the precedent for later written constitutions. It was the 1st attempt at self-government. • Many died during the 1st winter – only 44 of 102 survive (1620-1621) • It later merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) • It was granted a charter which was unique because it allowed for Mass. government to exist in the colony instead of in England. • They left England to escape anti-puritan persecution in England. • Mass. included large-scale settlement which included Puritans, but not all Puritans. • John Winthrop became the 1st governor who required the colonists had to live by a strict code of religious rules. He wanted to create a “city on a hill” that would serve as an example for others around the world. • He preached a great deal about God’s wrath if colonists failed to lead the life prescribed for them by the Puritan church. • Winthrop believed there was a family hierarchy which demanded that women serve their husbands and children serve their parents or elders.
Puritans only wanted “visable saints” to be given church membership. This belief caused membership to drop over time. • They created the Half-Way Covenant in order to allow the unconverted children of visable saints into the church as members. They believed that this action would keep the community centered on “godly issues.”
Puritans tended to conform to the beliefs of their church and that conformity in many ways determined how they lived their lives. • The colony prospered as a fur trading, fishing and ship building colony. • They didn’t have a lot of problems with native Indians because disease had previously reduced the number of natives in the area. • Most colonists who came to Mass. were farmers and tradesmen from the middle class of England.
Rhode Island (1636) Roger Williams • Founded as a haven for people of all religions and backgrounds. • Founded by Roger Williams who was banished from Mass. For promoting a separation of church and state. In Rhode Island, he promoted complete religious tolerance. • Anne Hutchinson moved to Rhode Island after being accused of heresy due to the fact that she claimed to get “direct” divine intervention from God and she criticized the minister John Wilson. She was also accused of “antinomianism.,” which teaches that you don’t have to follow a moral code to reach salvation. • The colony was also called ”Rogues Island” because of population including dissenters and exiles. Anne Hutchinson
Connecticut (1639) • The colony drafted the “Fundamental Orders” which established a “democratic” society ruled by the “substantial” citizens. • Hartford and New Haven were established as colonies in Connecticut.
New Hampshire (1641) • The colony sprang from fishing and trading activities. • It was absorbed by the Mass. Bay colony. • In 1679, it was turned into a royal colony.
New Netherland (New York) • The colony was founded on the Hudson River in 1623-1624 by the Dutch West India Co. for quick profits in the fur trade. • The Dutch bought Manhattan Island for worthless trinkets (22,000 acres). • Vast feudal estates were granted along the Hudson River • Diverse populations were attracted to the colony. • Sweden tried to settle along the Delaware and Peter Stuyvesant drove them out. • The Duke of York later drives the Dutch from the colony and renames it New York, making it an English colony.
Pennsylvania (1681) • Quakers needed a place of refuge – they were persecuted for their beliefs: • They refused to support the Church of England with taxes • They refused to take oaths • They paid no taxes and “spoke up” in meetings • They refused to take their hats off in front of their “betters” (all the same in the sight of God) • They refused to participate in military service • They believed that God spoke to them through an “inner light” and that neither a minister nor Bible was needed to understand God’s word. • Because of their beliefs, they were not welcome by Puritans and were often persecuted by branding, having their tongues “forked” and in come cases executed.
William Penn, a Quaker, founded Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers. Philadelphia became a major city (Brotherly Love) • The Quakers got along well with the Indians and welcomed anyone to their colony. They were able to purchase land from the Indians as well. • Religious tolerance was welcomed and the colony had a very diverse population. • Like indentured servants, many Germans called “redemptioners” would gain their passage to Pennsylvania by selling themselves to a friend or relative as servants. William Penn
The economy of Pennsylvania prospered with a relatively high standard of living. This led to the doubling of imported goods from England which fell in line with mercantilism. • Non-Quakers undermined the Quaker benevolent policies and war came again. • Non-Quakers soon outnumbered the Quakers and everything changed.
West New Jersey (1676) – East New Jersey - Delaware • The two Jerseys combined in 1702 into one New Jersey. • Delaware (1703) granted its own assembly, but under Pennsylvania control.
Similarities in the Middle Colonies(New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware) • The Middle colonies were called the “bread colonies” due to their large export of grain. They also produced beef and other agricultural products. • There was active trade and industry along the many rivers. • There was a large amount of industry which included lumbering and shipbuilding. • Their population was ethnically mixed. • They had more economic and democratic control.
Indians and Europeans as “Americanizers” • What Colonists learned from the Indian: • The names of plants and animals • What to eat and how to catch and grow it. Corn helped to create success in regards to English colonization. • What to wear, including leggings and moccasins • How to get from one place to another • How to fight
What the Indian Learned from the Colonists: • How to use metal objects such as, guns, pots, pans, tools, knives etc. • How to drink alcohol, on which many would become addicted. • How to use new technology to tyrannize their enemy.
Advantages of the Fur Trade • In some ways a perfect business arrangement • Both groups profit greatly • The colonists get “valuable furs” for “cheap” European products. • The Indians got “priceless” tools, knives and other trade goods for “cheap” furs. • Indians became more efficient hunters and trappers due to demand.
