U.S. History to Reconstruction

1. U.S. History to Reconstruction Unit 2 - England’s 17th Century Colonies

2. Timeline 17th Century England • Stuart Monarchy • James I (1603-1625) • Charles I (1625-1649) • English Civil War (1642-1649) • Commonwealth (1649-1653) • Protectorate (1653-1660) • Return of the Stuarts • Charles II (1660-1685) • James II (1685-1688) • Glorious Revolution (1688) • William III (1688-1702) and Mary II (1688-1694)

3. King James I • (1603-1625)

4. 17th Century English Colonialism • English colonial ventures had the monarch’s blessings but were private ventures • They did not royal money or naval protection • Spain and Portugal did have royal funds and protection • This meant that the first English colonies in the 17th century remained small • The success of the English colonies depended getting the wealth and support of prospering middle class • These people were originally drawn to the tobacco production areas of the West Indies such as Barbados, Montserrat, and Antigua

5. 17th Century English Colonialism • In addition to financing, colonies needed colonists • Economics played a large role in emigration • The religious wars of the first half of the 17th century caused the wool market to drop • This led to unemployment and lower quality of life in England • Between 1600 and 1640, 80,000 left England • Another 80,000 left over the next 20 years • People also emigrated for religious reasons • Certain groups such as the Puritans were being persecuted in England • Some left for personal reasons • To escape bad marriages, jail terms, or lifelong poverty

6. Drawing of 17th century mid-Atlantic native people • Possibly by John Smith

7. Perception of the New World • Those who emigrated to the New World arrived with two very different images of the Native Americans • Some saw them as gentle people who were eager to meet the Europeans • There had already been friendly receptions in earlier encounters • This reflected the European vision of New World as an earthly paradise, and of desire to trade • The Europeans strong desire to trade also enhanced their image of the natives

8. Perception of the New World • Others saw them as savage and hostile people • This was based on earlier encounters that were violent • Natives were seen as crafty, loathsome, and not fully human • This reflected the strong desire to take the land from the settlers • One of the main reasons why the English emigrated was for the land • Native Americans did not understand the concept of “private property” • This led to a sort of moral dilemma for the immigrants in taking land from the natives

9. Perception of the New World • Robert Gray, an Anglican minister said in 1609 • “By what right can we enter into the land of these savages, take their rightful inheritance from them, and plant ourselves in their places, being unwronged or unprovoked by them?” • Some believed there really was no dilemma • One side they believed they were offering a fair exchange • They would share the land and in exchange offer Indians access to a higher civilization and Christianity • Others portrayed the natives as savage brutes who did not deserve rightful ownership of the land • This gave the settlers “moral justification” for taking the Indian’s lands

10. Migration of English to the New World • (1630-1660)

11. 17th Century English Colonies • Four regions of English colonies in the New World • The Chesapeake • New England • Middle Colonies • The Carolinas • Joint-stock companies provided financing • Establishment of Jamestown, Virginia (1607) • Was the first permanent English colony in North America • It was established by the Virginia Company of London, which was a joint-stock company

12. Jamestown • The main object of this colony was profit • Settlers expected to find gold, a water route to China and lucrative trade with Native Americans in beaver and deer skins • There was a mention of bringing Christianity to the natives in the charter but this was a distant second priority • Those who came were unprepared to start a colony • Over a third of the colonists were untrained laborers, some with criminal records; these were the ones looking for gold • The rest were skilled tradesmen but they had problems adapting to the wilderness • Very few of the colonists were trained in “helpful” fields such as fishing, blacksmithing, and farming

13. Jamestown • Exploiting native population • Colonists believed they could exploit the 24,000 local Powhatan Indians • Believed that if Spanish were able to do so with the Aztecs and the Incas, they could do it too • Unlike the Aztecs and Incas, the Powhatan territories were not densely settled and were not easily subjugated • English did not have an army with them nor priests like the Spanish • When intimidation failed they attempted to open up trade • The first year, the natives traded food with the English

14. Jamestown • The following year, severe drought hit the area • The natives stopped trading with the English • “Starving Time” (1609-1610) • Severe drought set in, negatively affecting crops • Powhatan laid siege to the colony hoping to starve them out • Many died during this two year period • Of the 900 colonists who arrived between 1607 and 1609 only 60 survived • Most were ill-prepared for life in a new settlement • They suffered from dysentery, malaria, drought, and malnutrition • Were “saved” by Thomas West who arrived with new supplies

15. Jamestown • Edwin Sandys (1561-1629) • One of the Virginia Company’s proprietors • Implemented reforms in 1618 to save the Company • House of Burgesses instituted for Virginia self-government • Headrights • Granted 50-acre lots to each colonist who paid his own transportation • Allowed development of huge estates • Indentured servitude • Began promising land in exchange for seven years’ labor

16. Jamestown • More than 9000 crossed the Atlantic between 1610 and 1622 • Only 2000 were alive in 1622 • Tobacco was first discovered in the West Indies and quickly became a major crop in the Caribbean • In 1612, John Rolfe attempted to grow tobacco • It was designed as a way of saving the Jamestown colony • Land in Virginia was perfect for growing tobacco • The first tobacco crop shipped from Virginia in 1617 • By 1624, Virginia exported 200,000 pounds of tobacco • By 1638, despite decline in price, crop exceeded 3 million pounds

17. Jamestown • The biggest problem with tobacco is that it requires lots of care which meant lots of labor • The tobacco growers needed to find a source of cheap labor • The settlers first got their labor by recruiting English and Irish laborers as indentured servants • Three-quarters were males between 15 and 24 years old and mostly from the lower class • Only one in twenty lived long enough to get their freedom • They were bought, sold, traded, and gambled away like slaves • Women servants were sent to the fields and often subject to sexual abuse • When a servant got pregnant, one to two years were added to their service

18. Chesapeake Bay warrior • (c. 1585)

19. Hostilities with the Powhatan • The dramatic rise in population in Jamestown meant that the settlers would need more land • This put the Jamestown colony on a collision course with the Chesapeake tribe of Indians • Anglo-Powhatan War (1610-1614) • In August 1610, the English attacked the village of Paspahegh • Over 50 natives were killed or injured • The English captured the weroance’s wife and children • When the English returned to their boat, they threw the children overboard and shot them in the water • Killing of women and children were not tolerated in Native American culture

20. Hostilities with the Powhatan • Throughout the war, the settlers used “Irish Tactics” • Colonists raided Indian villages, burned houses, confiscated provisions, and torched cornfields • The Pamunkey Indians were led by Opechancanough and laid siege to Jamestown • The natives had the advantage and were almost able to drive out the English • Reinforcements arrived from England just in time to free Jamestown and lead a counter-offensive against the Pamunkeys

21. Hostilities with the Powhatan • In 1614, Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, married John Rolfe • This led to a temporary stoppage in the war • However, as long as the settlers continued to demand land, tensions would remain high between them and the natives • In 1617, Chief Powhatan died and was replaced by Opechancanough • His main purpose was to get the settlers to abandon Jamestown

22. Hostilities with the Powhatan • In 1621, two English servants murdered Nemattanew • He was a Powhatan religious prophet and a favorite of Opechancanough • This was the trigger to the start of the next phase of the war • Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622-1632) • Good Friday Massacre (March 22, 1622) • Opechancanough led a surprise attack against Jamestown • Over 400 settlers were killed, more than one quarter of the population • Crops and buildings were destroyed and cattle killed

23. A 1622 engraving of the Good Friday Massacre

24. Hostilities with the Powhatan • The attack led to the bankruptcy of the Virginia Company • The king annulled their charter in 1624, making Virginia a royal colony but allowing elected House of Burgesses to remain • The Virginians saw the natives as an obstacle to be removed from the path of English settlement • Launched annual military operations against Indians • Treaty of 1632 created a native “reservation” that was not to be settled by the English • In 1644, Opechancanough made a last ditch effort to remove the settlers • He was close to 100 years old at this time

25. Hostilities with the Powhatan • On April 18, 1644, Opechancanough attacked Jamestown • Close to 500 setters were killed • This was not as devastating a blow as the 1622 attack • There were over 8,000 settlers at this point while the Powhatan tribes had diminished in size and power • By June, the settlers turned to offensive • Opechancanough was captured and killed by the English • The Powhatan were not able to defeat the settlers • Treaty of 1646 • It moved the natives off their land and distinguished Indian land from white settlement land • It also ended the tribal power of all the nearby natives

26. George Calvert, First Lord of Baltimore • (1579-1632)

27. Settling of Maryland • Maryland was the other colony on the Chesapeake • George Calvert, Lord Baltimore (1579-1632) • He wanted to create a safe haven for Catholics • It was also designed to recreate the manor dotted countryside of northern England in the New World • Unfortunately, he died before his dream could be fulfilled • In 1632, Lord Baltimore’s son, Caecilius Calvert, was granted the charter for Maryland • It was named after King Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria • Guaranteed proprietor control over all branches of government • As time went on, Baltimore was forced to abandon most of this control

28. Settling of Maryland • Because there were not enough Catholic settlers to help the colony survive, it was opened up to Protestants as well • Settlers began arriving in 1634 and immediately ignored Calvert’s plans to create his father’s haven • The 3,000-6,000 acre estate plan was abandoned • They began importing indentured servants and growing tobacco • They also governed themselves locally as much as possible • By 1650 colony had population of 600 but by 1700 population was 33,000

29. Chesapeake colonies in 1640

30. Everyday Life on the Chesapeake • Life in Chesapeake was dismal • Only a minority of the population could marry and rear a family • Three times as many men as women • Marriages were fragile: within about seven years, a husband or wife was likely to die • Death claimed half the children before they reached adulthood • Widows often remarried quickly • Population increase prevented by imbalanced sex ratio • 3570 colonists to Virginia, 1619–1622 • Men outnumbered women 6:1 after 1619

31. Everyday Life on the Chesapeake • This ultimate led to complex families • Further destabilized by large numbers of indentured servants • Contagious disease killed settlers • In 1618, Virginia population numbered 700 • 1618–1622, 3000 immigrated • In 1622, Virginia population numbered 1240 • Major infrastructure was slow to form • Included churches and schools • Most lived in crude houses without interior partitions • Even prosperous planters did not construct substantial homes until a century after colony’s founding

32. Sir William Berkeley • Governor of Virginia (1660-1677)

33. Growing Tensions in Virginia • Prior to 1675 there were many problems affecting the settlement in Virginia • One of these was “land hunger” • This was the increasing need to acquire more land to satisfy the population • The wealthy owned most of the best land which left very little for the poorer sections of the population • There was also increasing dissatisfaction with declining tobacco prices, rising taxes, and lack of opportunity • Tensions also increased between the natives and the settlers

34. Growing Tensions in Virginia • In July 1675, the Doeg tribe raided the plantation of Thomas Matthews • It was based on Matthews not paying the tribe for certain goods • A group of frontiersmen led to an attack on the Susquehannock in “retaliation” • They attacked the wrong tribe • Governor William Berkeley called an investigation into the attack • Many people refused to listen to him because they supported the attack

35. Bacon’s Rebellion • The retaliation led to more large scale Indian raids against the settlers • In the winter of 1675/6, the Susquehannock attacked and killed 36 Virginians • Now Berkeley was calling for restraint on both sides • Nathaniel Bacon (c.1640-1676) • A wealthy colonist who decided to take matters into his own hands • Led a group of yeoman farmers wanting land and revenge • In the spring of 1676, he led an attack against the friendly Appomattox tribe on accusations of stealing corn • Berkeley refused to sanction the attack

36. Bacon’s Rebellion • Berkeley wanted to keep relations with the native populations on friendly terms • So he gave them weapons to protect themselves • To ease the settlers, he called the Long Assembly in March 1676 • War was declared on the natives who were considered the enemy • A strong defensive zone was set up around the state of Virginia to protect the settlers • The assembly also raised taxes to pay for the army to protect the area

37. Bacon’s Rebellion • Berkeley then sent militiamen to get Bacon • Bacon fled into the woods with his men • Bacon went on to attack the Occaneechee Indians on the Roanoke River and took their store of beaver pelts • Berkeley offered Bacon a pardon if he turned himself in and returned to England to be tried • House of Burgesses overturned that and stated Bacon must beg for the Governor’s forgiveness • Many members of the House were sympathetic to Bacon’s cause • High taxes, increase in governor’s powers at expense of local officials, monopoly of governor and his friends on Native American trade made Berkeley unpopular

38. Bacon’s Rebellion • In order to gather support for his side, Berkeley called for elections for a new House of Burgesses • He tried to rally public support by extending the vote to all freemen, not just landowners • The plan backfired as Bacon was elected to the House • This showed how popular Bacon was • Bacon apologized to the Governor and was pardoned • During the Assembly of June 1676, Bacon pushed for more colonial reforms and actions against the natives • When Berkeley refused, Bacon had troops take the city and the governor was forced to flee

39. Bacon’s Rebellion • Declaration of the People of Virginia (June 30, 1676) • Bacon stated that Berkeley was corrupt, played favorites and protected the Indians for his own selfish purposes • On September 19, 1676, when Berkeley attempted to retake Jamestown, Bacon burned it to the ground • Bacon died on October 26, 1676 of "Bloodie Flux" and "Lousey Disease" (body lice) • Most likely cause of death was dysentery • It is believed his soldiers burned his body because it was never found

40. Bacon’s Rebellion • This brought an end to the rebellion • Ironically, this occurred just as 1100 troops headed to colony from England • Berkeley hanged 23 rebel leaders but also granted numerous pardons • Bacon’s Rebellion encouraged uprisings in other colonies • In North Carolina, rebels drove the governor from power and temporarily seized control • In Maryland, small planters tried to seize the government and two leaders were hanged

41. Bacon’s Rebellion • Effects of the Rebellion • Prejudice and hatred of the natives became commonplace in Virginia • Most of Bacon’s reforms were annulled by the emerging planter aristocracy • More land was opened up by the war for the settlers which in turn relieved social tension • Tension was further relieved by shift from indentured servants to slaves • This lead to racially divided rather than economically divided society

42. Nathaniel Bacon • (c.1640-1676)

43. Transition to Slave Labor • The English first looked to Native Americans as a source of labor • However, disease and the determination of the tribes made them difficult to subjugate • For most of 17th century, the colonists relied on white indentured labor • Beginning in 1610, a few Africans entered the Chesapeake colonies • As late as 1671 there were still fewer than 3,000 Africans in Virginia • Only in last quarter of 17th century did labor force shift to black slaves

44. Transition to Slave Labor • Reasons for shift to slave labor: • Rising commercial power of England increased their participation in the slave trade • Allowed southern planters to purchase slaves more readily and cheaply starting in 1680s • Supply of white servants began drying up • Bacon’s Rebellion encouraged search for more pliant labor force • Early African slaves were brought over as bond servants • Worked a term of labor and then were set free • Once free, they could buy land and hire out labor • Their children, like those of white indentured servants, were born free

45. Transition to Slave Labor • Chesapeake planters gradually began to tighten descriptions of slavery • They ended all rights of Africans and established “Black Codes” of behavior • Over time, Africans lost more and more freedoms • In 1640s, Virginia forbade all blacks from carrying firearms • In 1660s, marriages between white women and black servants were outlawed • By end of century, free blacks were pushed to margins of society • Slavery was now associated with black skin and slaves were seen as property • Eventually, slavery became a hereditary state

46. Transition to Slave Labor • The main step in dehumanization of Africans was hereditary lifetime slavery • Mother’s condition passed to child • Slavery was not only a system of forced labor but a pattern of human relationships enforced by law • Black codes prevented slaves from testifying in court, engaging in commercial activity, holding property, congregating in public, traveling without permission, or legally marrying or becoming parents

47. Massachusetts Bay Colony

48. The Massachusetts Colony • Since the early 1500s, fishermen had worked off the coasts of Cape Cod and Maine • In 1614, Captain John Smith coined the term “New England” while he was hunting whales off the coast • Some of the people who settled in New England in the early 1600s did so to build a more religious society • Dedicated to transforming a corrupt world • Belief in special mission • Attempt to banish religious diversity • The religious situation in England made it difficult for those who were not Anglican to practice their faith

49. Pilgrims • Act of Uniformity (1559) • Made it illegal not to attend the official Church of England services • Conducting unofficial services was subject to imprisonment • Hampton Court Conference (1604) • James I was not willing to allow the Puritans or other Separatists to be independent from the Church of England • The Pilgrims were a separatist movement • They were led by Robert Clyfton, who was a parson in Nottinghamshire from 1586 to 1605 • In 1605, Clyfton was stripped of his position as parson and was replaced by an Anglican minister • In 1606, the Archbishop began a campaign to drive out all “Papists” and Separatists out of the country

50. Pilgrims • The Pilgrims attempted to migrate to Amsterdam, a more tolerant city • They were unable to get necessary papers to leave England • They tried to bribe their way onto a ship in 1607 but were all arrested • A second attempt was made in the Spring 1608 • An armed contingent showed up before the women and children could board • The men were able to get the ship out in time but those left behind were arrested • Ultimately, 150 members total made it to Amsterdam