Creating America (Survey) Chapter 3: The English Establish 13 Colonies, 1585 1732 Section 1: Early Colonies Have Mixed Success Key Idea: Two early English colonies failed, but Jamestown survived. In the late 1500s, England wanted to start a colony for two reasons: to obtain raw materials and to increase trade. Many English colonists came to America to seek their fortune. Others came for religious freedom. Virginia was England s first colony in America. Sir Walter Raleigh founded Virginia in 1585 on Roanoke Island. The colonists were not prepared for the harsh conditions and without the help of the Native Americans, many colonists died. The survivors returned to England in 1586. The Plymouth Company financed a second colony called Sagadahoc in what is now Maine. It also failed. After Sir Walter Raleigh lost his investment in the Roanoke colony, Britain realized it would take more than one person to make a colony in America successful. They decided to finance new colonies through joint-stock companies. Investors in these companies shared the profits and divided the losses. In 1601, King James gave charters, or government contracts, to the Virginia Companies of London and Plymouth. In 1607, the Virginia Company of London established the first permanent English settlement. It was named Jamestown in honor of King James. Many colonists searched for gold instead of building homes and growing food. Weakened by the harsh climate, many died from malaria and other illnesses. John Smith helped save the colony by taking control and forcing the colonists to work. In 1612, John Rolfe introduced tobacco, which became very profitable. The colonists encouraged new settlers to come as indentured servants. These men and women sold their 1
labor to the person who paid for their passage. Then, after working for a number of years, they were free to farm or take up a trade. When the colonists wanted greater control of their own interests, the Virginia Company allowed them to elect representatives called burgesses. In 1619, the House of Burgesses became the first representative assembly in the American colonies. In 1676, a group of landless settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon, demanded war against the Native Americans. Their purpose was to get land for growing tobacco. When the governor refused to declare war, Bacon and his followers burned Jamestown to the ground. This was called Bacon s Rebellion. The rebellion ended when Bacon suddenly died. Section 2: New England Colonies Key Idea: Religion influenced the settlement and government of the New England colonies. The Pilgrims, a religious group in Britain, wished to separate from the Church of England. When King James treated them harshly for their beliefs, they arranged with the Virginia Company to settle in America. In November 1620, their ship, the Mayflower, was off course and landed in a place the Pilgrims called Plymouth. Because Plymouth was outside the Virginia Company s land boundaries, the Pilgrims charter was not valid. To keep order, the men signed the Mayflower Compact. They promised to obey the laws they made. After a hard first winter, about half of the Pilgrims died. Then Squanto, a Native American, helped the colonists negotiate a treaty with his tribe. He also showed them how to plant, hunt, and fish. In the fall the Pilgrims and the Native Americans celebrated a good harvest. This feast was the first Thanksgiving. Another religious group was the Puritans. They also left England to escape religious persecution. Puritans wanted to reform, or purify, the Church of England. They wanted to rid the church of Catholic traditions. Thousands of Puritans left England for America. 2
Their leaving was called the Great Migration. In 1630, about 1,000 Puritans settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England. Each congregation set up its own town. The people would gather at a meetinghouse to make laws and important decisions. By law, everyone had to attend church services. Sermons taught the New England Way, which stressed hard work. Not everyone supported the New England Way. Puritan minister Roger Williams was forced to leave the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of his beliefs. He founded the colony of Rhode Island in 1636. Anne Hutchinson also was forced to leave for disagreeing with the church. She, too, fled to Rhode Island, as did many Quakers. Thomas Hooker moved his congregation to the Connecticut Valley. There they wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. This document expanded the voting rights of the people. As the Massachusetts colony grew, settlers began to take Native American land. In 1675, a chief the English called King Philip led an alliance of Native Americans against the colonists. This war, called King Philip s War, lasted more than a year. The colonists defeated the Native Americans. In the late 1600s, several young girls in Salem accused certain people of witchcraft. More than 100 people were arrested and tried. Twenty were found guilty and put to death. The religious leaders viewed the trials as a sign from God to return to a strict Puritan lifestyle. Section 3 : The Middle Colonies Key Idea: The founding of the Middle and Southern colonies provided settlers with many economic opportunities. The Middle Colonies of America were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Settlers came for religious freedom and to escape the poverty of England. The 3
rich soil made farming and raising livestock favorable. The rivers supported shipping and trade. Dutch settlers founded the colony of New Netherland in 1624. To attract more settlers, they set up a patroon system. In exchange for bringing 50 settlers to New Netherland, a patroon received a large piece of land. Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Netherland, attacked the nearby colony of New Sweden in 1624. The Swedes surrendered their main settlement to the Dutch. Later, the brother of England s King Charles II, the Duke of York, drove the Dutch out of New Netherland. New Netherland then became the colony of New York, with the Duke as its proprietor, or owner. The colony of New Jersey was started when the Duke of York gave land to his friends. New Jersey encouraged settlers by promising them freedom of religion. William Penn used his own land to start the colony of Pennsylvania. Penn belonged to the Quakers, another religious group. The Pennsylvania colony gave the Quakers and all others religious freedom. Eventually, some of the Pennsylvania counties broke away to form the colony of Delaware. The American Southern Colonies were Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The soil and climate of these areas were suitable for warm-weather crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo. Lord Baltimore started the colony of Maryland in 1632. It became home to Roman Catholics who were fleeing religious persecution. To attract more settlers, Baltimore promised freedom of religion for all. Tobacco growing was an important part of Maryland s economy. 4
The colony of Carolina was founded in 1663. English settlers from Barbados built Charles Town, later called Charleston, in 1670. They used enslaved Africans as laborers for growing rice and indigo. They also sold Native Americans into slavery. Carolina became a royal colony in 1729. The colony was divided into North and South Carolina. In 1732, James Oglethorpe founded Georgia as a refuge for debtors. The English government wanted to use Georgia as an outpost against the Spanish in Florida and the French in Louisiana. The Spanish tried without success to force the English out of Georgia. Oglethorpe set up strict rules that upset the colonists. This caused the king to make Georgia a royal colony in 1752. 5