Colonial America

Early Attempts

• Vikings reach Canada – 1000AD• Spanish• Columbus 1492• Ponce de Leon reaches Florida 1513• St. Augustine 1565

• British• Roanoke 1580s• Jamestown 1607

Recreated Norse Sod Longhouse

Why Britain colonized America

• Land Pressures in Britain– Enclosures– Population Growth

• Trading Companies

• Mercantilism– Strengthen state through trade, resources– Competition with other empires (Spain, France)

And also…

• Religion– Freedom of Practice (Puritans)– Spreading Christianity

Roanoke• Raleigh received Charter 1584• Grenville arrives with settlers Spring 1585• Left in August, 1585 • 75 men left behind, promised to return in next

spring• He was late returning, so in June,1586, Drake (he

was passing by) taxied colonists back to England

• Grenville returns soon after, leaves men again• 1587, Grenville sent 117 more in under John

White• Found 1 skeleton!• White’s daughter gave birth to Virginia Dare• George Howe is killed while crabbing• John White returned to England for help1587

• Did not return until 1590! (War, then pirating)

Chartered Companies (Early 1600s)

• London Company (Virginia)• Cape Fear, NC to Long Island

• Plymouth Company (Pilgrims)• Chesapeake Bay to New Brunswick

Jamestown & Colonial Virginia

• Jamestown founded in 1607 by London Co.

• Followed 30 years of failed efforts

• Bad spot – powerful Indian tribes, swamps

• By 1624 only 1,300 of first 8,500 colonists still alive

Major Milestones in Virginia

• Began to plant tobacco (1612)

• First Africans arrive as labor (1619)

• First representative assembly (1619)

• Virginia Co. bankrupt, crown takes control (1624)

• Population begins to grow; 8,000 by 1640

Major Milestones in Virginia

• Indian tribes and colonial government agree on line separating control along Blue Ridge Mountains (1644)

• Colonial population continues to grow (16,000 by 1650, 40,000 by 1660) and colonists keep moving west

• Tensions between colonists in east, west

Colonial Massachusetts

• Pilgrims land far north of Virginia in 1620

• Other Puritans follow – 1,000 in 1630 under Mass. Bay Co.

• John Winthrop seeks “City Upon a Hill” (theocracy?)

Pilgrims 1620

Puritans 1630

Jamestown 1607

The Puritans of Massachusetts

Origins of Puritanism

• Reform movement in English Anglican Church, began around 1560

• Movement a response to view that:– Anglican Church structure too

hierarchical– Religious practices too close to

Catholicism

Major Puritan Beliefs

• Original Sin– Humans by nature sinful; they can only achieve grace

through self-examination and self discipline.

• Emphasis on Community– Community had right to make sure members adhered to

community standards and expectations.

• Predestination– Person born as one of the elect (will go to heaven) or

not. Best evidence? Live life rightly.

Evidence of a Life Lived Rightly

• Public confession of an experience of conversion

• Being a good member of the faith, following its moral codes

• Being frugal, self reliant and hard-working– Ideally leads to wealth

Politics in Puritan Massachusetts

• Theocracy? Yes & No• Puritan men had

influence in selecting church leaders

• Puritan men had vote in selecting colony’s elected assembly

• Emphasis on education, schools

The end of Puritan control

• As colony’s population grew, it also grew more diverse (more non-Puritans)

• After 62 years, charter of 1692 gave all males the right to vote

• However, Puritan cultural influence remains– Emphasis on hard work, democracy, education,

‘exceptional’ nature of society (City Upon a Hill)

Diverse Colonies

• Unlike Va. and Mass. most colonies “proprietorships”

• Maryland – Founder Catholic but most colonists Protestants

• New York diverse (English, Dutch, German, French, etc.)

Diverse Colonies

• Pennsylvania founded by Quaker, prospered from start, good relations with Indians

• Georgia last established (1733), created as barrier to Spanish, home for poor of England

Similarities across colonies

• Most people work in agriculture (80%)

• Representative assemblies take root

• Less class-based than in England

• More social mobility than in England– Land plentiful, laborers not

Differences: North and South

Southern Colonies

•Good agricultural lands

•Large-scale agriculture

•Slavery extensive, expanding

•Little manufacturing

•Religion less important

Northern Colonies

•Not as bountiful

•Small-scale agriculture

•Slavery fades

•Rifles, furniture, ships, lumber, fishing

•Religion central