Era of Colonial Settlement

I.  American Colonization begins

A.  Settlers arrive in Jamestown in 1607

B.  English investors backed the Jamestown Colony

C.  18 other colonies had failed before Jamestown

D.  John Rolfe brought tobacco to the colony and helped to save it; he became wealthy

E.  The Virginia House of Burgesses – the first elected assembly in America – meets for the first time in 1619 in Jamestown. Ten towns in the colony sent two representatives each

F.  Burgess – an elected official of city or town

G. The first Africans arrived in America in 1619, but were not slaves – they were “indentured servants” would come to own their own land

Colonial Regions

New England Colonies – New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Middle Colonies – Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey

Southern Colonies – Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia

New England Colonies – The people who settled here wanted to keep their family unit together and practice their own religion. They were used to doing many things themselves and not depending on other people for much. Some people came to make money, but they were not the majority.

Middle Colonies – The people who lived here were looking to practice their own religion (Pennsylvania mainly) or to make money. Many of these people didn't bring their families with them from England and were the perfect workers for the hard work required in ironworks and shipyards. 

Southern Colonies – The founders of these colonies were, for the most part, out to make money. They brought their families, as did the New England colonists, and they kept their families together on the plantations. But their main motivation was to make the good money that was available in the new American market.

II. New England Colonies

A. Puritans were people who wanted to reform the English church; Separatists wanted to leave and start their own church

B.  Pilgrims (or Separatists) set up the colonies; came over on the Mayflower and settled at Plymouth. They got help from the Native Americans to survive the first winter

C.  15,000 Puritans leave England and settle in the Massachusetts colony near Boston

D. Some settlers were dissatisfied with Puritan policies in Massachusetts and left to form their own colony, Connecticut. They wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut to help them run the colony. This was the first written constitution.

E. Settlers came into conflict with Native Americans over land, which sometimes settlers moved into without payment

III. Middle Colonies

A. Dutch settlers set up the New Amsterdam colony on Manhattan Island; becomes New York after the English take over the colony in 1664.

B.  William Penn founds a colony for his religious group, the Quakers.  He calls it Pennsylvania.

C.  The Duke of York gave the southern part of his colony to Lord Berkley and Sir Carteret; it becomes New Jersey.

IV. Southern Colonies

A. The economy in the south was based on agriculture and supported by the plantation system, which required many workers to function.

B. The need for these workers would be the basis for slavery, especially in places like South Carolina’s rice fields and Virginia’s tobacco fields.

C. Georgia was the last British colony to be settled and was actually meant to be a place were poor people from England could get a fresh start.

Colonial Regional Economies

New England Colonies – They were largely farming and fishing communities. The people made their own clothes and shoes. They grew much of their own food. Crops like corn and wheat grew in large numbers, and much was shipped to England. Foods that didn't grow in America were shipped from England. Boston was the major New England port.

Middle Colonies – They were part agriculture, part industrial. Wheat and other grains grew on farms in Pennsylvania and New York. Factories in Maryland produced iron, and factories in Pennsylvania produced paper and textiles. Trade with England was plentiful in these colonies as well.

Southern Colonies – They were almost entirely agricultural (farming). The main feature was the plantation, a large plot of land that contained a great many acres of farmland and buildings for the people who owned the land and the people who worked it. (A large part of the workforce was African slaves, who first arrived in 1619.)

Southern plantations grew tobacco, rice, and indigo, which they sold to buyers in England and elsewhere in America.

V.  The Great Awakening (1720’s-1740s)

A. Started by ministers Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield

B. Stressed the importance of education and the belief that all people are equal before God. This will later become part of the Declaration of Independence

C. The Great Awakening was first felt in the Middle Colonies before spreading to all of them

VI. Iroquois Confederacy

A. A powerful group of Native American tribes based in New York

B. Composed of the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga and Oneida tribes

C. Sided with the British during the French and Indian War

D. Most other Native American tribes sided with the French because they already had an alliance. The French were more interested in the fur trade and did not wish to take over Native American lands.

VII. Albany Plan of Union

A. A plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in June 1754 at Albany, New York

B. The plan called for a general government for 11 of the American colonies

C. Colonists met at Albany originally to find a way to protect themselves from the French

D. None of the colonies approved the plan; none were willing to give up their power

E. This was first attempt to form a central government in the colonies

VIII. French and Indian War (1754-1763)

A. Fought between the British and French; began as a dispute over the Ohio River Valley and grew into a war overseas (The Seven Years War)

B. Colonists called it the French and Indian War because they fought against the French and their Native American allies

C. The British won the war and the Treaty of Paris (1763) gave them France’s territory, which extended to the Mississippi River. They also got Florida from the Spanish

D. To avoid fighting another war with the Native Americans, the English announced the Proclamation of 1763, which prevented colonists from moving past the Appalachian Mountains and protected Native American lands.

E. Colonists were upset because they thought they would get the land as a reward for fighting alongside the British

Timeline Items for the Era of Colonial Settlement

      Jamestown Settlement (1607) – First successful English colony in New World

•         There were at least 18 other attempts to establish a colony before Jamestown (all failed)

•         Investors or entrepreneurs from England  invested money in Jamestown; the Virginia Company of London gave them a charter

•        John Rolfe brings tobacco to the Jamestown colony and becomes wealthy

Virginia House of Burgesses (1619) –  First elected assembly in the American colonies.

•        Famous delegates included Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George    

            Washington. The House met for the first time at Jamestown on July 30, 1619

First Africans Arrive (1619) – When they arrive in Virginia, they’re treated as “indentured servants” rather than slaves. This means they could earn their freedom. Some later became land owners and slave owners.

Mayflower Compact (1620) – The Pilgrims intended to go to the Virginia Colony (Jamestown), but landed much further north just as winter was beginning.

•        Before they left their ship (The Mayflower) they drew up the Mayflower Compact which pledged their loyalty to England and their promise to follow all the colony’s laws.

•        An important step in the development of representative government in America

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639) – First written constitution in the Americas; developed by minister Thomas Hooker and his followers to govern their new colony.

•        Hooker and his followers grew unsatisfied with life in the Massachusetts colony.

English Bill of Rights (1689) – Listed certain basic rights of the people of England. They were inspired by John Locke and led to our own Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution).

Albany Plan of Union – (1754) – Adopted by Ben Franklin, the plan called for “one general government” for 11 of the colonies. This was the first attempt to establish a central government. None of the colonies approved it.

French and Indian War – (1754) – Part of the Seven Year’s War fought in Europe between England and France. Americans fought against French and Native American forces. George Washington gets his first command. Lasted from 1754-1763.

Treaty of Paris – (1763) – Ends the French and Indian War; forces France to give up Canada and most of its land east of the Mississippi River to England. This marks the end of France as a power in North America.  Spain gives up Florida to the English, but gets the land west of the Mississippi from France.

Proclamation of 1763 – (1763) – Even though the Treaty of Paris gave the British additional land, the colonists weren’t allowed to move into it. The border for the colonists was the Appalachian Mountains.  England chose to protect Native American lands by keeping the colonists out of them. England had just fought a war with the Native Americans because they had refused to pay them for their land.