13 english colonies

As English colonies were established on the eastern coast of North Amer-ica, many Europeans—including the non-English—began to resettlethere. Some sought economic opportunities—work and land. Others wereescaping religious or political persecution.

At first, there were two kinds of colonies: joint-stock company ven-tures, backed by English merchants for profit, and proprietarycolonies, given to the monarch’s friends, who ran them subject to royalapproval. By the early 1700s, all but three colonies were royal colonies,ruled by a governor appointed by the monarch. Connecticut and Rhode Is-land were self-governing, and Georgia was a proprietary colony until 1752.

Colonial communities reflected European economic, social, religious,and political patterns. But there were differences, stemming from localconditions:

• Geography influenced work patterns and the use and treatment ofAfrican slaves. Towns along shorelines and inland waterways grewstronger through trade.

• Religious leaders called for strictly enforced observance or toleration ofdifferences.

• Social conditions dictated forms of government. Group survival and sta-bility often took precedence over individual rights, equality, and privacy.

Such distinctions eventually grew into sectionalism (strong loyalty toone region within a larger territory or nation).

NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

Overview

Economics New England’s rocky soil and long winters made farm-ing difficult; farms were small and did not require a large workforce, as inthe South. Many settlements were near the ocean, where the abundantfish were caught, salted, and dried both for home use and export.

New England had a brisk trade with Europe, the West Indies(Caribbean islands), and the other colonies. It exported foodstuffs, rawmaterials, and furs. Rum was particularly important in the African slavetrade with Southern colonies and the West Indies. New England’s infantindustries included shipbuilding, ironmaking, and lumber.

Society/Religion With many settlers from the home country, NewEngland’s colonies were the most “English.” There were fewer slaves thanelsewhere; they were unneeded on farms, long winters provided littlework for them, and, as in England, there was a growing dislike of slavery.

29

CHAPTER 3CHAPTER 3Thirteen English Colonies

Except in several colonies of Separatists (Protestants not associatedwith the Church of England), the Puritan faith dictated social life. Reli-gious fervor ran so high that, in Salem, Massachusetts, in the late 1600s,it caused a witch-hunt for devil worshipers; a number of the accused wereput to death.

Schooling was important to New Englanders. By the mid-1600s, all siz-able towns had primary schools. Harvard College (now University) wasfounded in 1636.

Politics As elsewhere in the colonies, the companies or proprietorswho ran New England colonies received charters from the monarch. Lawspassed by colonial legislatures had to have royal approval. A distinctivefeature of the region was the town meeting; everyone was free to speakon issues of the day, but only male property holders had the right to voteon them.

Plymouth In 1620, the Separatist Pilgrims sailed from the Netherlands,where they had resettled, to North America. Their ship, the Mayflower,landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. Onboard, the Pilgrims hadsigned an agreement, the Mayflower Compact, the first instrument of self-government in the English colonies. (See table, page 43.) They promised toobey all laws for the common good and elect a representative government.This document was the first instrument of self-government in the Englishcolonies.

Arriving in December, the colonists faced a harsh climate. They cuttrees to build shelters. But food was scarce, and many sickened and died.

In the spring, friendly Algonquians taught them to plant, grow, andharvest the corn and vegetables native to the region. To round out theirdiet, they hunted, fished, and raised livestock. (Sheep, whose wool wasused for clothing, were particularly valuable.) To mark the turn in their

30 NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES AND EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS

Signing the Mayflower Compact onboard

fortunes, the colonists held a ceremony of survival and invited the Algon-quians; it continues to this day as the November holiday of Thanksgiving.

Under the Pilgrims’ second governor, William Bradford, the colony pros-pered, although many members sought easier environments elsewhere.Most adult males acquired property. The Pilgrims became financially secureby repaying loans to London merchants who had given them a head start.

Massachusetts Bay In 1630, a group of English Puritans established theMassachusetts Bay Colony. They had first landed at Salem on the coastand, led by Governor John Winthrop, expanded their settlement in andaround Boston.

Puritans wanted religious freedom for themselves, but did not extendit to others. Nevertheless, the colony grew when Puritans at home formeda joint-stock company and acquired rights to a large part of New England.It included Maine, New Hampshire, and, eventually, Plymouth Colony.New Hampshire was chartered as a separate colony in 1680; Maine re-mained part of Massachusetts Bay until 1820.

Rhode Island The religious intolerance that characterized MassachusettsBay targeted Roger Williams, a Puritan minister, for his liberal opin-ions. He wanted Puritan congregations to be separate from the Church ofEngland; he thought that the English had taken land from Native Ameri-cans illegally; and he opposed punishment for religious offenses. He andhis followers were expelled and, in 1636, resettled on land purchased fromthe Narragansetts. At first, it was called Providence Plantations; later,Rhode Island.

The colony’s diverse groups were held together by civil law based onreligious equality and tolerance. Williams found in Hebrew scripture apure expression of religion and believed that Christians would somedayregret their harsh treatment of Jews. Rhode Island welcomed both Jewsand Quakers; it was less tolerant of Roman Catholics.

A renowned settler in Williams’s Rhode Island was Anne Hutchin-son, also expelled from Massachusetts for liberal views. She later reset-tled in New York.

Connecticut Also in 1636, Thomas Hooker, a Puritan unhappy inMassachusetts Bay Colony, led followers to Hartford in the Connecticut

THIRTEEN ENGLISH COLONIES 31

NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

Date Name Type Reason Leader

1620 Plymouth* Joint-stock Religious freedom William Bradford

1630 Massachusetts Bay Joint-stock Religious freedom John Winthrop

1636 Rhode Island Self-governing Religious toleration Roger Williams

1636 Connecticut Self-governing Religious toleration Thomas Hooker

1680 New Hampshire Royal Religious freedom; trade —

*Part of Massachusetts Bay after 1691.

River Valley. In 1639, they drew up a set of laws, the Fundamental Ordersof Connecticut. It was the first written constitution in the Americas. In1662, King Charles II united all the settlements between Long IslandSound and southern Massachusetts as Connecticut Colony.

INFO CHECK

1. Explain the differences between a colony backed by a joint-stock com-pany, a proprietorship, and a royal colony.

2. In what way were Pilgrims different from Puritans?

3. Name two reasons why Europeans became immigrants to the New Eng-land colonies. In your opinion, do modern immigrants to the UnitedStates come for the same or different reasons? Explain.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC COLONIES

Before 1664, the Middle Atlantic colonies—New York, New Jersey, Penn-sylvania, and Delaware—had been part of two non-English settlements:New Netherland and, further south along the Delaware River, New Swe-den. (The Dutch, jealous of Swedish trade competition, moved on NewSweden in 1655.)

New York The English takeover from the Dutch in 1664 revised thecolony’s name to New York, in honor of the Duke of York, the colony’s new


Interior of TouroSynagogue, New-port, Rhode Island

owner. At first, the English did not interfere with the Dutch way of life.The surrender terms guaranteed freedom of religion and continued Dutchownership of private property and commercial enterprises.

Population Diversity The new colony of New York, only lightly settled byEuropeans, grew slowly. About 1500 colonists lived in New York Town (for-


MIDDLE ATLANTIC COLONIES


1664 New York Proprietary; royal Trade and commerce Duke of York;Peter Minuit

1664 New Jersey Proprietary; royal Trade and commerce; George Carteret;religious tolerance John Berkeley

1664 Delaware Royal; proprietary Trade Duke of York;William Penn

1681 Pennsylvania Proprietary Religious tolerance; William Pennpacifism

Advertisements forenslaved Africansprinted in a NewYork City news-paper, 1784

merly New Amsterdam), with 300 more in Albany. Soon, English settlersoutnumbered the Dutch, but the early variety of nationalities continued.

Refuge for Many The growing population included many people flee-ing oppression or other hardships in Europe. Not everyone appreciated theethnic diversity. Charles Lodwicke, mayor of New York City in 1694, re-marked: “Our chiefest unhappiness here is so great a mixture of nations.”


Religious tolerance, although general, did not extend to Roman Catho-lics. Beginning in the late 1600s, their religious and political rights werelimited, their priests banned, and the ceremony of mass outlawed.

SELECTED NATIONALITIES SEEKING REFUGE IN NEW YORK COLONY

Year Nationality Place of Settlement Problem in Europe

1685 French Protestants New Paltz Religious persecution(Huguenots)

1710 Germans (largest Livingston Manor; later, War; religious/politicalsingle group) Schoharie Valley, persecution

Herkimer

1730s– Irish Catholics Cherry Valley and Religious/political (southern Ireland) New York City persecution; poverty

1740s Scotch-Irish (northern Ireland)

1740s Jews New York City Religious persecution

Africans in Colonial America, 1700–1770


1746: “A South Prospect of Ye Flourishing City of New-York in the Province ofNew York, North America”

INFO CHECK

1. Trace the events leading up to the English takeover of New Netherland.

2. Why did the English takeover have little effect on most people? Name anexception to this situation.

3. Describe new groups who settled in New York Colony, and explain whythey came.

POPULATION GROWTH OF NEW YORK COLONY

Year Ethnic Group Population Place of Settlement

1775 Mostly Dutch, British; 160,000 Throughout colonysome Africans

1790* All groups 340,120Enslaved Africans 21,324 Throughout colonyFree Africans 4,654

1790 Of European descent 22,000 New York CityOf African descent 3,000

1790 Mixture of groups 3,000 Albany

*Year of first census.

LAND USE

The English repeated Dutch mistakes in using land. They createdmanors, or large estates. The owners then rented small parcels of land totenant-farmers. This system discouraged population growth and led to re-bellion.

On both banks of the Hudson, however, there were more independentfarmers than tenants. Small landholdings were especially common insouthern New York and on Long Island, where manors were rare.

Landlords and Manor Life Manor landlords lived like English no-bles. As friends of the monarch, they received land grants, for which they


LAND USE: COMPARISON OF PATROONSHIPS AND MANORS

Dutch Patroonship English Manor

Economic • Patroonship is a land grant • Self-sufficient, self contained system• Settlers rent holdings, paid with • Landowner rents land to farmer,

percentage of crops farmer paid with percentage of crops

Social All laborers—men, women, servants, Male-dominated class system; womenslaves—were equal and slaves had no rights

Political Patroon, as company director, Royal grant gave proprietors power togoverned settlers, appointed officials, govern appoint officials, set up civil andset up civil and criminal codes criminal codes. Legal cases handled by

colonial courts.

Herkimer CherryValley

Albany

Kingston

Poughkeepsie

SagHarbor

Southampton

EastHampton

NewPaltz

Scarsdale

Purchase

Oyster Bay

Hemp–

stead

New YorkCity

50 Miles

50 Kilometers

0

0

Hardenburgh

Livingston

Van Cortlandt

StoneArabia

Philipse

Rensselaerswyck

ATLANTIC OCEAN

LONG ISLAND SOUND

LONG ISLAND

LAKEONTARIO

LAKE CHAMPLAIN

St. Law

renc

e River

LAKE GEORGE

FINGERLAKES

(Dis

pute

dbo

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awar

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iver

Sch

ohar

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reek

Susq

uehanna River

STATENISLAND

PENNSYLVANIA

CONNECTICUT

MASSACHUSETTS

NEW

JERSEY

NEW

HAMPSHIRE

NEW YORK

Mowhawk RMohawk R.

ONEIDA

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Grant toDuke of York (1664)

Manor

New York settlements and manors


made annual payments. All-powerful, they refused to sell land to tenants,could order evictions (forced removals), mined minerals and cut timberon tenant land, and appointed all clergy.

A tenant farmer signed a lease and paid rent in produce and daysworked for the landlord. When the lease expired, the landlord could repos-sess the land plus any improvements made. The tenant then moved on orsigned a new, usually more expensive, lease. Breaking a lease’s terms wascause for immediate eviction.

Effects of Tenant System The system encouraged ambitious peopleto buy their own land elsewhere—New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Tenantfarmers did little to improve the land they worked; indeed, they oftenabused it. They felt deep resentment when they compared their situationsto those of freehold farmers, who owned the land they worked and couldpass it on to children.

In 1751 and 1766, violence broke out. The two rebellions occurredwhen tenants were threatened with eviction. Landlords destroyed tenantcrops; tenants ruined landlords’ fields and forests. Tenants demanded theright to purchase land they had worked for years. The landlord-friendlygovernment sent in troops to put the rebellions down. William Pender-gast, leader of the 1766 revolt, was arrested, tried, convicted, and sen-tenced to torture and beheading. He was given a last-minute pardon.

The conflict ended, but anger and distrust smoldered until the tenantsystem was abolished 80 years later.

INFO CHECK

1. Why did tenant farmers resent the manor system?

2. How did the tenant system discourage settlement in New York?

3. Describe the tenant rebellions.

The seat of the Livingston Manor, located on the eastern bank of the HudsonRiver, near Poughkeepsie

Social Classes In Europe, power, property, and titles belonged to noblefamilies and were passed down to heirs, mainly sons. In the colony, the up-per and middle classes had no titles, but the first group had acquiredwealth and the second, moderate comfort. For the lower class, there wasonly hard work—and the faint hope that it might lead to better days.

Upper Class The royal governor and agents of the Crown (monar-chy) headed colonial society. Next came manored landlords and prominentNew York Town merchants. Slaves and household servants made theirdaily lives easy.

Landlords and merchants had a common interest—making money.Landlords invested in businesses, and great merchants invested in land. In1766, the upper class made up 20 percent of the colony’s population andowned 60 percent of its wealth.

In time, the two groups were further united through marriages.

Middle Class Cities had a large middle class that included smallermerchants, property owners, and successful artisans. They worked verylong hours. A merchant family often worked in the front shop and lived inthe rear. The more successful were able to hire laborers or keep slaves.

In rural areas, the middle class were hardworking, independent farmfamilies. They were usually self-sufficient; they not only farmed but alsomade and repaired tools and furniture, preserved food, dipped candles,spun cloth, and sewed it into clothing.

Lower Class Lower down the social scale were tenant-farmers, un-skilled workers, merchant sailors, and servants. They all made low wagesand had little control over their work or lives. When business was slow,they were idled. Many lived on the edge of poverty.

Indentured servants led particularly bleak lives trying to escapepoverty. While still in Europe, they agreed to a number of years’ labor inthe colony in exchange for sea passage (and, perhaps, release from anEnglish jail). Once in the colony, they hoped to fulfill their service and en-sure a better life for their children.

The following are terms for a young girl’s indenture:

� . . . [S]he has bound herself as a servant . . . of her own free will until shecomes of age. . . . [S]he shall faithfully serve her master, keep his secrets, anddo no damage. She shall not waste her master’s goods or lend them to any-one . . . she will not sell her own goods without . . . permission . . . she shallnot be absent . . . day or night without . . . permission. . . .

. . . [T]he master shall provide enough wholesome food, washing, lodging,and clothing . . . fit for a servant.

INFO CHECK

1. Describe members of the upper class in New York.

2. Compare the lives of middle- and lower class people in New York.

3. Why did people agree to indentured servitude?

New Jersey In 1664, the duke of York granted the land between the Hud-son and Delaware rivers to George Carteret and John Berkeley as


proprietors. To lure settlers, they promised land, religious freedom, andrepresentative government. New Jersey grew as English Puritans andSeparatists (notably Quakers, Scots, Scotch-Irish, and Germans) pouredin. As in New York and the other Middle Atlantic colonies, there was ablend of cultures. Thus, a more cosmopolitan (worldly) point of view be-came common, especially in heavily settled areas and large cities.

Quakers bought Berkeley’s rights, and a mixed group of settlersbought those of Carteret. In 1702, both sections were united as the royalcolony of New Jersey.

New Jersey’s economic livelihood mirrored New York’s—fur trading,export-import enterprises, and artisan businesses. Lumber and ironmak-ing were growing industries. The relatively mild climate and fertile soilmade small farms profitable.


ATLANTICOCEAN

SPANISH

FRENCH

FRENCH

Furs

Furs

Furs

Furs

Furs

Tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco

Grain

Grain

Rice

Rice

NavalStores

Iron

Iron

Iron

Lumber

Rum

Fishing

Ship-building

PENNSYLVANIA

NEW YORK

MAINE(MASS.)

N.H.

MASS.

CONN. R.I.

VIRGINIA

DEL.MD.

NORTHCAROLINA

SOUTHCAROLINA

GEORGIA

NEWENGLAND

MIDDLECOLONIES

SOUTHERNCOLONIES

Philadelphia

New York

Boston

Salem

Williamsburg

Charleston

Savannah

N.J.

Whaling

Indigo

200

400200 300100

100 3000

0

Miles

Kilometers

W

S

N

E

New England

Southern Colonies

Middle Colonies

The thirteen English colonies (1750)

Pennsylvania In 1681, Charles II gave a large tract of land west of NewJersey to William Penn. As a devout Quaker, Penn was a pacifist opposedto war, soldiering, and taxes for military purposes. His plan was to estab-lish a colony devoted to peace, self-government, and political and religiousequality. In 1683, he founded the capital city of Philadelphia.

Penn’s principles attracted a variety of nationalities, as well as differ-ing religious sects—Quakers, Presbyterians, Germans of various denomi-nations, even Irish Catholics. In addition, Penn paid Native Americansfairly for their land and vowed to maintain peaceful relations with them,which he did.

In 1682, Penn drafted a Frame of Government, which set up a governor(answerable to Penn), a council, and an elected assembly. Soon, laws werepassed protecting the poor and orphans, requiring fair trials, and assuringhumane punishments.

Penn’s enlightened approach to colonization was reflected in Pennsyl-vania’s quick growth and economic success. As elsewhere in the MiddleAtlantic colonies, agriculture, trade, and new industries prospered. By1710, Philadelphia was the largest city in the English colonies.

Delaware In 1664, New Sweden became English, and its new owner, theDuke of York, renamed it Delaware. It remained a fairly lightly settledarea in which fur trading was the major enterprise.

Recognizing that Pennsylvania lacked one asset—a seaport—the dukegave it Delaware (with its port capital of Wilmington). In 1703, Delawareagain became a separate colony, although it shared a governor with Penn-sylvania until the late 1700s.

INFO CHECK

1. Identify: New Sweden, Quaker, pacifist.

2. How did the social and religious aspects of Pennsylvania differ fromthose of Massachusetts Bay?

3. Which of the Middle Atlantic colonies was probably the least cosmopoli-tan? Why?

SOUTHERN COLONIES

Overview

Economics The Southern colonies, from Maryland south to Georgia,shared a (1) wide coastal plain (level or rolling land), (2) warm to hotclimate, and (3) long growing season. Agriculture was the region’s eco-nomic backbone. Small farmers raised grains, vegetables, fruits, and live-stock. Many-acred plantations raised one or more cash crops on a largescale. Artisans produced essential goods (barrels, tools, leather, andsuch). Extensive forests provided lumber and wood by-products. Adven-turous colonists traveled far inland to fur-trade with Native Americantrappers.

The Southern colonies traded mainly with England—colonial cashcrops and raw materials for English furniture, cloth, tableware, wine, and


tea. They also did a flourishing business with colonial and European slavetraders.

Society/Religion The aristocrats of the South were plantation own-ers. Unaccustomed to hard work in the home country, as early coloniststhey struggled first to survive and then to build up and maintain exten-sive landholdings.

The plantation system required many hardworking laborers.Colonists were unwilling, so slavery took hold in the South as nowhereelse. Considered property, slaves were attached to the land unless sold bytheir owners. Many slave families were thus split up cruelly. Lacking fam-ily security, slaves turned to religion—a mix of Christianity, adopted fromowners, and old African rites and beliefs.

The first colonies in the South were settled when Anglicanism was theestablished Church of England. (Anglicanism won out over Puritanismagain in the late 1600s.) It therefore became the official church of theSouthern colonies, with the exception of Maryland, a haven for religioustolerance.

Politics Each of the Southern colonies began as a joint-stock ventureor a proprietorship. As such, they had appointed governors and more andless democratic legislatures. By the late 1600s, however, all (except forstill-uncolonized Georgia) had become royal colonies directly answerableto the monarch—in theory if not always in practice.

Virginia The first permanent settlement in America was Jamestown, Vir-ginia (1607). The London Company hoped to profit from metal mining andtrade with Native Americans. It was a bad beginning. The site wasswampy, the Indians hostile, and mining took preference over food andshelter. More than half the settlers died.

Captain John Smith led the settlers to plant crops, build homes, andseek food and aid from the natives. He returned to England and thecolony almost died. The winter of 1609–1610 was the “starving time.” TheCompany then sent a new governor, Lord Delaware, more settlers—including women—and fresh supplies to help the colony keep going.

They found settlers worked harder once the Company agreed to indi-vidual land ownership. Then the prospering colony attracted many new-comers.


SOUTHERN COLONIES


1607 Virginia Joint-stock; royal Trade and commerce John Smith,Lord Delaware

1634 Maryland Proprietary; royal Religious toleration Cecilius Calvert

1653 North Carolina Proprietary; royal Religious toleration; trade —

1670 South Carolina Proprietary; royal Religious toleration, trade —

1733 Georgia Proprietary; royal Debtors’ colony; trade James Oglethorpe

The biggest boost was tobacco farming. In the 1500s, tobacco becamehugely popular in Europe. And it grew easily in Virginia. Developed as acash crop for export, tobacco made the landowners wealthy.

Africans, who worked the tobacco fields, first arrived on a Dutch shipin 1619 as indentured servants. Many ships carrying Africans followed,and they were soon being sold as slaves.

Also in 1619, the Company allowed colonists to elect the first represen-tative assembly in America, the House of Burgesses. Although Virginia be-came a royal colony in 1624, the House of Burgesses continued to sharepower with the governor and royal council.

Maryland Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, inherited from his father acharter (issued by Charles I) to land north of Virginia. As a RomanCatholic, he wanted to establish a refuge for others of his faith. The firstsettlement, St. Mary’s City, was made at the mouth of the Potomac Riverin 1634. It prospered immediately, mainly because its climate and soilwere ideal for growing tobacco.

Maryland extended religious toleration to all Christians. Settlerspoured in from other colonies, and there were soon more Protestantsthan Catholics. To discourage disputes between denominations, the as-sembly passed the Toleration Act in 1649. It granted religious freedom toall Christians. In 1689, the Protestants turned against the Catholic pop-ulation. In 1692, Maryland became a royal colony.

North and South Carolina In 1653, Virginians moved south into the Car-olina region and began settlements along the Chowan River.

In 1663, a formal charter to Carolina was granted to eight proprietors.They wished to encourage settlement by offering land on good terms, reli-gious freedom, and a representative assembly. Their first settlers arrivedin 1670 and founded Charles Town (Charleston), which had a fine harbor


House ofBurgesses, 1619

and grew into the colony’s commercial center. Carolina attracted manynationalities and Protestants of every persuasion—Anglicans, EnglishSeparatists, French Huguenots.

The northern and southern areas were distinct. In the north, tobaccogrew well, and pine forests provided shipbuilding products known asnaval stores (pitch, tar, turpentine). In the south, the cash crops wererice and indigo (source of a blue dye).

Increasingly, colonists and their assemblies feuded with the propri-etors’ agents. In 1729, North Carolina and South Carolina became sepa-rate royal colonies.

Georgia George II granted James Oglethorpe and his trustees the rightto found a colony, Georgia, where English debtors could make a freshstart. (In England, they were jailed.) A second purpose was to provide acolonial barrier to Spanish expansion north from Florida.

The first settlers arrived in 1733 and founded the seaport of Savan-nah. Georgia also attracted settlers from the Carolinas, Scotland, Wales,Switzerland, and Germany. From the first, it thrived on the export of suchcash crops as rice, indigo, and sugar.

The colonists, however, objected to such trustee policies as small plotsof land and a ban against slavery. In 1752, Georgia became a royal colony.

DEMOCRATIC ROOTS IN THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

In all three regions of the thirteen colonies, colonists learned somethingabout the uses of democracy in daily life. The following table summarizesthis experience:


DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE THIRTEEN COLONIES

Institution/Year Significance

Virginia House of First colonial representative government, by which Virginia Company Burgesses (1619) gave its colonists the right to elect representatives to colonial legislature.

Mayflower Compact First self-governing plan to pass and obey just and equal laws; set(1620) precedents for:

• direct democracy (citizens as lawmakers)• acceptance of majority rule• equal treatment under the law.

New England • government by direct democracytown meetings • male property owners to conduct town affairs and execute laws

• elected representatives to serve in colonial legislature.

Fundamental Orders First written constitution; provided for:of Connecticut (1639) • loyal citizens to elect legislative assembly

• government by will of majority.

Maryland Toleration First colony to grant religious freedom to all Christians.Act (1649)

New York—Flushing First colonial document to defend religious freedom from threats byRemonstrance (1657) appointed governor (Stuyvesant).

INFO CHECK

1. Identify: coastal plain, plantation, naval stores.

2. Explain how the Southern colonies differed from other regions in physi-cal features, trade, and slave ownership.

3. What is the significance of Virginia’s House of Burgesses? Maryland’sToleration Act?

4. In what way was the founding of Georgia different from that of anyother English colony?


CHAPTER REVIEW

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. The physical environment of New Englandis characterized by

1. rich soil but a poor growing climate2. clay soil and a long growing season3. stony soil and a short growing season4. rich soil and an excellent growing

climate.

2. Plymouth Colony was organized by

1. Separatists 3. Quakers2. Catholics 4. Anglicans.

3. By signing the Mayflower Compact, colonistsagreed to

1. respect laws for the common good andelect a representative government

2. remain loyal to England and establishlaws for the good of the colony

3. remain loyal to the Church of Englandand follow its strict moral code

4. conquer new territory for the homecountry.

4. William Penn was a

1. Pilgrim 3. Anglican2. Puritan 4. pacifist.

5. William Penn and the Quakers foundedPennsylvania for

1. religious tolerance2. trade in furs and gold3. the benefit of debtors4. the conversion of Native Americans to

Christianity.

6. The Southern colonies imported enslavedAfricans

1. to serve as dock workers2. because of the needs of plantation

agriculture3. as craftspersons and mechanics4. to re-create the social environment in

England.

7. Tobacco was a cash crop because it was

1. sold to other colonies and to Europe2. not used by the colonists who grew it3. a source of funds needed for gold mining4. used by the colonists as money.

8. The House of Burgesses

1. ceased to exist when Virginia became aroyal colony

2. was the first elected representative as-sembly in the colonies

3. was a partnership of Northern andSouthern bankers

4. was the monarch’s official residence inVirginia.

9. North and South Carolina

1. were originally part of Georgia2. were founded as one colony3. began as a refuge for Quakers4. attracted few foreigners.


10. Georgia was established

1. to prevent the French from moving infrom the north

2. to assure religious toleration for all itssettlers

3. to give debtors a chance to start a newlife

4. to serve as a prison settlement forcriminals.

11. According to the graph on page 34, what wasthe estimated African population of colonialAmerica in 1720?

1. 30,0002. 70,0003. 100,0004. 130,000

12. According to the graph, in which year didAfricans in colonial America number150,000?

1. 17102. 17303. 17404. 1760

Constructed-Response Questions

Base your answers to questions 1–3 on the tableson pages 31, 33, and 41.

1. Identify one colony and its region.2. Describe how its location determined its

economic development.3. How might location lead to regional differ-

ences? Explain.

Refer to the illustration on page 37, and answerquestions 4 and 5.

4. What does the illustration tell you about ruralcolonial life?

5. In what ways is this scene similar to, or differ-ent from, the picture of New York City in 1746on page 38?

Document-Based Question

Part A: Short AnswerStudy each document and answer the question(s) following it. Then read the Task and write youressay. It should include references to most of the document, along with additional informationbased on your knowledge of social studies.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Colonial communities were centers of economic, social, and political life.Although these communities had distinctive identities, they tended to develop according to Euro-pean patterns.

DOCUMENT 1. Refer to the map on page 39.

1. What types of industries or products were typical of each region?2. How did geography have an effect on the development of each region’s economy?

DOCUMENT 2. Refer to the illustration on page 30.

3. What region was associated with the Mayflower Compact?4. Explain how the Mayflower Compact reflected the political tradition of those who signed it.

DOCUMENT 3. Refer to the table on page 31.

5. What kinds of colonies were established in New England?6. What was the major reason for establishing these colonies?

DOCUMENT 4. Reread the third paragraph of the section “Pennsylvania” on page 40.

7. Who wrote the Frame of Government?8. Explain how this document was based on English tradition.


DOCUMENT 5. Reread the section “Economics” on page 40.

9. How did the geography of the Southern colonies influence its economic development?

DOCUMENT 6. Reread the last paragraph of the section “Virginia” on page 41 and refer to the illus-tration on page 42.

10. How did the government of Virginia differ from the forms of government in New England?

Part B: EssayTASK

• Name the regions into which the thirteen colonies were divided.

• Select one region:

Describe how the region’s colonies developed their own economic or social or political identities.

Describe how these identities reflected the people’s economic or social or political traditions.

• Explain how the region you selected developed its own identity and how it differed from thoseof the other two regions.

13 english colonies

Documents

royal colonies

new englands colonies

proprietary colonies

southern colonies

kinds of colonies

new england coloniesdate1620

new englanders

english merchants