I. Colonizing America

A. Countries that Colonized America1. England – 13 colonies east of

Appalachian Mountains2. France – St. Lawrence River, Great

Lakes, Mississippi River, and New Orleans

3. Spain – Latin America, SE and SW sections of current US

4. Russia – Pacific Northwest5. Netherlands – New York and New Jersey6. Sweden -- Delaware

B. Reasons

1. The Three G’s

a. Gold

b. Glory

c. God

C. England

1. Gold – Virginia Company of London (1606) sponsored trips to the Virginia colony for

various reasonsa. Expand English tradeb. Find wider market for

goodsc. Hoped to make large

profits

2. Goda. Dispute between Catholics

and Anglicans in Englandb. Pilgrims – Separatist

movement; Catholics who could not practice their religion in England; fled to America and settled in Plymouth, MA

c. Puritans – Reformers;

did not think Church of

England was strict

enough; wanted to make

the Church more pure;

started the MA Bay

Colony in Boston, Cape

Cod, and Salem areas

D. Blue Laws

1. Laws made by Puritans to

make life “more pure”

2. Sabbath Regulations

a. All trade outlawed

b. No public meetings or

entertainment except for

church

c. Two two-hour services,

morning and afternoon

3. Family Relationships

a. Parents could lose children if

poorly educated

b. A child could be put to death

if they disrespect parents

4. Social Laws

a. Fines for lower classes that

wore silk and silver

5. Public Behavior

a. No celebrations of

Christmas or other

holidays, including

weddings

b. NO PDA

6. Witch Laws

E. Representative Government

1. Types of colonies in the New World

a. Proprietary – Owned by an individual (PA, Maryland, Georgia)

b. Self – governing – Owned by the people (MA)

c. Royal – Owned by the king1. All 13 colonies would

eventually become royal

2. Mayflower Compact (Nov. 11, 1620)

1. First representative government in America

2. Established a civil government,

rule of law, and a government by consent

3. Only members of congregation could vote or hold office

3. Direct Democracy (MA)1. Rooted in ancient

Greece where all eligible voters vote on every issue

2. Usually done through a town hall meeting

3. Most white, landowning, males participated

F. France

1. Gold

a. Chance to earn a decent

living and maybe become

wealthy

b. Profitable fur trade

c. Search for resources not

found in France

2. Religion

a. Growing need to convert

Natives to Christianity

3. Glory

a. Fame that came with

succeeding in the New World

4. Why did the Natives trust the French more than the British?

a. French settlements were smaller and less threatening

1. British were expanding more

quicklyb. French were more willing to

adopt Native culture1. Many French men married

Native women

5. Famous Explorersa. Rene Robert de La Salle –

Followed the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and named

the land Louisiana after King Louis XIV

b. Samuel de Champlain – Founded the city of Quebec, the center of French claims in North America

c. Jacques Cartier – Sailed along the St. Lawrence River into Montreal

G. Spain

1. Gold

a. Find new resources (gold,

silver)

b. Used indentured servants to

mine at first – definition

1. Eventually switched to

African slaves

c. Sought water routes to bring gold

and silver back to Spain

2. God

a. Similar to the French

b. Missionaries sent to the new

world to convert Natives to

Christianity

3. Famous Explorersa. Hernando Cortez – Conquistador

who when he reached present-day Mexico City had his men burn their ships so they had to fight to the death. He would go on to capture the Aztec Empire in the 1520s.

b. Francisco Pizarro – Reached the Incan Empire in present-day Peru

in 1531 and held their leader for ransom only to kill him. Three years later the Incan Empire was no more.

c. Christopher Columbus – Italian by birth but sailed for the Spanish. Convinced he could reach Asia through the Atlantic but landed on an island he called San Salvador. Considered by many to be the man who discovered America.