the english arrive in america - mrs. hulsey's...

1639• Fundamental Orders

of Connecticutadopted

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1630• Massachusetts Bay

Colony is established

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40

The English Arrive in America

1607–1763

1587• Roanoke Colony

is founded

1607• Jamestown Colony

is founded

1600• Tokugawa period of feudal

rule begins in Japan

1642• English Civil War begins

1660• Charles II becomes

king of England

1619• Virginia House of Burgesses

meets for first time

Why It MattersEnglish settlers traveled to America seeking land and an escape from religious persecution. By

the early 1700s, 13 colonies had been founded along the Atlantic coast of North America. TheSouthern Colonies grew labor-intensive cash crops on large plantations using indentured and

enslaved labor. Small farms and towns based on congregations developed in the NorthernColonies. Small farms in the Middle Colonies produced grain and other cash crops. Cities based

on fishing, trade, and commerce also developed in the Northern and Middle Colonies.

The Impact TodaySeveral developments of the early colonial period still affect the nation today.

• Religious conflicts in Europe influenced the colonists’ ideas of religious tolerance.• The northern United States is still more urban than much of the South.

• The United States remains a nation made up of immigrants from many countries.

The American Republic Since 1877 VideoThe Chapter 2 video, “Early Explorers,” chronicles the voyages of some of the early European explorers.

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1580 1620 1660

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1686• Dominion of New

England is establishedas royal colony

1725• Russian czar

Peter the Great dies

This painting by Dutch artist Adam Willaerts is believed todepict the Plymouth Colony.

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1681• William Penn’s charter for

Pennsylvania is granted

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1692• Salem witchcraft

trials begin

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"1742• Handel’s “Messiah”

debuts in Dublin, Ireland

"1689• English Bill of

Rights issued

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1721• Cotton Mather

promotesinoculation

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c. 1740• Great Awakening

religious revival peaks

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1700 1740

HISTORY

Chapter OverviewVisit the American RepublicSince 1877 Web site at

and click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 2 to preview chapterinformation.

tarvol2.glencoe.com

On July 30, 1619, delegates gathered from the communities surrounding the mainsettlement of the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia. This meeting marked the firstassembly of an elected legislature of representatives in the English colonies. The firstsession of the governing body, known as the House of Burgesses, met in the choir ofthe Jamestown church—“the most convenient place we could find to sit,” said onerepresentative.

Governor Sir George Yeardley had organized the idea of the legislative body soonafter his arrival in April 1619. Here, he lays out the basic idea of the assembly, as

specified in “A Brief Declaration of the Plantation of Virginia”:

“[So that the colonists] might have a hand in the governing of themselves; it was grantedthat a general assembly should be held yearly once, whereat were to be present the governorand council and two burgesses from each plantation freely to be elected by the inhabitantsthereof.”

—quoted in Jamestown, 1544–1699

42 CHAPTER 2 The English Arrive in America

England’s First Colonies

1497John Cabot explores NorthAmerica’s coastline for England

#1540 #1620#1500 #1580

1517ProtestantReformation begins

1587Roanoke colonyis founded

1607Jamestownis founded

1619House of Burgessesmeets for the first time

Virginia House of Burgesses

England Takes Interest in AmericaIn 1619 Jamestown was only 12 years old, although England had begun exploring the

American continent more than a century earlier. In 1497 John Cabot had sailed topresent-day Nova Scotia, hoping to discover a sea route through North America toChina. Cabot and his crew of 18 traveled south along the coast without finding any traceof the fabled Northwest Passage.

Main IdeaReligious, economic, and politicalchanges in England caused the English tobegin establishing colonies along theeastern coast of North America.

Key Terms and NamesPuritan, enclosure movement, joint-stockcompany, privateer, John Smith, ChiefPowhatan, burgesses, headright, LordBaltimore, proprietary colony

Reading StrategyOrganizing As you read about the earlytroubles of the Jamestown colony, com-plete a graphic organizer similar to theone below by listing the problems thatfaced the colonists.

Reading Objectives• Explain the religious and economic rea-

sons why England became interested inAmerica.

• Describe the founding of Jamestownand explain why it succeeded.

Section ThemeGeography and History England’srivalry with Spain encouraged QueenElizabeth to seek bases for naval opera-tions in North America.

Jamestown’s Troubles

For the next 80 years, the English made no effort tocolonize America. The English government had littlemoney, and Cabot had found no wealth to spurmigration. Furthermore, the Spanish had claimedAmerica, and in 1497 Spain and England were allies.During the late 1500s, however, religious, economic,and political changes led to the founding of the firstEnglish colonies in North America.

TURNING POINT

The Reformation At the time Cabot sailed toAmerica, most of western Europe was Catholic andacknowledged the pope as the head of the CatholicChurch. This unity began to break apart in 1517, when

a German monk named Martin Luther published anattack on the Church, accusing it of corruption.

Luther’s attack marked the beginning of theProtestant Reformation. In 1520 Luther was expelledfrom the Catholic Church, but his ideas continued tospread across western Europe. Luther himself wenton to found the German Protestant Church, nowcalled the Lutheran Church.

In England the rebellion against Catholicism beganin 1527, when Henry VIII asked the pope to annul hismarriage to Catherine of Aragon. The pope resistedbecause he did not want to anger the king of Spain,Catherine’s nephew. Infuriated, Henry broke with theChurch, declared himself the head of England’s

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English exploration

French exploration

Spanish exploration

Dutch exploration

European Explorations and Settlements, 1497–1682

1. Interpreting Maps According to themap, what nation first explored NorthAmerica?

2. Applying Geography Skills In whatareas did French explorers Champlainand Cartier concentrate their efforts?

church, and arranged his own divorce. The newchurch, the Anglican Church, was Protestant, althoughits organization and rituals were mostly Catholic.

Some English people supported the new church,but others did not. Puritans wanted to purify theAnglican Church of any remaining Catholic ele-ments. They especially hated the fact that monarchsand their appointed bishops controlled the church. Intheir view, every congregation should elect its ownministers to run the church.

When James I became king in 1603, the Puritancause was set back. He refused to tolerate Puritanreform ideas since they would lessen his power. As aresult, many Puritans became more interested inleaving England.

ECONOMICS

Economic Changes in England A revolution intrade and agriculture was also changing English soci-ety at this time. Traditionally English nobles ownedlarge estates and rented their land to tenant farmers.In the 1500s, however, a large market for wool devel-oped, and landowners decided they could makemore money by converting their estates into sheepfarms. During the enclosure movement, they fencedin their lands and evicted thousands of tenant farm-ers. Continuing economic turmoil in England laterencouraged many people to immigrate to America.

The wool market had another impact on Americansettlement. When wool prices fell, many wool mer-chants organized joint-stock companies to find newmarkets. A joint-stock company pooled money tosupport big projects. Many merchants could now bet-ter afford to trade with and colonize other parts ofthe world.

Explaining Why were somePuritans willing to leave England for America?

England Returns to AmericaThe quest for new markets convinced English mer-

chants to resume the search for a northern water routeto Asia. Between 1576 and 1578, Martin Frobishermade three trips to America to look for a northwestpassage. He never found one, but his explorationswere still significant. For the first time since Cabot’svoyage in 1497, England had returned to America.

England’s new interest in America contributed toits growing rivalry with Spain, which dated from theReformation. The Reformation had changed Europe’sbalance of power. England had become the leadingProtestant power, Spain the leading Catholic power.

Religion also brought England into a new alliancewith the Dutch, who were then part of the Spanishempire. By the 1560s, most of the Dutch had becomeProtestants, and they rebelled when the Spanish gov-ernment tried to suppress their faith.

To help the Dutch against Spain, Queen Elizabethallowed attacks on Spanish ships by English privateers—privately owned ships licensed by thegovernment to attack the merchant ships of othercountries. English privateers found it difficult tostrike at Spanish ships in the Caribbean becauseEngland had no bases there. This led QueenElizabeth to seek outposts in America.

The first attempts at colonization were not promis-ing. In 1578 and 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a well-known English soldier, tried to create a colony inAmerica, but both attempts failed. After Gilbert waslost at sea, his half-brother, Walter Raleigh, sent twoships to scout the American coastline. Along the outerbanks of what is today North Carolina, the ships foundan island the Native Americans called Roanoke.

Reading Check


Warring Empires In 1588 the Spanish Armada set out with about 130ships to settle scores with the English, Spain’s rival in religion and empire.In the decisive battle, English fireships outmaneuvered the Spanish fleet,setting some of their galleons on fire. A “Protestant wind,” as the Englishcalled it, did the rest. If Spain had won, Catholicism might have beenreestablished in England. Why do you think the defeat of the SpanishArmada is important to American history?

History

Impressed by the discovery, Queen Elizabethknighted Raleigh, and he in turn named the landVirginia—in honor of Elizabeth, “the Virgin Queen.”

Raleigh sent settlers to Roanoke Island twice,once in 1585 and again in 1587. The first groupreturned to England after a difficult winter. The fateof the second group is unknown. War betweenEngland and Spain kept supplies from reachingthem on time. When English ships arrived in 1590,the colony had vanished, leaving only the word“Croatoan” carved on a post. The Croatoan wereNative Americans who lived nearby. The fate of the“Lost Colony” remains a mystery.

Summarizing Why did Englandwant to establish outposts in America?

Jamestown Is FoundedIn 1606 King James I granted the English investors

of the Virginia Company a charter to plant colonies inVirginia. The investors sent three small ships and 144men to Virginia on December 20, 1606. After a difficulttrip, the ships arrived off the coast of North America.In May 1607, the colonists founded a settlement theynamed Jamestown in honor of their king.

Unfortunately, the colonists had chosen a site tooclose to the sea, on low, swampy land swarming withmalaria-carrying mosquitoes. Poor location, however,was just the beginning of Jamestown’s problems.

Early Troubles Most of Jamestown’s colonists weretownspeople who knew little about living in thewoods. They could not make use of the area’s abun-dant fish and game, nor could they raise livestock orcultivate crops. Furthermore, the upper-class “gentle-men” among them refused to do manual labor. Tomake matters worse, Jamestown’s governing councilargued constantly and could not make decisions.Lawlessness, sickness, and food shortages were theresult. Although 190 new settlers arrived in 1608, only53 colonists were alive by the end of the year. Everyonemight have died, in fact, had it not been for CaptainJohn Smith and Chief Powhatan.

Captain John Smith, a member of the colony’s gov-erning council, emerged as Jamestown’s only strongleader. In late 1607, with winter approaching and thecolony short of food, Smith explored the region aroundJamestown and began trading goods for food with thelocal Native Americans—a group called the PowhatanConfederacy, led by Chief Powhatan. This tradehelped the colony survive its first two winters.

Frustrated by the events in Jamestown, the VirginiaCompany appointed a new governor, Thomas West,Lord De La Warr, and gave him absolute authority. Toentice settlers, the company offered free land to anyonewho worked for the colony for seven years. The offerproduced results, for in August 1609, 400 new settlersarrived in Jamestown.

The newcomers created a crisis in the colony. Therewas not enough food to feed everyone, nor couldenough be grown before winter. Lord De La Warr hadnot accompanied the new settlers, and John Smith hadsuffered a gunpowder burn and returned to England.Without strong leadership, the situation in Jamestownrapidly deteriorated. As winter approached, the set-tlers began to steal food from the Native Americans. Inresponse, warriors attacked the settlers.

The winter of 1609 to 1610 became known as the“starving time.” The colonists at Jamestown ate “dogs,rats, snakes, toadstools, [and] horsehides,” and a feweven engaged in cannibalism, digging up corpses fromtheir graves and eating them.

By the spring of 1610, only 60 settlers were still alive.They abandoned Jamestown and headed downriver.On the way, they met three English ships bringing sup-plies, 150 more settlers, and the colony’s governor.Lord De La Warr convinced the settlers to stay. Hisdeputy, Thomas Dale, then drafted a harsh code oflaws. Settlers were organized into work gangs andrequired to work at least six hours per day. The deathpenalty was imposed for many crimes, including rape,adultery, desertion, mutiny, theft, lying, swearing, andderision of the Bible.

Reading Check

CHAPTER 2 The English Arrive in America 45

Dale’s code imposed the disci-pline necessary to save the colony, but it stilldid not thrive. In 1614 Dale decided to permit pri-vate cultivation of land. Settlers could acquire 3acres of land if they gave the colony a month of workand 2 1⁄2 barrels of corn. Whatever else they pro-duced, they could keep for themselves. According toone colonist, Ralph Hamor, the new systemincreased production:

“When our people were fed out of the commonstore and labored jointly in the manuring of theground and planting corn, glad was the man thatcould slip from his labor . . . presuming that howso-ever the harvest prospered, the general store mustmaintain them, by which means we reaped not somuch corn for the labors of 30 men, as three menhave done for themselves.”

—quoted in Colonial America

Tobacco Saves the Colony Although the new pol-icy increased productivity and ensured Jamestown’ssurvival, the colony still had to find something itcould produce that could be sold in England for aprofit. The solution was a product King James hadalready condemned as a “vile weed [of] black stink-ing fumes [that were] baleful to the nose, harmful tothe brain, and dangerous to the lungs”—tobacco.

Well before the founding of Jamestown, theSpanish had begun shipping tobacco from theirCaribbean colonies to Europe. Smoking tobacco

became very popular in Europe in the early 1600s.The Jamestown settlers had tried growing tobacco,but the local variety was too bitter.

A colonist named John Rolfe continued to experi-ment, using tobacco seeds imported from Trinidad.Rolfe also developed a new method for curingtobacco, and in 1614 he shipped about 2,600 poundsto England. Rolfe’s tobacco was inferior to Spanishtobacco, but it sold for a good price, and the settlers

soon began planting large quantities of it.

GOVERNMENT

Luring Settlers In 1618 the new head of theVirginia Company, Edwin Sandys, introducedseveral major reforms to attract more settlers.The first reform gave the colony the right toelect its own lawmaking body. Virginia’s first

general assembly met in the Jamestown churchon July 30, 1619. The new government included a

governor, 6 councillors, and 20 representatives, 2from each of the colony’s 10 towns. The representa-tives were called burgesses, and the assembly wascalled the House of Burgesses.

The Virginia Company also introduced the systemof headrights. New settlers who bought a share inthe company or paid for their passage were granted50 acres of land. They were granted 50 more acres foreach family member over 15 years of age and for eachservant they transported to Virginia.

In addition, the Virginia Company realized that itneeded to provide more marriage opportunities forthe many single men in the colony. In 1619 it sentabout 90 women to Jamestown. A bachelor could pur-chase a bride for 120 pounds of tobacco, roughly whatit cost the company to bring each woman to America.

The same year the women arrived, the firstAfricans were brought to Virginia as well. A Dutchslave ship stopped to trade for supplies, and theJamestown settlers purchased 20 African men as“Christian servants,” not slaves. The Africans hadbeen baptized, and at that time English law said thatChristians could not be enslaved.

Virginia Becomes a Royal Colony The policiesintroduced by the Virginia Company in 1619 trig-gered a wave of new immigration to the colony. By1622 more than 4,500 settlers had arrived in Virginia.The dramatic increase in colonists alarmed theNative Americans, who attacked Jamestown inMarch 1622. They burned homes, destroyed foodsupplies, and killed nearly 350 settlers.

The settlers eventually put an end to the uprising,but the colony was devastated. After blaming the


Critical Leadership Captain John Smithhelped save early Jamestown by trading withlocal Native Americans. Sidney King paintedits fort as it might have appeared around 1607.Why do you think the fort was set up withonly three sides?

History

Virginia Company for the colony’s high death rate,an English court revoked the company’s charter.Virginia became a royal colony run by a governorwho was appointed by the king.

Describing How did Captain JohnSmith and the Powhatan Confederacy save Jamestown?

Maryland Is FoundedThe next colony in America was founded not by

another joint-stock company but by one man, GeorgeCalvert, also known as Lord Baltimore. LordBaltimore had been a member of the EnglishParliament until he converted to Catholicism. Thisdecision ruined his career, but he remained a goodfriend of King James and his son, Charles.

Catholics were persecuted in England for muchthe same reason as Puritans. Catholics did not acceptthe king as head of the Church, nor did they accept the authority of Anglican bishops andpriests. As a result, they were viewed as potentialtraitors who might help Catholic countries over-throw the English king. Consequently, they were for-bidden to practice law or teach school. They werealso fined for not attending Anglican services.

Seeing the persecution of his fellow Catholics,Lord Baltimore decided to found a colony in Americawhere Catholics could practice their religion freely. In1632 King Charles granted him a large area of landnortheast of Virginia. Baltimore named the newcolony Maryland, to honor either the king’s wife,Queen Henrietta Maria, or the Virgin Mary.

Lord Baltimore owned Maryland, making itEngland’s first proprietary colony. The proprietor, or

owner, could govern the colony any way that hewanted. He could appoint government officials, coinmoney, impose taxes, establish courts, regulate trade,grant lands, create towns, and raise an army.

Lord Baltimore died shortly before settlers arrivedin his colony. His son Cecil became the new LordBaltimore. In 1634, 20 gentlemen, mostly Catholic, and200 servants and artisans, mostly Protestant, arrived inMaryland. Despite Baltimore’s hope that Marylandwould become a Catholic refuge, Protestantsremained in the majority. The government officialsand most of the large estate owners were Catholic,however. To reduce friction between the two groups,Maryland passed the Toleration Act in 1649, grantingreligious toleration to all Christians in the colony.

Analyzing Why was Marylandfounded?

Reading Check

Reading Check


Writing About History

Checking for Understanding1. Define: Puritan, enclosure movement,

joint-stock company, privateer,burgesses, headright, proprietarycolony.

2. Identify: John Smith, Chief Powhatan,Lord Baltimore.

3. Explain how tobacco saved theJamestown colony.

Reviewing Themes4. Geography and History How did the

enclosure movement change Englishsociety?

Critical Thinking5. Interpreting What caused friction in

the Maryland colony?6. Categorizing Use a graphic organizer

similar to the one below to list threeways the Virginia Company tried toattract settlers to the Jamestown colony.

Analyzing Visuals7. Examining Paintings Study the paint-

ing of the conflict between the Britishnavy and the Spanish Armada on pages44 and 45. How has the artist shownthe importance of the conflict depicted?

8. Descriptive Writing Imagine you are acolonist at Jamestown. Write a journalentry describing the first winter in thecolony. Describe the weather as well asthe problems that colonists faced duringthat time.

Ways to Attract Settlers

English Flag This flag flew over the English settle-ments throughout the colonial period. First used in1606, the flag displays thered cross of England (cross ofSt. George) superimposed onthe white cross of Scotland(cross of St. Andrew), on theblue background field ofScotland. This “Union Flag,”as it was called, remained inuse until January 1, 1801.

Study CentralTM To review this section, go toand click on Study CentralTM.tarvol2.glencoe.com

On a bleak November day in 1620, a tiny three-masted English ship named theMayflower dropped anchor off the coast of Cape Cod. The eyes of all those aboardfocused on the low strip of land before them. They were not where they were supposedto be. They had a patent for land in Virginia, but the land bobbing on the horizon wasclearly not Virginia. If they went ashore, they would be on land to which they had notitle, in a territory where no English government existed.

On November 11, 1620, 41 adult men met in the ship’s cabin to sign a document laterknown as the Mayflower Compact. In it they declared their intention to create a governmentand obey its laws. They agreed to “solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one ofanother, covenant and combine ourselves together in a civil body politic, for our better order-ing and preservation,” and to “frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutionsand officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the generalgood of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

—adapted from Basic Documents in American History


The Pilgrims Found Plymouth ColonyThe events that led to the arrival of the Mayflower off the New England coast began

several years earlier in England. A group of Puritans, called Separatists, began separat-ing from the Anglican Church to form their own congregations. King James I responded

The New EnglandColonies

1620Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth

#1640 #1680#1660

1630Massachusetts BayColony established

1636Roger Williamsfounds Providence

1639Fundamental Orders ofConnecticut adopted

1675King Philip’s War

#1620

The Mayflower, anchoredin Plymouth harbor

Main IdeaIn the 1600s, English Puritans fleeingreligious persecution and economicdifficulties founded several colonies inNew England.

Key Terms and NamesSeparatist, Pilgrim, Squanto, GreatMigration, heretic, Anne Hutchinson

Reading StrategyOrganizing As you read about thefounding of colonies in New England,complete a graphic organizer similar tothe one below listing the reasons for King Philip’s War.

Reading Objectives• Explain why the Pilgrims moved to

America and why Plymouth Colonysucceeded.

• Discuss why King Philip’s War beganand describe its results.

Section ThemeCulture and Traditions Puritan beliefsand organization provided the basis forsome of the nation’s oldest traditions ofgovernment and community.

Causes ofKing Philip’s War

to this challenge to his authority as head of theChurch with severe persecution, including imprison-ment of Separatist leaders. To escape this persecu-tion, a group of Separatists fled to Holland in 1608.These Separatists, who came to be known as thePilgrims, found it hard to live in Holland. They alsoworried that their children were losing their Englishheritage. In early 1617, the congregation decided toleave Holland and immigrate to America.

Before crossing the Atlantic, the Pilgrims returnedto England, where they joined another group ofPuritans aboard the Mayflower. On September16, 1620, 102 passengers set off for Virginia.The trip took 65 days. Most of the food ranout, many passengers became ill, and onedied. Making matters worse, a severestorm blew the small ship far north ofits course. Finally, in November, thePilgrims sighted Cape Cod and tried tofollow the coastline south. After encoun-tering rough weather, they turned back.

Although they were not where theyexpected, the Pilgrims were not com-pletely lost. In 1614 the VirginiaCompany had hired Captain John Smithto explore the region. The Pilgrims had a copy ofJohn Smith’s “Map of New England,” and theydecided to settle in the area labeled “Plymouth.”

According to William Bradford, one of thecolony’s leaders, the Pilgrims went to work build-ing homes as soon as they arrived atPlymouth. After constructing a “commonhouse,” the settlers built modest homes offrame construction and thatched roofs. Soon,however, a plague swept through the colony,sparing only 50 settlers.

Even the surviving Pilgrims might have per-ished were it not for the help of Squanto, aNative American man who taught them abouttheir new environment. Bradford wrote thatSquanto “directed them how to set their corn,where to take fish and [how] to procure othercommodities.” Squanto also helped thePilgrims negotiate a peace treaty with theWampanoag people who lived nearby. The fol-lowing autumn, the Pilgrims joined with theWampanoag in a three-day festival to celebratethe harvest and give thanks to God for theirgood fortune. This celebration later became thebasis for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Summarizing How didSquanto help the Pilgrims?

The Puritans Found MassachusettsLess than five years after the Pilgrims left

England, King Charles took the throne, and persecu-tion of the Puritans mounted. At the same time, adepression struck England’s wool industry. Thedepression caused high unemployment, particularlyin the southeastern counties where large numbers ofPuritans lived.

As he watched his fellow Puritans suffering bothreligious and economic hardships, John Winthrop, an

attorney, grew concerned. Winthrop and severalother wealthy Puritans were stockholders in

the Massachusetts Bay Company. The com-pany had already received a charter fromKing Charles to create a colony in NewEngland. Convinced that Puritans nolonger had a future in England, Winthropdecided to change what had been a busi-ness investment into something more: arefuge for Puritans in America.

Other Puritans embraced the idea,and in March 1630, 11 ships carryingabout 900 settlers set sail. En route, in asermon titled “A Model of ChristianCharity,” John Winthrop boasted that the

new colony would be an example to the world: “TheLord will make our name a praise and glory. . . . Weshall be like a City upon a Hill; the eyes of all peopleare on us.”

Reading CheckSolemn Signing Tompkins Matteson painted his vision of the Mayflower Compact sign-ing. By signing this document, the Pilgrims wanted to set up a legal basis for their colony.How did the artist try to suggest the seriousness of the occasion? ; (See page 943for an excerpt from the Mayflower Compact.)

History Through Art


John Winthrop

Rapid Growth By the end of theyear, 17 ships had brought another1,000 settlers, and Massachusettsrapidly expanded. Several townswere founded, including Boston,which became the colony’s capi-tal. As conditions in Englandworsened, large numbers of peo-ple began to leave the country inwhat was later called the GreatMigration. By 1643 an estimated20,000 settlers had arrived in NewEngland.

GOVERNMENT

Church and State The charter ofthe Massachusetts Bay Companydefined the colony’s government.People who owned stock in thecompany were called “freemen.”All of the freemen together werecalled the General Court. TheGeneral Court was to make thelaws and elect the governor.

John Winthrop had been chosenas governor. He ignored the charter, however, andtold the settlers that only he and his assistants couldmake laws for the colony. No one knew that this vio-lated the charter, because Winthrop kept it locked ina chest.

Winthrop stayed in power for four years, but thesettlers eventually grew frustrated with how littlevoice they had in governing. In 1634 each town senttwo representatives to Boston and demanded to seethe charter. Winthrop had no basis to refuse therequest. As they read the charter, the representativesrealized that the General Court, not the governor, wassupposed to make the laws. When the General Courtassembled in May 1634, they reorganized the govern-ment. The General Court became a representativeassembly, with the freemen from each town electingup to three deputies to send to the Court each year.

As for government’s role in religion, JohnWinthrop believed that each congregation shouldcontrol its own church but that the governmentshould support religion. Laws were passed requiringeveryone to attend church. The government also col-lected taxes to support the church and regulatedmoral behavior. Gambling, blasphemy, adultery, anddrunkenness were all illegal and punished severely.

The government also discouraged new and differ-ent religious ideas. Heretics—people whose religiousbeliefs differ from the majority—were considered a

threat to the community. Settlers who publiclyuttered ideas contrary to accepted Puritan beliefscould be charged with heresy and banished.

Puritan efforts to suppress other religious beliefsinevitably sparked conflict. Eventually, just asAnglican intolerance of the Puritans had led to thefounding of Massachusetts, Puritan intolerance led tothe founding of other colonies in New England.

Synthesizing How did JohnWinthrop’s beliefs affect the government of Massachusetts?

The Founding of Rhode IslandIn 1631 a young minister named Roger Williams

arrived in Massachusetts. Williams was a strictSeparatist who believed Puritans corrupted them-selves by staying part of the Anglican Church. Hiscontinuing condemnation of the Puritan churchesangered many people, and for a time he moved toPlymouth Colony. There Williams declared that theland belonged to the Native Americans and that theking had no right to give it away.

Williams’s ideas greatly alarmed John Winthrop. Ifthe king heard that Puritan colonists were denying hisauthority, he might revoke Massachusetts’s charterand impose a royal government. If that happened, thePuritans would lose control of their churches.

Reading Check


i n H i s t o r y

Anne Bradstreet c. 1612–1672

Anne Dudley was born about 1612 inNorthampton, England. At the age of 16she married Simon Bradstreet, and twoyears later she accompanied her hus-band to America. The Bradstreets, travel-ing with John Winthrop’s party, wereamong the first settlers of the Massa-chusetts Bay Colony.

In America Anne Bradstreet faced thedifficult task of building a home in thewilderness. Despite the hard work ofraising eight children, she found time towrite poetry. In 1650 the first edition ofher poetry was published in England asThe Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up inAmerica. Bradstreet had not anticipatedthis recognition. Her brother-in-law hadsecretly taken a copy of her manuscriptto a London publisher.

Anne Bradstreetwas a devotedsupporter of herhusband, whobecame a leadingpolitical figure inMassachusetts,serving twoterms as governor.During the period of the Dominion ofNew England, he spoke out against theharsh rule of Edmund Andros. In apoem, To My Dear Loving Husband,published after her death, Annedescribed their relationship:

If ever two were one, then surely we.If ever man were loved by wife, then

thee;If ever wife was happy in a man,Compare with me ye women

if you can.

When Williams returned to Massachusetts in 1633,he continued to challenge Puritan authority. InOctober 1635, the General Court ordered him to leavethe colony. With five friends, Williams headed southto establish his own colony. He purchased land fromthe Narragansett people and founded the town ofProvidence in 1636. In Providence, the governmenthad no authority in religious matters. Different reli-gious beliefs were tolerated rather than suppressed.

In the midst of the uproar over Roger Williams, adevout Puritan named Anne Hutchinson begancausing a stir in Boston. Hutchinson held prayermeetings in her home to discuss sermons and com-pare ministers. She soon began claiming to knowwhich ministers had salvation from God and whichdid not. Puritan leaders understood that Hutchinsonwas attacking the authority of ministers. In late 1637,the General Court charged her with heresy.

When questioned, Hutchinson vigorouslydefended herself. Then she made a mistake. Whenasked how God let her know “which was the clear[correct] ministry and which the wrong,” sheexplained that God spoke to her directly. In so doing,Hutchinson flatly contradicted the Puritan belief thatGod spoke only through the Bible. The General Courtimmediately banished her for heresy. Hutchinsonand a few followers headed south and founded thetown of Portsmouth.

Over the next few years, Massachusetts banishedother dissenting Puritans. They too headed southand founded Newport in 1639 and Warwick in 1643.In 1644 these two towns joined Portsmouth andProvidence to become the colony of Rhode Islandand Providence Plantations. Religious freedom was akey part of the colony’s charter.

Explaining Why were RogerWilliams and Anne Hutchinson banished from Massachusetts?

The River Towns of ConnecticutIn 1636 the Reverend Thomas Hooker asked the

General Court of Massachusetts for permission tomove his entire congregation to the ConnecticutRiver valley. His congregation wanted to relocatebecause they did not have enough land to raise cattle.Hooker, moreover, was frustrated by theMassachusetts political system. He thought thateveryone should be allowed to vote, not just churchmembers. Hooker argued that “the foundation ofauthority is laid in the consent of the governed.”

The General Court granted Hooker’s request. Afew months later, some 100 settlers headed to the

Connecticut River and founded the town of Hartford.Hooker’s congregation joined two others in the areathat had established Windsor and Wethersfield. In1637 the towns joined together to create their ownGeneral Court. Two years later, they adopted theFundamental Orders of Connecticut, a constitutionwhich allowed all adult men, not just church mem-bers, to vote and serve in government. ; (See page 944for more on the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.)

East of the Connecticut River lived the Pequotpeople. At first the Pequot chief Sassacus, who ruledboth the Pequot and the Mohegan people, toleratedthe English settlers because he needed allies againstthe Narraganset people in Rhode Island. In 1636,however, two Massachusetts traders were killed inPequot territory. When Massachusetts sent troops topunish the Pequot, war erupted, and the Pequotbegan raiding towns along the Connecticut River.

In April 1637, the Pequot surprised the town ofWethersfield and killed nine people. Furious, theConnecticut settlers assembled an army under the command of Captain John Mason. Seizing theopportunity to free themselves, the Moheganrebelled against the Pequot and sent warriors to

Reading Check

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N.Y.Portsmouth, 1623

Salem, 1626

Boston, 1630Plymouth, 1620

Providence, 1636New Haven,

1638

Hartford, 1636

New England Colonies, c. 1700

1. Interpreting Maps How long after the establishment ofPlymouth Colony was Boston founded?

2. Applying Geography Skills Which English settlementwas not located directly on the coast?

fight alongside Mason’s troops. The Pequots’ bitterrivals, the Narraganset, also joined in the attack.

Mason took his force up the coast by ship andattacked the Pequot from the east. He and his NativeAmerican allies surrounded the main Pequot fortnear Mystic Harbor and set it on fire. When thePequot tried to surrender, the Connecticut troopsopened fire, killing about 400 people, includingwomen and children. The Connecticut General Courtthen put a bounty on the surviving Pequot. Manywho were captured or surrendered were sold intoslavery, while others were given to the Narragansetand Mohegan as war prizes. The Pequot were treatedso poorly by the other Native Americans that in 1655,the Connecticut government resettled the survivorsin two villages near the Mystic River.

Contrasting How did Connecticut’sconstitution differ from that of Massachusetts?

New Hampshire and MaineNot all of the settlers who left Massachusetts

headed for Rhode Island or Connecticut. AlthoughAnne Hutchinson had moved south, 36 of her follow-ers headed north and founded the town of Exeter.During the 1640s, several other towns were alsoestablished north of Massachusetts. Many of the set-tlers in these towns were fishers and fur traders.

Much of the territory north of Massachusetts hadbeen granted to two men, Sir Fernando Gorges andCaptain John Mason. The pair split their holdings,with Mason taking the southern part and naming itNew Hampshire, and Gorges taking the territory in

the north, which he called Maine. The government ofMassachusetts, however, challenged the claims ofboth men. In 1677 an English court ruled againstMassachusetts. Two years later, New Hampshirebecame a royal colony. Meanwhile, Massachusettsbought Maine from Gorges’s heirs, and Maineremained part of Massachusetts until 1820.

Identifying What two colonies wereestablished north of Massachusetts?

King Philip’s WarFor almost 40 years after the Pequot War, the set-

tlers and Native Americans of New England hadgood relations. The fur trade helped keep the peacebecause it enabled Native Americans to acquire tools,guns, and other European goods, while the settlersacquired furs. By the 1670s, however, the fur tradewas in decline, and colonial governments weredemanding that Native Americans follow Englishlaws and customs. Native Americans felt that theEnglish were trying to destroy their way of life.

Tensions peaked in 1675 when Plymouth Colonyarrested, tried, and executed three Wampanoag for amurder. This touched off what came to be calledKing Philip’s War, named after the Wampanoagleader Metacomet, whom the settlers called KingPhilip. After the colonists won the war in 1678, veryfew Native Americans were left in New England.New England now belonged to the English settlers.

Analyzing In what way was KingPhilip’s War a turning point for Native Americans?

Reading Check

Reading Check

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Define: Separatist, Pilgrim, heretic.2. Identify: Squanto, Great Migration,

Anne Hutchinson.3. Explain why the Pilgrims and the

Puritans migrated to America.

Reviewing Themes4. Culture and Traditions How did

Thomas Hooker’s beliefs promote theidea of separation of church and state?

Critical Thinking 5. Comparing In what ways were the

causes and effects of the Pequot Warand King Philip’s War similar?

6. Categorizing Use a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to list the NewEngland colonies and the reasons fortheir founding.

Analyzing Visuals7. Examining Art Study the painting of

the signing of the Mayflower Compacton page 49. Do you think the artist’sdepiction of the people and the ship isaccurate, considering that they havejust completed a long journey? Why orwhy not?

8. Descriptive Writing Imagine you are a Pilgrim in the Plymouth colony. Writea letter to your friends in Europedescribing your first few weeks in thenew land.


Colony Reasons Founded


On August 26, 1664, an English fleet arrived near the Dutch town of New Amsterdam. Itscommander sent a note to Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland, demanding thetown surrender. Stuyvesant bellowed that he would rather “be carried out dead in his coffin.”Badly outnumbered, however, leading Dutch citizens petitioned the governor to surrender:

“We, your sorrowful community and subjects, beg to represent, with all humility, that wecannot conscientiously foresee that anything else is to be expected . . . than misery, sorrow,conflagration, the dishonor of women . . . and, in a word, the absolute ruin and destructionof about fifteen hundred innocent souls, only two hundred and fifty of whom are capable ofbearing arms. . . .”

Two days later, Stuyvesant watched two English warships approach. Beside him stood agunner, ready to fire. The minister at New Amsterdam talked to the governor, then led himaway. On September 8, the Dutch surrendered, and New Amsterdam became New York.

—adapted from A New World and Colonial New York

1642English CivilWar begins

#1670 #1730

The English Civil War and the ColoniesThe fall of New Amsterdam and the founding of New York in 1664 marked the begin-

ning of a new wave of English colonization in America. For more than 20 years, colo-nization had been at a standstill because of the violent struggle between the Puritans

The Middle andSouthern Colonies

#1700

1660English monarchyrestored

1664English captureNew Amsterdam

1681William Penn receivescharter for Pennsylvania

1733First English settlersarrive in Georgia


#1640

Main IdeaAfter the English Civil War, economic,strategic, and religious factors led to thefounding of seven new English coloniesalong the Atlantic seaboard.

Key Terms and NamesEnglish Civil War, William Penn, pacifism,James Oglethorpe, debtor

Reading ObjectivesOrganizing As you read about thegrowth of the Middle and SouthernColonies, complete a graphic organizerlisting ways that colonies attractedsettlers.

Reading Objectives• Explain the effect of the English Civil

War on the American colonies.• Summarize why the English colonies

succeeded.

Section Theme Global Connections The end of theEnglish Civil War marked a renewal ofBritish colonization in America.

Ways toAttract Settlers

Peter Stuyvesant

and the English king. The war was also political.Many English people felt the king was ruling as anabsolute ruler and failing to consult Parliament.

The English Civil War began in 1642 when KingCharles I sent troops into Parliament, which wasdominated by Puritans, to arrest Puritan leaders.In response, Parliament organized an army.Parliament’s forces defeated the king’s troops, and in1649 the king was put to death. A few years later,Oliver Cromwell, the commander of Parliament’sarmy, seized power and became dictator of England.

By the time of Cromwell’s death in 1658,England’s leaders longed for stability. The armyreturned Parliament to power, and King Charles’sson, Charles II, took the throne in 1660. With themonarchy restored, the English government beganenthusiastically backing a new round of colonizationin America. Colonies were no longer seen as riskybusiness ventures, but as vital sources of raw materi-als and as markets for English goods.

Examining Why were the Englishenthusiastic about colonization after the English Civil War?

New York and New JerseyKing Charles II was especially interested in the

land between Maryland and Connecticut, which wascontrolled by the Dutch. If he could control thisregion, it would link Virginia and Maryland to NewEngland.

In 1609 navigator Henry Hudson explored theHudson River valley for a group of Dutch merchants.The Dutch claimed the region, calling it NewNetherland, and established their main settlement atNew Amsterdam on Manhattan Island.

The colony grew slowly, partly because the furtrade was the focus of activity. To increase the popu-lation, the Dutch allowed anyone from any countryto buy land. This strategy worked, and by 1664 thecolony had more than 10,000 people. The need forlabor also brought unwilling immigrants, as theDutch first brought enslaved Africans in the 1620s.

By 1660 the Dutch and the English had becomecommercial rivals. The Dutch often defied Englishlaws meant to control colonial trade, as when theyhelped English colonists smuggle tobacco to Europe.

Reading Check

Comparing European Colonies in the Americas, c. 1700

1490s–early 1500s

English

Colony PopulationEarly Settlement Areas WhereConcentrated

Political and EconomicOrganization

EconomicFocus

Spanish

French

Between 5–7million(includingconqueredNativeAmericans)

Mexico, Florida, Texas,Central America, the Caribbean, California, New Mexico, north and west coast of South America

Governors withstrong links to Spain;large bureaucracy;encomiendas and haciendas

Gold, silvermining; ranching

1490s–early explorers;early 1600s–permanentsettlements

250,000 Eastern seaboard ofNorth America

Governors with weaklinks to English Crown;elected assemblies; small farms; plantations;private merchants

Trade andfarming

1535–early explorers;1670s–permanentsettlements

15,000 St. Lawrence River;Louisiana territory;outposts on GreatLakes and Mississippi River

Strong governors;large estates

Exporting furs


England’s quest for colonies brought it into direct conflict with Spain andFrance.Making Generalizations How did the economic activity of the Englishcolonies differ from the Spanish and French?

In 1664 King Charles decided to take NewNetherland from the Dutch. After he had done so,Charles granted the land to his brother, James, theDuke of York. The colony was renamed New York, inJames’s honor. James also received land betweenDelaware Bay and the Connecticut River.

James later granted some of this land to two of theking’s advisers and named it New Jersey. To attractsettlers, New Jersey offered generous land grants,religious freedom, and the right to have a legislativeassembly. Such good terms attracted many settlers,including a number of Puritans.

Summarizing Why did KingCharles II want to seize New Netherland from the Dutch?

Pennsylvania and DelawareWilliam Penn was another of King Charles’s bene-

ficiaries. The king owed a debt to Penn’s dead fatherand repaid it even though Penn was a member of theQuakers, a religious group the king had banned. TheQuakers viewed religion as a personal experience.They saw no need for ministers and viewed the Bibleas less important than each person’s “inner light”from God. Because of their beliefs, Quakers oftenobjected to political laws, for example, those requiringtax payment. They specifically advocated pacifism—opposition to war as a means of settling disputes.

In 1681 the king followed through on his promiseand granted Penn land that lay across the DelawareRiver from New Jersey. Penn wanted his new colonyof Pennsylvania to be a refuge for the persecuted of allnations—the colony would be a “holy experiment.”Penn also tried to treat Native Americans fairly. Hesigned a treaty with a local group in 1682, bringingmany years of peace to the people of Pennsylvania.

Penn named the capital Philadelphia, from theGreek meaning “city of brotherly love.” The colony’sgovernment provided for an elected assembly and aguarantee of religious freedom. The right to vote waslimited, however, to people with 50 acres of land andwho professed Christianity.

The availability of land attracted English andWelsh Quakers, but German and Scotch-Irish settlerscame as well. By 1684 Pennsylvania had more than7,000 residents, and by 1700 Philadelphia rivaledBoston and New York as a center of trade and com-merce. In 1682 Penn bought three counties south ofPennsylvania from the Duke of York. These “lowercounties” became the colony of Delaware.

Evaluating Why did William Pennregard Pennsylvania as a “holy experiment”?

New Southern ColoniesWhile King Charles encouraged colonization

between the Chesapeake Bay region and NewEngland, he also took a keen interest in the unsettledland between Virginia and Spanish Florida. The yearbefore he granted New York to his brother, Charleshad awarded a vast territory south of Virginia toeight friends and political allies. The land was namedCarolina, from the Latin for “Charles.”

Reading Check

Reading Check


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The Middle and SouthernColonies, 1735

Middle Colonies

Southern Colonies

1. Interpreting Maps Name the four southernmost portcities.

2. Applying Geography Skills Why were so many earlycolonies located on or near bodies of water?

North Carolina From thebeginning, Carolina devel-oped as two separate regions.North Carolina was home toa small and scattered popula-tion of farmers. The lack ofgood harbors hinderedgrowth, and the colony hadonly 3,000 people by 1700.Eventually, the farmersbegan growing tobacco forsale. They also used nativepine to make and exportshipbuilding supplies.

South Carolina The proprietors of Carolina werealways far more interested in the southern half oftheir holdings, where they hoped to cultivate sugar-cane. In 1670 three ships brought settlers fromEngland to South Carolina. They named their firstsettlement, Charles Town, after the king.

The first years of the new colony were difficult.Sugarcane, as it turned out, did not grow well. Thefirst product exported in large quantity was deerskin,popular for English leather. The colony also began tocapture and enslave Native Americans, who wereshipped to plantations in the Caribbean.

The Georgia Experiment In the 1720s, GeneralJames Oglethorpe, a wealthy member of Parliament,began investigating English prisons. He wasappalled to find so many debtors—people whocould not pay their debts—behind bars. Oglethorpe

asked King George II for a colony south of SouthCarolina where the poor could start over.

The English government saw several advantagesto a new southern colony. It would help England’spoor and provide a strategic buffer to keep Spainfrom expanding north. King George grantedOglethorpe and his friends permission to settlebetween the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers. Thenew colony was named Georgia, in honor of the king,and the first settlers arrived in 1733.

Oglethorpe and his fellow trustees banned slavery,rum, and brandy in Georgia, and they limited thesize of land grants. Still, the colony attracted settlersfrom all over Europe, including Scotch-Irish, Welsh,Germans, Swiss, and Italians. Increasingly the set-tlers objected to the colony’s strict rules. In the 1740s,the trustees lifted the restrictions on brandy, rum,and slavery, and in 1750, they granted the settlerstheir own elected assembly. The next year, thetrustees gave control back to the king, and Georgiabecame a royal colony.

By 1775 roughly 2.5 million people lived inEngland’s American colonies. Despite the stumblingstart in Jamestown, the English had succeeded inbuilding a large and prosperous society on the eastcoast of North America.

England’s success, however, would prove itsundoing. By permitting new patterns of land owner-ship and new types of worship and government in itscolonies, the English government had planted theseeds of rebellion.

Summarizing In what ways wasEngland permissive with its American colonies?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Define: pacifism, debtor.2. Identify: English Civil War, William

Penn, James Oglethorpe.3. Summarize how the Quakers came to

have a colony of their own.

Reviewing Themes4. Global Connections After Charles II

became king, why did the English gov-ernment openly work to promote colo-nization in North America?

Critical Thinking 5. Analyzing Why did England regard the

Dutch and Spanish presence in NorthAmerica as a threat, and how didEngland respond?

6. Categorizing Use a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to list the reasons that the listed colonies werefounded.

Analyzing Visuals7. Analyzing Charts Study the chart on

page 54 on Spanish, English, andFrench colonization. In political organi-zation, what was a trait of the Englishcolonies that the French and Spanishcolonies did not share?

8. Persuasive Writing Imagine you havebeen hired by the proprietors of NewJersey to persuade settlers to come totheir colony. Write an editorial for anewspaper in England to convince people to settle in New Jersey.


Colony Reasons Founded

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Student WebActivity Visit theAmerican RepublicSince 1877 Web site at

and click on StudentWeb Activities—Chapter 2 for anactivity on Englishsettlers in America.

HISTORY

tarvol2.glencoe.com


57

Social Studies

Understanding the Parts of a MapWhy Learn This Skill?

Maps can direct you down the street or aroundthe world. There are as many different kinds ofmaps as there are uses for them. Being able to reada map begins with learning about its parts.

Learning the SkillMaps usually include a key, a compass rose, and

a scale bar. The map key explains the meaning ofspecial colors, symbols, and lines used on the map.On a road map, for example, the key tells whatmap lines stand for paved roads, dirt roads, andinterstate highways.

After reading the map key, look for the compassrose. It is the direction marker that shows the cardi-nal directions of north, south, east, and west. Ameasuring line, often called a scale bar, helps youestimate distance on a map. The map’s scale tellsyou what distance on the earth is represented bythe measurement on the scale bar. For example,1 inch (2.54 cm) on the map may represent 100 miles(160.9 km) on the earth. Knowing the scale allowsyou to visualize the extent of an area and to measuredistances.

Practicing the SkillThe map on this page shows the early English

colonization of the eastern coast of North America.Look at the parts of the map, and then answer thequestions.

1 What information is given in the key?

2 What body of water serves as the eastern bor-der for the colonies?

3 What color represents the Middle Colonies?

4 What is the approximate distance, in miles,between the settlements of Charles Town andJamestown?

5 What is the approximate distance, in kilome-ters, between the northernmost and southern-most settlements shown on the map?

Skills AssessmentComplete the Practicing Skills questions on

page 71 and the Chapter 2 Skill ReinforcementActivity to assess your mastery of this skill.

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HartfordNew Haven

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Philadelphia

St. Mary's

The Thirteen Colonies, 1750

Town or City

New England Colonies

Middle Colonies

Southern Colonies

Applying the SkillUnderstanding the Parts of a Map Study the map ofEuropean Explorations and Settlements on page 43.Use the map to answer the following questions.

1. When did Marquette and Joliet explore theMississippi River?

2. What English explorer arrived in North America atthe end of the 1400s?

3. Which explorer traveled the farthest north?

Glencoe’s Skillbuilder Interactive WorkbookCD-ROM, Level 2, provides instruction andpractice in key social studies skills.

MotionIn

William Byrd II, a wealthy Virginia planter in the 1700s, played a central role inhis colony’s government. In addition to serving as colonel of the county militia andas a member of the House of Burgesses, Byrd founded the city of Richmond andexperimented with a variety of crops on his plantation. His wealth gave him theleisure to pursue cultural interests, and he amassed over 4,000 books—the biggestprivate library in the colonies. He left behind several diaries detailing life onSouthern plantations. On January 27, 1711, he noted:

“I rose at 5 o’clock and read two chapters in Hebrew and some Greek in Lucian.I said my prayers and ate boiled milk for breakfast. . . . I settled several accounts;then I read some English which gave me great light into the nature of spirit. . . . Inthe afternoon my wife and I took a little walk and then danced together. Then Iread some more English. At night I read some Italian and then played at piquet[a card game] with my wife. . . . I said my prayers and had good health, goodthoughts, and good humor, thank God Almighty.”

—quoted in The Growth of the American Republic


#1660 #1760

Southern SocietyIn the Southern Colonies, wealthy planters like William Byrd stood on society’s top

rung. They were sharply divided from enslaved Africans at the bottom and small farm-ers in the middle. What linked all groups, however, was an economy based onagriculture.

Colonial Ways of Life

#1620 #1720

1619First Africans arrivein North America

1676Bacon’s Rebellion

1692Salem witchcrafttrials begin

1705Virginia slavecode introduced

1740sIndigo first cultivatedin South Carolina

William Byrd’sWestover plantation

Main IdeaThe Southern Colonies developed agricul-tural economies, while the New Englandand Middle Colonies developed commer-cial economies.

Key Terms and Names cash crop, indentured servant, subsis-tence farming, Nathaniel Bacon, slavecode, entrepreneur, capitalist, triangulartrade

Reading StrategyOrganizing As you read about life in theSouthern, New England, and MiddleColonies, complete a graphic organizersimilar to the one below describing howthe geography of each region affected itseconomic development.

Reading Objectives• Describe the Southern economy and

the plantation system.• List the geographical conditions that

determined the New England Colonies’economy.

Section ThemeCulture and Traditions At first, slaverywas not used in the colonies, but by thelate 1600s, it was in widespread use inthe Southern Colonies.

Region Geography EconomicActivities

Tobacco, Rice, and Indigo The Jamestown colonymade tobacco the South’s first successful cash crop,or crop grown primarily for market. Tobacco took offin Virginia and Maryland and, to a lesser extent, inNorth Carolina.

In early colonial days, there was plenty of land fortobacco farmers, but not enough labor to work it.England had the opposite problem. The English enclo-sure movement had forced many peasants off theland. Many of them, hoping to acquire their own landin America, became indentured servants. They madelabor contracts with colonists, agreeing to work for aset term, usually four years. In return, the colonistwould pay for a servant’s passage and provide food,clothing, and shelter until the contract expired.

For many years, indentured servitude benefitedtobacco planters. By 1760 they were producing morethan 80 million pounds of tobacco per year.Unfortunately, close to half of the indentured servantswho came to Virginia and Maryland in the 1600s diedbefore earning their freedom. Of those who didbecome free, less than half acquired their own land.

In South Carolina, meanwhile, after trying unsuc-cessfully to grow sugarcane, settlers turned to rice.This too failed at first, but in the 1690s, a new varietywas introduced, and enslaved Africans wereimported to cultivate it. Rice rapidly became a majorcash crop in both South Carolina and Georgia.

In the early 1740s, South Carolina began todevelop another cash crop called indigo, used tomake blue dye for cloth. Indigo was a good secondcrop for rice farmers and it could be planted whererice could not. A 17-year-old named Eliza Lucas haddiscovered that indigo needed high ground andsandy soil, not the wetlands that suited rice.

Disparities in Wealth Tobacco and rice farmingrequired difficult and tedious manual labor. Planterswho could afford to bring in many slaves or inden-tured servants received extra land under the head-right system. With a large labor force and acreage,these planters could produce a much larger crop,multiply their earnings, and build expansive estates.

The wealthy plantation owners, sometimes referredto as the Southern gentry or the planter elite, were fewin number, but they enjoyed enormous economic andpolitical influence. They served in the governing coun-cils and assemblies, commanded the local militias, andbecame county judges. With few towns or roads in theregion, their plantations functioned as self-containedcommunities. In addition to the planter’s large house,the workers’ cabins, and stables and barns, largeplantations often had a school, a chapel, and

workshops for blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers,coopers (barrel makers), and leatherworkers.

The majority of landowners in the colonial South,however, were small farmers living inland. These“backcountry” farmers worked small plots of landand lived in tiny houses. Although they grew sometobacco, they largely practiced subsistence farming,raising only enough to feed their families.

Landless tenant farmers made up another group inthe South. Although land itself was easy to acquire,many settlers could not afford the costs of the deed,land survey, tools, seed, and livestock. Instead theyworked land that they rented from the planter elite.Tenant farmers usually led difficult lives but hadhigher social status than indentured servants or slaves.

Discussing What led to the rise ofthe planter elite in colonial Southern society?

Bacon’s RebellionBy the 1660s, Virginia’s government was domi-

nated by wealthy planters led by the governor, SirWilliam Berkeley. Berkeley arranged to restrict vot-ing to property owners, cutting the number of votersin half. Berkeley also exempted himself and hiscouncilors from taxation. These actions angered thebackcountry farmers and tenant farmers. Ultimately,however, it was the governor’s policies towardNative American lands that led to a rebellion.

Crisis Over Land The most important issue formost colonists was to acquire land. Many indenturedservants and tenant farmers wanted to own farmseventually. Backcountry farmers wanted to expandtheir holdings. By the 1670s, most land left was inareas claimed by Native Americans in the Piedmont,the region of rolling hills between the coastal plainsand the Appalachians.

Most wealthy planters lived near the coast in theregion known as the Tidewater. They had no interestin the backcountry and did not want to endanger theirplantations by risking war with the Native Americans.Therefore, they opposed expanding Virginia’s terri-tory into Native American lands.

In 1675 war broke out between settlers and aSusquehannock group. When Governor Berkeleyrefused to support further military action, backcoun-try farmers were outraged. In April 1676, a group ofthem met to discuss the situation. Nathaniel Bacon, awell-to-do but sympathetic planter, took up theircause. Bacon organized his own militia and attackedthe Native Americans. He then ran for office and won

Reading Check


a seat in the House of Burgesses. The assembly imme-diately authorized another attack on the NativeAmericans. It also restored the right to vote to all freemen and took away the tax exemptions Berkeley hadgranted to his supporters.

These reforms did not satisfy Bacon, however. Hemarched to Jamestown in July 1676 with several hun-dred armed men and charged Berkeley with corrup-tion. Berkeley fled to raise his own army, and a civilwar erupted. The two sides battled for control ofJamestown until September 1676, when the townburned down. Bacon’s Rebellion ended abruptly thenext month, when Bacon, hiding in a swamp, becamesick and died. Without his leadership, his army rap-idly disintegrated, and Berkeley returned to power.

Slavery Increases in Virginia Bacon’s Rebellionconvinced many wealthy planters that land shouldbe made available to backcountry farmers. From the1680s onward, Virginia’s government generally sup-ported expanding the colony westward, regardless ofthe impact on Native Americans.

Bacon’s Rebellion also helped accelerate an exist-ing trend in Virginia. By the 1670s, many plantershad begun using enslaved Africans instead of inden-tured servants to work their plantations. In the 1680s,after the rebellion, the number of Africans brought tothe colony rose dramatically.

Planters began to switch to enslaved Africans forseveral reasons. Enslaved workers, unlike inden-tured servants, did not have to be freed and thereforewould never need their own land. In addition, whencheap land became available in the 1680s in the newcolony of Pennsylvania, fewer English settlers werewilling to become indentured servants.

At the same time, the English governmentadopted policies that encouraged slavery. Englishlaw limited trade between the English colonies andother countries. Prior to the 1670s, settlers whowanted to acquire enslaved Africans had to buy themfrom the Dutch or Portuguese, which was difficult toarrange. In 1672, however, King Charles II granted acharter to the Royal African Company to engage inthe slave trade. With an English company in the slavetrade, it was much easier to acquire enslaved people.Planters also discovered another economic advan-tage to slavery. Because enslaved Africans, unlikeindentured servants, were considered property,planters could use them as collateral to borrowmoney and expand their plantations.

Identifying What government policies caused backcountry farmers to rebel?

Slavery in the ColoniesFor enslaved Africans, the voyage to America usu-

ally began with a forced march to the West Africancoast, where they were traded to Europeans, branded,and crammed onto ships. Chained together in theships’ filthy holds for more than a month, the Africanscould hardly sit or stand. They were given minimalfood and drink, and those who died or became sickwere thrown overboard. Olaudah Equiano, a WestAfrican shipped to America in the 1760s, later wroteabout the terrible journey across the Atlantic, knownto Europeans as the Middle Passage:

“We were all put under deck. . . . The closeness ofthe place, and heat of the climate . . . almost suffo-cated us. . . . The shrieks of the women, and thegroans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene ofhorror almost inconceivable. ”

—from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African

Reading Check


Bacon’s Rebellion This uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon pitted backcountryfarmers against Virginia’s ruling gentry. From Bacon’s dress, do you think hehimself was a backcountry farmer or a member of the gentry?

History

Historians estimate that between 10 and 12 millionAfricans were enslaved and sent to the Americasbetween 1450 and 1870. On the way, roughly 2 milliondied at sea. Of the 8 to 10 million Africans whoreached the Americas, approximately 3.6 million wentto Brazil, and another 1.5 million went to the Spanishcolonies. The British, French, and Dutch colonies inthe Caribbean imported nearly 3.7 million others towork on their plantations. Approximately 427,000Africans were transported to British North America.

When the first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619,they were treated much like indentured servants.English law did not recognize chattel slavery—theactual ownership of one human being by another.

Many English settlers, however, found it accept-able to enslave Africans if they were not Christians.Over time, the number of enslaved Africansincreased in the colonies, particularly in the South,where they became the backbone of the labor force.

Beginning in the 1660s, new laws gradually low-ered the status of all Africans, regardless of theirreligion, and made slavery a hereditary system basedon race. In 1705 Virginia created a slave code—a setof laws defining the relationship between enslavedAfricans and free people. Other colonies followedsuit. Africans could not own property, testify againsta white person in court, move about freely, or assem-ble in large numbers. By the early 1700s, slavery hadbecome generally accepted in colonial society.

Explaining How did the relation-ship between English settlers and Africans change over time?

Life in New EnglandWhile the Southern Colonies depended on agricul-

ture, many New Englanders earned a living frommaritime activities or lumber. With such enterprisesand Puritan beliefs drawing colonists together, townsbecame the heart of New England society.

GEOGRAPHY

A Diverse Economy New England’s thin and rockysoil was ill suited to cash crops and the developmentof large plantations. Instead, on small farms fromConnecticut to Maine, New England colonists prac-ticed subsistence farming. The main crop was corn,but farmers grew other grains, vegetables, andberries as well. They also tended apple orchards andraised dairy cattle, sheep, and pigs.

More than any other industry, fishing broughtprosperity to New England. Nearby lay the GrandBanks, a shallow area in the Atlantic Ocean thatteemed with cod, mackerel, halibut, and herring. Inaddition, New England had good harbors and plentyof timber for building fishing boats. Colonists foundmarkets for their fish in the colonies, southernEurope, and the Caribbean.

Whaling also played a major role in NewEngland’s economy. Whale blubber was used formaking candles and lamp oil, and whale bones wereused to fashion buttons, combs, and other items.

New England developed a thriving lumber indus-try, too. Maine and New Hampshire had manywaterfalls near the coast that could power sawmills.

Reading Check

African Culture Crosses the Ocean: A Woman’s Song

On a steamy March day in 1997, in the tiny town of Senehun Ngola in Sierra Leone, WestAfrica, Mary Moran, an African American from Georgia, first met Baindu Jabati, a Sierra Leonean.The two women had something amazing in common: a song each woman had known all her life.

In an emotional meeting, Moran and Jabati shared the song that the female ancestors of each ofthem had passed down for more than 200 years. Although the melody of the American version hadchanged, the words of this song in the Mende language of Sierra Leone probably came to America’s

South on the slave ships that sailed from West Africa in the 1700s.The women in Mary Moran’s family had passed the song down

through the generations. Over time, the true origin of the song waslost. Although she had sung the song all her life, Moran never knewwhat its words meant. She imagined that it was an old African song.

Wanting to trace her family’s history, Moran consulted with ethno-musicologists, who study folk music. Moran discovered that her family’ssong came from southern Sierra Leone and that it was traditionally sungat funerals. Jabati, who had inherited the traditional duty to sing atfunerals, said that meeting Moran would have been better only if herancestors could have been there also for the joyous occasion.Mary Moran at left,

with glasses

Elmira Castle in Ghana, a former outpost of thePortuguese slave trade

Lumber cut at these mills could easily be transporteddownriver to the coast and shipped to other coloniesor to England. Demand for lumber never waned. Itwas needed for furniture, building materials, andother products such as barrels, which were used tostore and ship almost everything in the colonial era.

The lumber industry made possible anotherimportant business in New England: shipbuilding.With forests and sawmills close to the coast, shipscould be built quickly and cheaply, for 30 to 50 per-cent less than in England. By the 1770s, one out ofevery three English ships had been built in America.

If self-sufficient plantations defined the social unitin the South, New England’s social life centered onthe town. Puritans believed that Christians shouldform groups united by a church covenant—a volun-tary agreement to worship together. The commitmentto a church covenant encouraged the development ofsmall towns surrounded by farms.

Life in these small communities of farmers cen-tered around a “town common,” or open public area.Adjoining the common were the marketplace, school,and “meetinghouse,” or church. Each family had ahome lot where they could build a house and storagebuildings and plant a garden.

Local Government In the early days of colonialNew England, the General Court appointed townofficials and managed the town’s affairs. Over time,however, townspeople began discussing local prob-lems and issues at town meetings. These devel-oped into the local government, with landownersholding the right to vote and pass laws. Theyelected selectmen to oversee town matters andappoint clerks, constables, and other officials. Anyresident, however, could attend a town meetingand express an opinion.

Because the settlers in New England, unlikeEnglish peasants, were allowed to participatedirectly in local government, they developed astrong belief in their right to govern themselves.Town meetings thus helped set the stage for theAmerican Revolution and the emergence of demo-cratic government.

Puritan Society New England Puritans valuedreligious devotion, hard work, and obedience tostrict rules regulating daily life. Card playing andgambling were banned, and “Stage-Players” and“Mixed Dancing” were frowned upon. Watchingover one’s neighbors’ behavior, or “HolyWatching,” was elevated to a religious duty. ThePuritans did not lead pleasureless lives, however.They drank rum, enjoyed music, and wore brightlycolored clothing.

Synthesizing How did NewEngland town meetings prepare the colonists for the future?

Reading Check

History

GENERALFIELD

GENERALFIELD

SOUTH FIELD

NORTH FIELD

Mill

CranberrySwamp

CommonSwamp

CranberrySwamp

CommonSwamp

Near the common was the church, calledthe "meetinghouse" by Puritans.

Each household received a three- to five-acrehome lot where they built a house, a storagebuilding, and pens for livestock.

Town proprietors distributed farmland basedon each family's size, wealth, and status.

Most families, such as John Goodnow's, received several strips of land.

Around the town were common fields; townmembers jointly agreed on crops grown there,and cows grazed on the common land.

CO

M M O N

Sudb

ury R

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Sudb

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Commonly held landPrivately held lotsJohn Goodnow's holdingsResidencesMeetinghouse

Source: American History.

Sudbury, Massachusetts, c. late 1600s

Sudbury, Massachusetts The town was the basic unit of community lifein New England in the 1600s. Houses were laid out around a central pasturecalled a common. In this map, the holdings of one man, John Goodnow, arehighlighted in purple to show the way each person’s land holdings could bescattered about the town. Who decided how much land each personreceived?

Life in the Middle ColoniesThe Middle Colonies—Pennsylvania, New York,

New Jersey, and Delaware—were blessed with fer-tile land and a long growing season. Farmers pro-duced bumper crops of rye, oats, barley, andpotatoes. Most important, however, was wheat,which rapidly became the region’s main cash crop.

As merchants in the Middle Colonies began sell-ing wheat and flour to colonies in the Caribbean,they benefited from the region’s geography. Threewide rivers—the Hudson, the Delaware, and theSusquehanna—ran deep into the interior, making iteasy for farmers to ship their crops to the coast andon to more distant markets. At the same time, thou-sands of wagons moved goods overland from inte-rior farms to river towns.

In the early and mid-1700s, the demand for wheatsoared, thanks to a population explosion in Europetriggered by the decline of disease. Between 1720 and1770, wheat prices more than doubled in the MiddleColonies, bringing a surge of prosperity. Europe’spopulation growth also brought a new wave of

immigration to America, particularly to the MiddleColonies where land was still available.

Some farmers grew rich by hiring poor immi-grants to work on their farms to increase their wheatproduction. Other colonists became entrepreneurs,businesspeople who risk their money, by buyingland, equipment, and supplies and selling them toimmigrants for a profit.

The wheat boom created a new group of wealthycapitalists who had money to invest in new busi-nesses. Although industry did not develop on a largescale during the colonial era, these early capitalistsdid build many large gristmills near New York andPhiladelphia that produced vast quantities of flourfor export. Other early capitalists in the MiddleColonies established glass and pottery works.

Identifying What crop was mostimportant to farmers in the Middle Colonies?

Trade and the Rise of CitiesIn the early colonial era, settlers lacked money to

invest in local industry. As a result, they had toimport most manufactured goods from England.Unfortunately, they produced few goods thatEngland wanted in return.

Reading Check


1,000 kilometers

1,000 miles0

0 Mercator projection

N

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30°N

0°

030 W60 W

AtlanticOcean

Manufacturedgoods, cl

othes, furnitu

re, luxuries

Lumber, furs,fish, wha

le oil, grain, n

aval stores,

rice,toba

cco,ind

igo

Sugar, molasse

s,fruit

Flour, fish,meat

Enslavedpersons,

money,molasses,sugar

Rum, cloth, tools

Enslaved persons, gold, pepper

NORTHAMERICA

BRITISHCOLONIES

BRITISHWEST

INDIES

AFRICA

EUROPE

GREATBRITAIN

Triangular Trade, 1750

Colonial exports

Colonial imports

Intercolonial trade

1. Interpreting Maps Which commodities were bothBritish colonial exports and intercolonial trade items?

2. Applying Geography Skills What products did thecolonies import from Britain? Why did they need theseproducts?

MotionIn

Triangular Trade Instead of trading directly withEngland, colonial merchants developed systems oftriangular trade involving a three-way exchange ofgoods. New England merchants, for example, soldfish, lumber, and meat to Caribbean sugar planters.As payment, they accepted raw sugar or bills ofexchange, which were credit slips from English mer-chants. New England merchants would then tradethe bills and sugar to English merchants for hard-ware, linens, and other English goods.

Trade with the Caribbean sugar plantationsenriched many New England merchants. With theirnew wealth, they built factories to refine raw sugarand distilleries to turn molasses into rum. They alsotraded with the Southern Colonies, exchanging fish,rum, and grain for rice, tobacco, and indigo.

A New Urban Society The rise of trade in thecolonies caused several Northern ports to grow rapidlyinto cities. By 1760 Philadelphia had nearly 24,000 people, making it the largest colonial city. New York

City had about 18,000 and Boston had morethan 15,000. Charles Town, South Carolina,with a population of 8,000, was the largest cityin the South. In these cities and others, a newsociety with distinct social classes developed.

At the top of the social structure werewealthy merchants who controlled the city’strade. They patterned themselves after theBritish upper class, wearing elegant importedclothing, building luxurious mansions, and rid-ing in fancy carriages. These rich merchants,however, were a tiny minority. Skilled artisansand their families made up nearly half of theurban colonial population. They included car-penters, silversmiths, glassmakers, coopers,

bakers, masons, seamstresses, and shoemakers.Alongside the artisans in social status were innkeepersand retailers who owned their own businesses.

At the bottom of urban colonial society were thepeople without skills or property. Many of these peopleloaded and serviced ships at the harbor. Othersworked as servants, washing clothes, grooming horses,cleaning houses, and sweeping streets. These peoplemade up about 30 percent of urban society. Below themin status were indentured servants and enslavedAfricans. Although relatively few enslaved peoplelived in the North, most dwelled in the cities there,making up 10 to 20 percent of the urban population.

The rapid development of cities created manyproblems, including overcrowding, crime, pollution,and epidemics. In response, city governments estab-lished constables’ offices and fire departments, andcharities arose to help the poor.

Examining What occupation madeup the majority of the wealthiest class in colonial society?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Define: cash crop, indentured servant,

subsistence farming, slave code, entre-preneur, capitalist, triangular trade.

2. Identify: Nathaniel Bacon.3. Describe how Europe’s population

explosion in the 1700s affected theMiddle Colonies.

Reviewing Themes4. Culture and Traditions Why did slav-

ery become so important to theSouthern Colonies?

Critical Thinking5. Analyzing How did the slave trade

develop in the Americas?6. Organizing Complete a chart like the

one below listing the causes and conse-quences of Bacon’s Rebellion.

Analyzing Visuals7. Examining Art Study the painting on

page 60 depicting Bacon’s Rebellion.What motivated Nathaniel Bacon tolead his rebellion against the Virginiagentry?

8. Descriptive Writing Imagine you arean artisan in a Northern city in 1760.Write a letter to a friend in England,describing your daily life and urbansociety.


Causes Consequences

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Laid out along a river with farmsteads on the village outskirts,this town is typical of many in the Middle Colonies. What was the region’s main cash crop?

History


In the second half of the 1600s and the early 1700s, the British Parliament passed a seriesof laws that restricted and controlled colonial manufacturing. One of these laws affected thehat industry and another affected the iron industry. These laws annoyed many colonists,including Benjamin Franklin, who argued:

“The hatters of England have prevailed to obtain an act in their own favor restraining thatmanufacture in America. . . . In the same manner have a few nail makers and a still smallerbody of steelmakers (perhaps there are not half a dozen of these in England) prevailedtotally to forbid by an act of Parliament the erecting of slitting mills or steel furnaces inAmerica; that Americans may be obliged to take all their nails for their buildings and steelfor their tools from these artif