THE ENGLISH IN NORTH AMERICABy: Sabrina Kiss

American Colonies 6- Virginia• Neglected by the Spanish and French, the mid Atlantic

sea remains open to the English during the 1580’s.• The English colonizers wanted to receive money quick,

leading them to search for gold mines on land and Spanish treasure ships by sea.

• In 1616, colonists slowly discovered their prime product of tobacco.

American Colonies 6- Virginia

Promoters• The crown mandated colonization by

issuing licenses and monopolies deprive an adventurous, who assumed the risks in the speculative pursuit of profits.

• Wealth and power was concentrated at the narrow top of the steep social pyramid, in the hands of the monarch, an aristocracy, and a lesser aristocracy known as gentry.

• Sir Francis Drake, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir Humphrey Gilbert were prime movers that were well connected.

• Virginia plantations promise to improve the nation’s terms of trade by providing import substitutes.

Roanoke

• In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh and 100 men crossed the Atlantic to settle on Roanoke, a small island north of Carolina.

• The poor location put Roanoke at failure.

• Sir Walter Raleigh joined with John White to try to locate the colony at Chesapeake Bay, but it didn’t end up happening.

• They needed supplies and reinforcements, so White left and returned home.

American Colonies 6- Virginia

Powhatan

• In 1607, the English tried again, but this time at Chesapeake Bay, which had about 24,000 Indians all of 38 different tribes united by an Algonquian language.

• The Virginia Indians divided tasks along gender lines.

• The ruler, Powhatan led the largest, most powerful tribe that the English found along the Atlantic coast during the 17th century.

Encounter

• Powhatan Indians observed the English colonists. They were intrigued by the technology they brought, especially the metal tools and weapons which were sharper, stronger, and better than stone implements.

• Even though they brought these items, they learned to distrust Europeans, because of the previous abusive visits in ships.

• The colonizers felt obliged to overthrow the native culture and transform the Indians into lower sort, but the English sent no missionaries to convert the Indians of Virginia.

American Colonies 6- Virginia

Violence

• In the exploration for gold, the colonists expected the Indians to feed them.

• The Spanish success in conquering Indians by capturing the supreme chiefs were what the English hoped would work with the Powhatan, but they were wise and declined their invitations to visits Jamestown.

• The conflict between the colonists and the Algonquians remained stand still until 1613, when the English captured Powhatan’s daughter.

Tobacco

• The planters learned how to raise tobacco in 1616.

• As tobacco expanded and the demand became higher, the planters needed more land to grow, soon to be acquired at the Indian expense.

• On March 22 1622, a coordinated surprise attack, the Indians destroyed the outline plantations. This attack killed 347 men, women, and children, which was a third of the colonists in Virginia.

• The Chesapeake tobacco boom came too late to save the shaky Virginia company for bankruptcy.

American Colonies 12- Middle Colonies

• In the early 17th century, the English developed two distinct and common groups of settlements along the Atlantic sea.

• The Chesapeake to the south and the New England to the north.

• Until about mid century, the English ignored the dominance of the mid Atlantic coast, despite its advantages. More fertile and mild than New England, but way healthier than the Chesapeake.

• The mid Atlantic region was especially promising for cultivating grain, raising livestock and reproducing people.

American Colonies 12- Middle Colonies

• The English neglected the Dutch and Swedes to establish their own small colonies.

• The new colonies were New Netherland in the Hudson Valley and New Sweden in the Delaware Valley.

• Even though the English protested they primarily lacked the power to overthrow their rivals and believed it was wrong to try.

• The Dutch and Swedes were fellow Protestants and allies in the European wards of religion during the early 17th century.

American Colonies 12- Middle Colonies

• Mid century the English grew in power and ambition, having their rulers develop a violent jealousy of Dutch’s wealth.

• King Charles II and his brother James hoped to build within England by expanding the empire in America.

• Having New Netherland conquered helped strengthen and grow England and weakened the Dutch empire.

American Colonies 12- Middle Colonies

• The colonists obligated their distant proprietors to share political power.

• The proprietors appointed the governor and council, but propertied colonists elected an assembly

with power over finances. Englishmen

cherished legislative control over

taxation as their most fundamental

freedom. The proprietor accepted

assemblies as a means to attract

or retain propertied colonists.

American Colonies 12- Middle Colonies

• While mobilizing the 17th century, emigration across the Atlantic began to grow.

• Having a booming economy and a higher standard of living, the Dutch had less of a reason to leave home unlike the English, who suffered through a painful economic shift and hostile religious conflict.