Chapter 2 Part 1 Flashcards
What was similar among all the 13 English colonies along the Atlantic Coast of North America?
All colonies received their identities and authorities to operate by means of a charter from the English monarch
What is a charter?
A document granting special privileges;
Each charter described in general terms the relationship that was supposed to exist between the colony and the crown
What are the three types of charters/colonies? (First type)
Corporate colonies were operated by joint-stock companies, at least during these colonies’ early years;
Ex: Jamestown, Virginia
What are the three types of charters/colonies? (Second type)
Royal colonies were to be under the direct authority and rule of the king’s government;
Ex: Virginia after 1624
What are the three types of charters/colonies? (Third type)
Proprietary colonies were under the authority of individuals granted charters of ownership by the king;
Ex: Maryland and Pennsylvania
What was different between French and Spanish colonists vs English colonists in terms of their government structures?
The English brought a tradition of representative government;
They held elections for representatives who would speak for property owners and decide important measures, such as taxes, proposed by the king’s government
By what time period was England finally in a position to colonize the lands explored more than a century earlier by John Cabot?
The 1600s
What was England’s economy and population like in the 1600s?
England’s population was growing rapidly while its economy was depressed;
The number of poor and landless people increased, so these people were attracted to the opportunities in the Americas
How did the English finance the costly and risky enterprize of finding colonies?
They used joint-stock companies
How did a joint-stock company work?
It pooled the savings of many investors, thereby spreading the risk;
Therefore, colonies on the North Atlantic Coast were able to attract large numbers of English settlers
What happened in 1607 regarding English expansion?
England’s King James I chartered the Virginia Company, a joint-stock company that founded the first permanent English colony in America at Jamestown in
1607
Why was Jamestown struggling in its first five years? (Part 1)
- It was located in a swampy area along the James River, which resulted in outbreaks of dystentry and malaria
- Many of the settlers were gentlemen who refused to labor; others were gold-seeking adventureres who refused to hunt or farm
Why was Jamestown struggling in its first five years? (Part 2: Trade)
-One key source of goods was from trade with the local American Indians, but when conflicts arose between the settlers and natives, trade would stop and settlers went hungry, which was a persistent issue
Who was the forceful leader of Jamestown at first?
Captain John Smith
How did Jamestown survive after its first five years?
Through the efforts of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, the colony developed a new variety of tobacco that would become popular in Europe and be a profitable crop
How many Virginia colonists were alive by 1624?
2,000 of the 6,000
What happened in 1624 regarding the change of the type of colony Jamestown was?
King James I revoked the charter of the noew bankrupt Virginia company and took direct control of the colony;
The name Jamestown was changed to Virginia, and it became England’s first royal colony
Why were the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies settled?
For religious motivation, not the search of wealth
Who made up the population of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies?
English Protestants who dissented from the official government-supported Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church)
What were the issues the English Protestants had with the Anglican Church?
The dissenters charged that the Church of England should break more completely with Rome and adopted Calvin’s doctrine of predestination.
What was Calvin’s doctrine of predestination?
The belief that God guides those he has selected for Salvation even before their birth
Who were the Protestant dissenters influenced by?
Swiss theologian John Calvin, founder of Calvinism
What did King James I do in response to the Protestant dissenters?
He viewed tham as a threat to his religious and political authority and ordered them arrested and jailed
Why were the radical dissenters of the Church of England known as the Separatists?
Because they wanted to organize a completely separate church that was independent of royal control
How did Separatists come to be known as Pilgrims?
Because several hundred of them left England for Holland in search of religious freedom
Why did the Pilgrims seek another haven for their religion besides Holland?
Because of economic hardship and cultural differences with the Dutch
What was the haven that the Pilgrims decided on?
They chose the new colony in America, then operated by the Virginia Company of London
What happened in 1620 regarding English expansion?
A small group of Pilgrims set sail for Virginia aboard the Mayflower. The majority of people on the ship had economic motives for making the voyage however.
Where did the Mayflower land?
After 65 days at sea, it landed off the Massachusetts coast, but instead of going to Jamestown as planned, the Pilgrims decided to establish a new colony at Plymouth
Who helped out the settlers at Plymouth?
Friendly local American Indians helped them to adapt to the land after their first winter saw half their number perish
When was the first Thanksgivine feast held and among who?
It was held in 1621 among the Pilgrims and friendly American Indians at Plymouth, Massachusetts
Under whose leadership did the Plymouth colony grow slowly but remain small?
Captain Miles Standish and Governor William Bradford
What were the mainstays of the Plymouth economy?
Fish, furs, and lumber
Why were the more moderate Protestant dissenters come to be known as the Puritans?
Because they believed that the Church of England could be reformed and they wanted to purify the church
What happened in 1625 regarding the English monarchy?
Charles I’s reign began, upon which the persecution of Puritans increased
What happened in 1629 regarding English expansion?
A group of Puritans gained a royal charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company
What happened in 1630 regarding English expansion?
About a thousand Puritans led by John Winthrop sailed for the Massachusetts shore and founded Boston and several other towns
What happened in the Great Migration of the 1630s?
Some 15,000 settlers arrived to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a civil war raged in England
What did the Virginia Company do to encourage settlement in Jamestown?
They guaranteed colonists the same rights as residents of England, including representation in the lawmaking process
What, when, and by who was the first representative assembly in America organized?
The House of Burgesses was organized in 1619 by Virginia’s colonists
What was the Mayflower Compact, and how was it formed?
The Mayflower Compact was an early form of colonial self-government and a rudimentary written constitution;
It was drawn up and signed by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who had the right to participate in yearly elections of the colony’s governor, his assistants, and a representative assembly?
All freemen (male members of the Puritan Church)
Who in the colonies had little-to-no rights?
Most colonists;
This included females, the landless, slaves, and indentured servants
What does the existence of slavery and widespread mistreatment of American Indians have to do with the democratic ideas developing in the colonies.
It shows that the gradual development of democratic ideas in the colonies coexisted with antidemocratic practices such as slavery and the widespread mistreatment of American Indians
What occured in 1632 regarding the Virginia colony?
King Charles I subdivided it; He chartered a new colony on either side of Chesapeake Bay and granted control of it to George Calvert (Lord Baltimore), thus making Maryland the first proprietary colony
Why was George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) granted control of the Maryland colony?
It was granted to him as a reward for this Catholic nobleman’s service to the crown
Who was Cecil Calvert?
He was the second Lord Baltimore after the first passed on before he could achieve great wealth in the colony while also providing a haven for his fellow Catholics;
Cecil was set about implementing his father’s plan in 1634
What was the Act of Toleration of 1649?
Calvert persuaded the assembly to adopt this act, the first colonial statute granting religious freedom to all Christians;
However, the statute also called for the dearth of anyone who denied the divinity of Jesus
What was the issue landowners encountered in growing tobacco in Maryland and Virginia?
They could get land, either by taking it from or trading for it with American Indians, but they could not find enough laborers
Why were there little laborers in Virginia?
The high death rate from disease, food shortages, and battles with American Indians meant that the population grew slowly
Who were indentured servants in the English colonies, particularly to the Virginia Company?
Under contract with a master or landowner who paid for their passage, young people from the British Isles agreed to work for a specified period (usually between foru to seven years) in return for room and board
What would happen at the end of an indentured servant’s work period?
At the expiration of that period, they gained their freedom and either worked for wages or obtained land of their own to farm
