Unit 1 - A New Frontier: Colonial America Flashcards
What is merchant capitalism?
A term used to describe the earliest phase in the development of capitalism as an economic and social system. It lacked industrialization and commercial finance
What was the enclosure movement?
A push in the 18th and 19th centuries to take community owned land and convert it to private land, usually enclosed by fences, walls, or hedges
What was mercantilism?
An economic practice that promoted regulation of a nation’s economy by the government to increase state power at the expense of rival powers
What is the Church of England?
The officially established Christian church in England and the mother church of the worldwide Angelican Communion
What was the House of Burgesses?
The first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America, which was established by the Virginia Company. The first meeting was held in Jamestown, Virginia, on July 30, 1619
What was the Headright System?
A grant of land given to settlers in the colonies in an attempt to increase the population in America
Who were the Puritans?
A group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, including English Calvinists. They worked towards religious, moral, and societal reforms
Who was Anne Hutchinson?
A religious dissenter in Puritan New England who stood as a defendant in the suppression of religious dissent in the Massachussetts bay Colony
What was a patroonship?
A deeded tract given to a landholder in an attempt to foster colonization and settlement through the immigration of new settlers
Who was William Penn?
William Penn was the founder of Pennsylvania, a philosopher, early Quaker, and real estate entrepreneur
What was Jamestown?
A settlement in the Colony of Virginia that was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was established on May 4, 1607
Who was John Smith?
John Smith was a British soldier who was a founder and great leader of the American colony of Jamestown in the early 1600s
What is tobacco?
A plant which is smoked in cigarettes, cigars or pipes once dried, or consumed as snuff, chewing tobacco, or dipping tobacco. Tobacco was a major crop and trade market to the colonists, and boosted the economy greatly
What was Bacon’s Rebellion?
An armed rebellion of Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley in 1676. The rebellion was prompted by high taxes, low prices on tobacco, and the failure to address the demands of the colonists regarding their safety, on Berkeley’s part
Who were the Separatists?
Any of the English Christians in the 16th and 17th ceturies who wanted to form independent local churches by separating from the Church of England. They were eventually known as Congregationalists
What was the “City Upon a Hill”?
A phrase from Matthew 5:14: “ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Who were indentured servants?
A system where young people paid for their voyage to America by working for an employer for a certain number of years. Food and shelter were also included in the indenture, after which the employee would be free to work independently
Who was William Bradford?
William Bradford was an English Separatist leader in Leiden, Holland, and was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. His journal, recurring the events of Plymouth Plantation, is an important historical document, and he served as Plymouth Colony Governour five times covering about thirty years
What was the Mayflower Compact?
The first governing document of Plymouth Colony, which was written by the Separatists, who traveled aboard the Mayflower
Who was John Winthrop?
A wealthy Puritan lawyer and one of the founders of the Massachussetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony
Who was Roger Williams?
An English Protestant theologian who was an early advocate of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. He also started the first Baptist church in America
Who are “the elect”?
Those whom God has predestined to salvation
What were the Navigation Acts?
A series of laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies. The Navigation Acts reflected the mercantilist policies initiated by Britain
What was the Dominion of New England?
An administrative union of English colonies in the new England region of North America. The prospect was unappealing to many colonists, who resented the stripping of their traditional rights
What were the Town Meetings?
A form of direct democratic rule in which members of a community come together to legislate policies and budgets for local government
What was the Great Awakening?
A period of religious revival which resulted in the split into the new and old religions. Jonathan Edwards was a strong pastor during the revivals, and led highly engaging sermons
