Unit 1: Important Concepts Flashcards
royal charter
formal recognition from the crown for a group, used to establish significant organizations like towns.
predestination
the religious belief that all events have been predetermined by god. this theology was perpetuated by john calvin, with his beliefs that all people are born either damned or saved by god.
indentured servitude
essentially white slaves. Indentured servants where people too poor to pay their own way to america, so other people paid for their transport in exchange for work when they got there.
conversion
one important goal of the colonials was converting the natives to christianity, which they frequently attempted with limited success. the indians where not particularly interested in the new religion. the spanish also where interested in converting the natives, but they tended to be much harsher on those that refused to convert.
propietor
the sole owner of something. the proprietor was a person or a group of people to whom a colonial territory was assigned, like a fiefdom. the proprietor was responsible for administration over the colony.
“A City Upon a Hill”
reintroduced by john winthrop’s sermon given to future Massachusetts bay colonists. his idea was that their new community would be a city on a hill, with the whole world watching. the sermon reinforced the idea that america was gods country and the idea that americans are the best.-45
joint-stock company
an early company that sold stock in itself. The virginia company being a notable example, forced to sell shares of itself in virginia to fund the colony.
“visible saints”
faith, positive speech, and donation to the church will always increase ones material wealth. it is an idea that faith will provide everything you need in the world.
freemen
freemen were indentured servants who served out their terms and where released. the majority of freemen lived on the edge of poverty, and they lived as a lower worker class than the gentry of white society.
headright system
50 acres of land where given to settlers as a kind of reward for emigrating to the new world. the land went to whoever payed for travel, so indentured servant land went to the person who paid their travel expenses.
old and new lights
a term created during the first great awakening to describe two groups that where the same, but came to a disagreement and split. this resulted in creating different religious denominations.
“Encomienda” System
a system created by the spanish crown to grant settlers a certain number of natives. the settler was supposed to protect and instruct the indians in language and religion. in exchange, the settlers could extract tribute from the natives. this was essentially slavery.
slave codes
the laws governing slave rights. in general, slavery was entirely based on skin color. whether or not a child was a slave was decided by the race of the mother, not the father.Slaves had essentially zero rights.
the “elect”
an idea that someone is chosen, that they are set aside to do more and be better then everyone else by god.
protestant ethic
the idea that hard worldly work benefits both the individual and the society, as did frugality and diligence.
