Chapter Two Summary
The American Colonies Emerge

The English Settle Jamestown

Roanoke Island colony (off the coast of North Carolina) mysteriously disappeared after being established by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585; when resupply ships returned no traces of survivors were found except for the word "Croatoan" carved in a tree

King James I granted a charter to the Virginia Company of London to form a colony in the new world

The first expedition, consisting of nearly 150 men and boys, was primarily interested in finding gold; Jamestown was founded in a swamp next to the James River; the location was deliberately chosen away from the Atlantic Coast to provide security from possible attack by French and Spanish warships

By the winter only 38 colonists were left alive and John Smith took command, forcing the colonists to begin farming and negotiating with the local Native Americans, the Powhatan

Smith would return to England after suffering injuries in a fire and a second wave of colonists arrived

Relations with the Powhatan deteriorated, and a time of famine, or "starving time" occurred, over 90% of the colonists perished

Tobacco, "brown gold" emerged as the key to the success of the colony, with John Rolfe cross-breeding local variety with seeds from South America

A headright system was organized to give new arrivals 50 acres of land to encourage immigration after 1618

Indentured servants were the major source of labor, people who were given passage across the Atlantic and food and shelter, contracted to work for four to seven years to repay the debt

Africans first arrived in 1619, as indentured servants, but over the course of the century their legal status would change, as slavery would be seen as necessary to create a tobacco economy

Conflicts with the native peoples, the Powhatan, became worse as the settlers demanded more of their land, their labor and tribute

Violence intensified between the two groups, despite Rolfe's marriage to Pocahantas

King James in 1624 revoked the charter from the Virginia Company and made Virginia a royal colony under the direct control of the King and by 1644 nearly 10,000 settlers lived in the area

Many former indentured servants were unhappy with the government's lack of protection from Indian attacks, from their lack of representation in the House of Burgesses is established in 1619 and the first assembly in English North America

Bacon's Rebellion of the 1675 resulted in Jamestown being destroyed by fire and the Governor fleeing; yeoman farmers, many of them former indentured servants, believed the colonial government favored the large landholders over their interests and that insufficient efforts were made to eliminate the threat from the area's Indians

Nathaniel Bacon dies from illness and the government officials return they reimpose their rule of the colony; it is today remembered as the largest popular rebellion prior to the American Revolution

Puritan New England

King Henry VIII brought the Reformation to England in the 1530s and established the Anglican Church, the Church of England

The Puritans believed it kept too many Catholic rituals and traditions

One group of Puritans, Separatists, argued for a complete break and immigrated to the new world as Pilgrims, arriving at present day Massachusetts, forming the Plymouth Colony in 1620

Other Puritans also planned to move to North America, for religious freedom, and to escape persecution

Massachusetts Bay Company is formed by Gov. John Winthrop in 1629, with the charter and headquarters located in Massachusetts rather than England

The English Civil War (1641-1651) which led to the execution of King Charles I allowed for the colonies to exercise more self rule than otherwise would have been the case; a long period of salutary neglect due to internal conflicts and foreign wars results despite the passage of the Trade and Navigation Acts

Over 20,000 people would come across in the next decade, to establish farming villages and a society that would be based upon Biblical principles; fishing, whaling, commercial trade and ship building would later become important because of the relatively poor soil and harsh climate of New England

Only male members of the Puritan Church were allowed to vote, and taxes supported the church, church attendance was required

In 1662 the Halfway Covenant extended provisional church membership to the children of church members

Good moral behavior was expected and required; authority within families rested with husbands/fathers, families were the central institution of Puritan society

A tradition of town meetings developed developed that gave New England residents a unique opportunity to voice their opinions regarding local issues

Roger Williams, who argued that Native Americans should be fairly compensated for any land and that people should enjoy religious freedom, was viewed as a heretic with absurd ideas, and eventually left to form a new colony, Rhode Island

Anne Hutchinson, who argued that neither churches or ministers were necessary to form a relationship with God, was arrested and banished from the colony

Conflicts with Native Americans were a constant problem, as land was desired by the colonists, and as they attempted to convert, and later remove the Indians

Many Puritans regarded the local natives as agents of the Devil, and a threat to Puritan society

Pequot War of 1637 resulted in a massacre of over 400 Indians at Mystic River

Many natives became laborers serving the needs of the colonists, forced to conform to Puritan laws and rules

King Phillip's War beginning in 1675 saw 52 colonial villages attacked and heavy casualties on both sides as the Indians fought to regain their cultural independence

Metacom, leader of the Wampanoag, who had seen his wife and children sold into slavery, would be killed in the war, and his head would be posted on a pole in Plymouth for 20 years as a reminder to the Native Americans that they should conform to Puritan rule

The Middle Colonies

William Penn received a land grant (Penn's Woods) from King Charles II as a repayment to his father for a debt

Penn was determined to establish a colony based on Quaker principles, a Protestant church considered radical at the time; Quakers were persecuted and harassed by both Puritans and Anglicans

Pennsylvania would be more democratic than many of the other colonies and enjoy better relations with Native Americans; Penn used these features as an incentive for Europeans to settle in his colony

Many Germans settled in Pennsylvania, bringing their craft and farming skills to the new world

Present day Delaware were three counties originally controlled by the Pennsylvania government, and was settled earlier by Swedes and Finns

The Dutch would claim New Netherland (New York) due to Henry Hudson's exploration of the area beginning in 1609

New Amsterdam (New York City) is established in 1625; its location on the Atlantic Coast with a good harbor and the Hudson River which flowed from upstate New York would give it a critical advantage over cities and eventually make the city the most important port in the eastern US

The fur trade and trading posts would form the basis of the Netherland economy, with a diverse population and tolerance for all the different groups inhabiting the colony

The English regarded the colony as a wedge between its northern and southern colonies, and in 1664 the Dutch were driven out without a shot by the brother of King Charles II, James, the Duke of York (and later called King James II), who would become the new proprietor, or owner of the colony

It would be renamed New York, and a portion of the territory would be given to friends of James to be called New Jersey