Classifying the Colonies
Prerana Ramadurgum
The Colony of Jamestown
- The Virginia Company of London (a joint-stock company) established this colony
- This was the first permanent British settlement in North America
- Jamestown was established in 1607
- All the settlers were English males who were not the first sons
- The settlers focused more on gold than food and shelter so malaria along with starvation wiped out most of the settlers
- John Smith saved the colony by having them farm and build shelter
- The "Starving Time" was the winter of 1609 after Smith left.
- The Powhatans and the other surrounding Native American tribes fought three wars with the colonists before peace was established through the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas
- The economy of Virginia depended on tobacco that was introduced by Rolfe
- The House of Burgesses was the "government" of Virginia
The Colony of Maryland
- The colony of Maryland was established by Lord Baltimore
- in 1634, the first settlement was established at St. Mary's
- This was a proprietary colony meaning that it was owned by a single individual rather than a joint-stock company
- It was created as a haven for Catholics who were escaping persecution in England and in the other colonies
- The 1649 Act of Toleration protected Catholics, however it outlawed all non-Christian religions
- Lord Baltimore gave special privileges to his Catholic settlers, mostly land
- Maryland exported tobacco like Virginia
- Maryland sheltered more Roman Catholics than any other English-speaking colony
- This colony was in the Chesapeake Bay Area
- Protestants outnumbered Catholics as the majority
Cecilius Calvert or aka Lord Baltimore
Maryland's Act of Toleration
1649 Act of Toleration
The Colony of Pennsylvania
- Established in 1681 by William Penn
- Penn was a Quaker which meant that he emphasized peace and tolerated everyone
- Relations with Native Americans were very good until Scottish immigrants ruined it
- Was liberal and even had a representative assembly
- Freedom of worship was granted to all
- This colony was very diverse since it attracted all kinds of people
- There was no military
- The Quakers began exporting grain and the population grew quickly, rivaled only by Virginia and Massachusetts
- Quakers were against the enslavement of Africans
- This colony was relatively wealthy since there was no State Church to use funds
Native American Relations
Pamphlet
This was how Penn advertised his colony
Quakers
Massachusetts Bay Colony
- The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by John Winthrop and John Endicott in1620
- Winthrop was governor for about 15 years and became a prominent figure in the colony
- Winthrop’s goal was to create the perfect Christian society, he wanted to make Boston “A city on a hill”
- Formed by non-separatist puritans who could no longer stay in England due to persecution
- The colony was orginally established from a charter but soon came under royal control
- The three most important cities were Plymouth, Salem, and Boston. Boston quickly became one of the largest cities in New England
- It had more favorable conditions than Jamestown and although the soil wasn't suited for agriculture, the colonists turned to mills, fish, and timber
- Fishing and Manufacturing soon became the largest economic activities. The colonists would fish and use timber to build ships in order to make the colony a trading port
- It had bad ties with England since King Charles I did not tolerate Puritans very well
- Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams were banished from the colony. Roger Williams was tolerant of other religions while the Puritans were not so he was seen as a threat to the Puritan state. Anne Hutchinson believed strongly in predestination and thought living a holy life did nothing to help, her radical ideas were also seen as threatening and she was banished.
The Colony of Georgia
- Georgia was the last of thirteen colonies, it was established in 1733 more than a hundred years after Jamestown
- Founded by James Oglethorpe
- It was created to be a buffer state between the Carolinas and Florida. The Spanish were in Florida and they would start conflicts with the Carolinians
- Was established by London philanthropists also as a social experiment but failed
- The Methodist church was founded in Georgia by John Wesley
- Plantations were established and later slaves were brought in to work in them
- Georgia was the only colony to receive subsidies from England
- It's main exports were wine and silk
- It was a very diverse colony since people from the Caribbean would travel up to Georgia
- It was a haven for debtors since prison conditions were improved by James Oglethorpe