Classifying the Colonies
By: Kenna Broomfield
Jamestown
- On the voyage to the New World in 1606-1607 40 people died: the journey to the New World was hard for the men
- On May 24, 1607 100 colonists landed at Jamestown, along the banks of James River: this was the beginning of their new lives in Virginia
- Settlers wasted their time looking for gold instead of hunting or farming: this resulted in the "Starving Time" because the settlers did not learn to hunt or farm which was crucial for their survival
- Captain John Smith stepped in to help the settlers: he taught them how to survive by hunting and farming
- The Indians and settlers did not have a good relationship: the settlers raided the Indians for supplies during the starving times
- 1614-1622 there was peace between the Powhatans and the English: the peace was sealed by the marriage of Pocahontas and Englishman John Rolfe
- Tobacco set Virgina back on track economically
- Virginia became a royal colony: In 1624 James I revoked the charter of the bankrupt VA Company
- The first Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619
- In the beginning of 1662 "Slave Codes" made blacks and their children property of white masters
Massachusetts Bay
- Puritans settled along Massachusetts Bay: Puritans formed the New England Company then later changed the name to Massachusetts Bay Company after settling here.
- John Winthrop became the governor: his goal was to build a holy society that would be a model for all human kind
- The Puritans were allowed to make their own laws in the meeting house at the center of each Puritan village: the men of the village met here to settle the problems of the community
- Made the most use out of water resources: established mills for grain and lumber, developed fishing industry, used local timber for ship building, and use harbors to promote trade
- The right to vote was limited to male church members called freemen
- Puritans did not allow settlers religious freedom: if they did not have Christianity as their religion they were forced to leave the colony
- The society was modeled on Biblical ideas with strict morals
- In 1644 the democratic branch of the Legislature, or House of Representatives came into existence
- Anne Hutchinson was banished from the colony: Governor Winthrop, and a majority of the churches deemed her sentiments heretical and seditious.
- Those practicing the Quaker faith were killed
Pennsylvania
- William Penn was a wealthy Englishmen who found Pennsylvania for Quakers
- Quakers were pacifists (non-violent), treated Indians fairly, rejected predestination
- In 1682 Penn published a form of government by which the supreme power was in a general assembly
- Charter of Privileges allowed fair dealings with Native Americans
- Penn was issued a land grant by King Charles II
- Penn established a government based on religious freedom for the Quakers
- Ranked as a leading agricultural area: wheat and corn were the leading crops
- Rejected rituals and oaths which attracted many people
- The growth of Pennsylvania was the most rapid out of any of the other colonies
- The Quakers refused to pay taxes to carry on wars
Maryland
- In 1632 a royal charter was granted to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore
- Baltimore thought that his New World possession could serve as a refuge
- A proprietary colony was created in 1634
- Tobacco was the main crop
- Baltimore allowed freedom of worship to prevent the repeat of Catholic persecution by the Protestants
- A high number of Protestants were threatened because of the rights given to Catholics
- Toleration Act of 1649 guaranteed toleration to all Christians
- Economic opportunity was what appealed many Maryland colonists
- As a result of Maryland growing tobacco low-cost labor was needed resulting in the expansion of indentured servants
- Maryland was named after England's queen Henrietta Maria
Georgia
- Was founded in 1733
- James Oglethorpe was given the charter from King George II to create the colony of Georgia
- The last of the 13 colonies
- Named in honor of King George II
- Founded by James Oglethorpe
- The main purpose for creating Georgia was a "buffer" between the Carolinas and Spanish Florida and the French Louisiana
- Exported silk and wine
- Slavery came about in Georgia by 1750
- Georgia was the first to ratify the new Constitution after the Revolutionary War ended
- A group of settlers joined Oglethorpe to find Savannah, Georgia in 1733