EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS

The Founding of Jamestown, Virginia The voyage was financed by a group of private investors known as the Virginia Company of London – hoped to establish a colony, convert Native Americans to Christianity, & return a considerable profit in gold The colonists chose a marshy location some 40 miles up the James River – believed it to be a suitable area where they could trade with Native Americans, yet have a good vantage point for guarding against an attack by the Spanish – named their settlement Jamestown

The Founding of Jamestown, Virginia 1609 – Virginia Company became a joint-stock company – allowed it to sell shares in the settlement to the public For 2 years the colony functioned under John Smith – made friends with Powhatan, the chief of the Powhatan empire – he also gained the friendship of Pocahontas 1614 – Pocahontas married John Rolfe – the economy of the colony soon grew to depend on tobacco

Jamestown Becomes a Self-Ruling Colony Virginia Company allowed Jamestown to establish its own government – residents of settlements along the James River elected representatives, called a burgess to the House of Burgesses Virginia House of Burgesses was the first representative government in America 15 of the 22 members were elected by the colony Had to be 17 years of age & own property Laws required the approval of the governor & the Virginia Company of London House of Burgesses became an elected body, representative of the colonists & acting on their behalf

Jamestown Becomes a Self-Ruling Colony 1619 – Dutch presented 20 Africans to Jamestown, selling them as indentured servants – blacks in Jamestown were not allowed to carry a gun, blacks no longer could own horses or cattle James I rescinded Jamestown’s charter & took control of the colony – making it the first royal colony in America

Jamestown Becomes a Self-Ruling Colony Nathaniel Bacon led Virginians in raids against Native Americans living in western Virginia Bacon & his followers stormed Jamestown & set it on fire, driving the governor into exile The incident showed that settlers would resist orders to restrict their movement westward Colonists moved the House of Burgesses from Jamestown (which had become an inconvenient location) to Williamsburg

New England Settlement Pilgrims seeking religious freedom set sail from England to America – some of the Pilgrims were Separatists who wanted to establish their own church, independent of the constraints of the Anglican Church, the official church of England 41 men signed the Mayflower Compact – this governing document first pledged loyalty to King James I of England

New England Settlement The Plymouth Colony continued to be governed by the principles established by the Mayflower Compact, until it was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 In 1629, a group of non-Separatist Puritans formed their own joint-stock company, the Massachusetts Bay Company, & secured a charter from King Charles I for land north of the Plymouth Colony The charter allowed for a civil government, called the General Court, which had the power to levy taxes & elect the governor & his assistants

New England Settlement When the number of freemen became too large, the General Court eventually became a 2-house representative body, with 2 to 3 deputies representing each town in Massachusetts The Puritans came to America to establish religious freedom, yet they had little tolerance for those who did not share their beliefs Church ministers agreed to the “Half-Way Covenant” – where children of church members were admitted as “half-way” members, allowing them to be baptized into the church but denying them the right to vote or take communion The hysteria over witchcraft reached a climax in the Puritan village of Salem – dozens of men, women, & children were accused of witchcraft & placed in the Salem jail – 19 people were found guilty of practicing witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials & were hanged

New England Settlement New England settlers depended on Native Americans for trade & for learning ways to adapt to the new land – Europeans brought great change, loss of land & home, & illness in the form of smallpox to Native Americans Wampanoag people hoped to clear their homeland of European settlers – led by Metacomet, known to the settlers as King Philip, they waged war on the expanding settlements in Southern New England – A New England Indian fighting on the side of the settlers killed Metacomet in 1676, effectively ending Kind Philip’s War – this paved the way for further expansion of colonial settlements in New England

The Mid-Atlantic Colonies The Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam was founded after purchasing Manhattan Island from the Manhattan people for beads & other goods – it quickly became a major trading port It was renamed New York after the Duke of York, the brother of King Charles II Thomas Hooker led a small congregation to Connecticut, where the land seemed far more suitable for farming than the rocky soil of Massachusetts Established the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut to govern the colony

The Mid-Atlantic Colonies Colony of Rhode Island began with the banishment of Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, & other religious dissidents from Massachusetts William Penn secured a large tract of land from King Charles II & founded Pennsylvania – Penn was a member of the Quakers, a group of people who practiced tolerance toward others, pacifism, religious equality for women, & who did not have an established church ministry Delaware, which formed from a section of Pennsylvania, created its own legislature in 1703

Settlement in Quebec To the north of New England lay settlements like Quebec, founded by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain – Settlers in “New France” encouraged Native Americans to embrace Catholicism & become allies against the expansion of English settlements Built up an important fur trade with the Native Americans

1. Which statement BEST explains the growth of representative government in Massachusetts Bay Colony? A. The Puritans wanted to establish order within their societies B. England encouraged self-rule among the colonies C. Religious tolerance depended on the growth of elected legislature D. Each newly chartered colony patterned itself on other colonies

2. The Mayflower Compact served to establish A. religious freedom throughout the colonies B. the possibility of self-government C. trade agreements with England and France D. a covenant between Separatists and non-Separatists

3. What was the House of Burgesses? A. the home of Puritan leaders B. home of the governor of Virginia C. the Parliament in Virginia D. an elected governing body in Virginia

4. Which phrase BEST describes the American colonies? A. religious purpose B. peace and stability C. successful from the start D. social equality