Southern and Middle Colonies

Theme The English hoped to follow Spain's example of finding great wealth in the New World, and that influenced the financing and founding of the early southern colonies. The focus on making the southern colonies profitable shaped colonial decisions, including choice of crops and the use of indentured and slave labor. This same focus also helped create economic and cultural ties between the early southern colonies and English settlements in the West Indies.

Commonalities England established dominance by defeating Spanish. People attracted by economic opportunities as well as other freedoms Joint-stock companies pooled the savings of people of moderate means for profit Head right system—whoever paid the passage for a laborer received 50 acres

Jamestown James I charted Virginia Company in 1607 Problems: Indian attacks, famine, and disease Prosperity: based on tobacco Indentured servitude v. slavery Bankruptcy caused charter to revoked and Virginia became a royal colony

Virginia Low tobacco prices brought hard times 1676 Bacon’s Rebellion: Sir William Berkeley, royal governor adopted policies that favored large planters failed to protect frontier; Nathaniel Bacon with volunteers raided and massacres Indians, defeated governor’s forces headed to Jamestown, seat of govt, Berkeley eventually suppressed after death of Bacon Rebellion highlighted sharp class differences in planters and farmers and colonial resistance to royal control Slavery: 400 in 1650; after House of Burgesses discriminatory laws in 1660s, Africans treated as slaves

Maryland Est. 1624, proprietary colony—charter granted to individuals by King Charles I 1st Lord Baltimore (George Calvert) died 1634; son (Cecil Calvert) took over 1649 Act of Toleration—religious freedom for all Christians (Protestants and Catholics) Tobacco economy

Delaware Founded in 1638 by the Swedes (& Finns), merged with PA in 1682; became a separate English colony by 1703

The Carolinas 1670 After the Eng Rev Charles II granted land between VA and FLA to 8 nobles who helped him to the throne NC: more like VA small self sufficient tobacco farms; few harbors, poor transportation—created democratic views and autonomy from British SC: more like British West Indies; Charleston large harbor; initially economy based on fur trade and food for BWI; large rice plantations and slavery resembled BWI culture and economy

New York Founded by the Dutch in 1653 New Netherland (New York City=“New Amsterdam”[many of place names still have Dutch influence]) Became British Colony in 1664 under the Duke of York (King Charles II’s brother) Toleration in religion and culture Taxes, duties, & rents without the consent of the people; colonists opposed; finally allowed broad civil/political rights including a representative assembly

New Jersey Proprietary found in 1664 by Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret—East and West New Jersey Dutch influences Eventually combined into one colony in 1702 under royal charter

Pennsylvania Founded in 1681 by William Penn as a haven for Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) but accepted all people including Indians Representative assembly but no means for protection of colonists Became a place for business—Philadelphia a growing business center

Georgia Charted in 1733 as a proprietary colony to create a defensive buffer to protect the SC plantations and a place imprisoned debtors First governor James Oglethorpe Prohibitions on drinking and slavery Was not prosperous, became a royal colony by 1752

Questions for Discussion What did England and the English settlers really want from colonization? National glory? Wealth? Adventure? A solution to social tensions? New sources of goods and trade? Did they get what they wanted? Was the development of African slavery in the North American colonies inevitable? (Consider that it never developed in some other colonial areas, for example, Mexico and New France.) How would the North American colonies have been different without slavery? What role did the Spanish encomienda system and British sugar colonies play in introducing slavery to the southern colonies?