North American Colonies

Objectives Explain why the colony of New France grew slowly. Analyze the establishment and growth of the English colonies. Understand why Europeans competed for power in North America and how their struggle affected Native Americans.

Terms and People New France – French possession in present-day Canada from the 1500s to 1763 revenue – income Pilgrims – English Protestants who rejected the Church of England compact – an agreement among people

Terms and People (continued) French and Indian War – a war between France and England that erupted in 1754 in North America and ended in 1763 Treaty of Paris – the agreement that officially ended the French and Indian War as well as other fighting between France and England, and ensured British dominance in North America

How did European struggles for power shape the North American continent? France and England followed Spain in settling North America. Though their hopes for gold or passage to Asia were not met, they did turn profits in their new domains. By 1700, the two nations controlled vast parts of North America. Their colonies were very different from those in Spanish America.

France claimed vast amounts of land in North America during the 1500s. The nation called these claims New France. Jacques Cartier explored the coastline in 1534 and discovered the St. Lawrence River. French missionaries followed the explorers, attempting with little success to convert Native Americans to Christianity. 6

The first permanent French settlement was not founded until 1608. Despite large French land claims and wide exploration, settlement was slow. The first permanent French settlement was not founded until 1608. Farming was hard in the cold Canadian climate, so many settlers became fur trappers and traders. 7

Louis XIV wanted to increase revenues from New France in the 1600s. He sent more settlers and soldiers to North America. However, he forbade Protestants from settling in New France. Partly as a result, the population of New France was smaller than that of the growing English colonies.

England established colonies along the Atlantic seaboard in the 1600s. The English founded their first permanent colony at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. The settlement was organized by an English company hoping to gain wealth from the New World. Many early settlers died of starvation. Jamestown began to thrive once the colonists started growing and exporting tobacco.

The Pilgrims arrived in present-day Massachusetts in 1620. They were English Protestants who rejected the Church of England. Seeking religious freedom, they set sail from Plymouth, England, in the Mayflower.

While still on their ship, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact. This compact, or agreement, set guidelines for governing the new colony. The Mayflower Compact was an important step toward self-government.

Many Pilgrims died during the early days of the Plymouth colony. Native Americans taught them to grow corn, fish, and survive the harsh winters. In time, a new wave of English Protestants arrived and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The English established additional colonies in the 1600s and 1700s, for many reasons. Virginia New York Commercial ventures organized for profit Massachusetts Pennsylvania Maryland Havens for persecuted religious groups Georgia South Carolina Gifts from English kings to loyal supporters

People in New England built fishing, timber, and shipbuilding industries. Those in the middle colonies grew grain. Settlers in the South grew cash crops such as rice and tobacco and developed a plantation economy. English colonists learned to create wealth by using native resources.

English colonists had a large degree of self-government. This grew out of English tradition in which both Parliament and the rights of citizens tempered the power of the king. Colonists expected the same rights as freeborn English citizens. Each colony had its own representative assembly that advised the royal governor appointed by the king.

European powers in North America began to fight in the 1600s to protect their interests—and to expand them. The two main rivals were France and England. The French and Indian War erupted between them in 1754.

The French and Indian War was part of a worldwide conflict known as the Seven Years’ War. France won several victories early on. The tide turned in 1759 when British troops captured Quebec, the capital of New France. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the war and established British dominance in North America. However, France regained sugar-producing islands in the Caribbean and slave-trading outposts in Africa that the British had seized during the war.