The British in America

The English began colonization late.

American Colonies 1. To Make Money 2. To Escape Religious Persecution Colonies were established in America for two main reasons: 1. To Make Money 2. To Escape Religious Persecution

Massachusetts Maryland Virginia

Virginia Virginia would become the most powerful and largest of the colonies. Virginia was commercial. It was a business enterprise meant to make money for England.

The first permanent settlement was Jamestown in Virginia in 1607.

The purpose of Jamestown was to make money The purpose of Jamestown was to make money. Settlers arrived expecting to find gold nuggets and gems lying on the ground. They didn’t.

The survival of Jamestown was in doubt for its first fifteen years.

Of the 108 original settlers who arrived in 1607, only 38 survived. In 1609-1610, only 60 out of 214 survived.

The introduction of tobacco growing in 1612 by John Rolfe assured its economic success.

Tobacco requires a lot of labor to grow Tobacco requires a lot of labor to grow. Where do the colonists find that labor?

In 1619, a Dutch ship brought the first 20 Africans to Jamestown In 1619, a Dutch ship brought the first 20 Africans to Jamestown. Some were hired as indentured servants. But others were sold as permanent slaves.

Thereafter, the use of African slaves became normal. The majority were sent to Spanish possessions. Most died from overwork, heat exhaustion, disease, and starvation.

Virginia So Virginia was established successfully as an agricultural colony using slave labor. In the 1700s, people created huge landholdings and some grew very rich. Thus, Virginians had a lot at stake when it came to the government in England and would play a major part in the Revolution.

Massachusetts In 1620, a group of 101 English Puritans arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Mayflower.

The were called “Puritans” by their enemies The were called “Puritans” by their enemies. They called themselves “the godly”.

Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England, believing it to be dominated by King James I and his chosen priests. Henry VIII 1491 - 1547

Refusing to recognize the King as the head of the one “true” church, the Puritans left England, settling first in Holland (1608).

In 1620, 108 Puritan “Pilgrims” set sail for North America. They landed at a place on the Massachusetts coast they called “Plymouth”.

In North America, the Puritans hoped to be free of the influence of the “government of man” and of other churches.

The Puritans are important in American history for several reasons: 1. they questioned the authority of the government to make religious decisions;

2. they stressed literacy and education for men, women, and children 2. they stressed literacy and education for men, women, and children. People should read the Bible for themselves.

3. they believed in the equality of each other in the eyes of God;

4. they believed in separation of church and state. Government should not interfere in the church, nor the church in government.

5. they believed that one way to get to heaven was to work hard and prosper here on earth. To be idle or lazy was to “do the devil’s work.” This is the so-called Protestant Work Ethic: working for the good of one’s family and for the good of society is the way to salvation.

Massachusetts Thus, Massachusetts was settled by people seeking religious freedom. These people brought with them ideals that would later influence American Revolutionaries.

Maryland As with the Puritans, the religious freedoms of English Catholics were not respected (Henry VIII’s break with the church).

The Maryland Colony In 1632, King Charles I of England gave land in North America to his Catholic friend, Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert).

Lord Baltimore established Maryland (named after the Virgin Mary) as a refuge for English Catholics, then suffering under the hostile hand of the English government.

Although it was established for Catholics, Maryland never had a Catholic majority.

In 1649, through its “Act of Toleration,” Maryland recognized ALL Christian religions as legitimate and forbade discrimination against any Christian faith. This Act is regarded as establishing the precedent for the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1791).

Maryland Thus, Maryland was established to protect religious freedom, setting a precedent for the future United States.

The American Colonies By the 1750s, 13 British colonies had been established in America. Some were to make money, others were to protect religious freedom. Each colony was separate from all the others. In the South, slavery was the predominate form of labor in an agricultural society. In the North, labor was free, and urban areas formed.

The American Colonies The economy in the north tended to be based on trade and manufacturing, not agriculture. In the south, the economy was based on exporting crops like tobacco.

The American Colonies Each also set important precedents for future Americans: the Protestant work ethic, religious freedom, religious tolerance, in the north, opposition to slavery, in the south, reliance on slavery.

Four Peoples U.S. history can be understood in terms of these groups of people struggling for their rights against each other.

What sorts of problems can you predict from these starting points?