English Colonization: New England v. Virginia
Causes for English Colonization Fall of Spanish Armada in 1588 opens North Atlantic to English expansion Changes in English economy –Rise of merchant class –Joint-stock companies –Surplus population in cities
Causes for English Colonization Protestant Reformation –Anti-”Popish” believers (Puritans) felt that the Church of England was not Protestant enough in its beliefs and practices –Persecution of Puritans, and Quakers led to conflict with religious and political authorities
Jamestown and Virginia The Virginia Company received charter from King James I in 1607 Goals –Gold and wealth –Convert Indians to Christianity –Find a passage to the Indies
John Smith’s Map of Virginia
Jamestown and Virginia Early group suffered from laziness, starvation, and malaria Saved by leadership of John Smith and tobacco planter John Rolfe Legend of Pocahontas (Matoaka)
Portraits of Pocahontas
Jamestown Wattle and Daub house
Tobacco Brought capital and workers to Virginia Problems –Chained prosperity of Virginia to one crop –Exhausted the soil –Promoted large-acreage plantations which needed large amounts of cheap labor
Contributions of early Virginia Provided model for economic investment in America First representative self-government (House of Burgesses) Demand for slaves (first slaves sold by Dutch to settlers in 1619) Relationships with natives (good and bad)
New England Colonies Separatists (Pilgrims) arrived at Plymouth in 1620 –Mayflower Compact: first document of self-government in America –After difficult first winter (44 out of 102 survived), survived under the leadership of Governor William Bradford
New England Colonies Puritans settled Massachusetts Bay in 1630 for religious reasons (Great Puritan Migration: ) Middle class Educated Fur traders, fishermen, and shipbuilders Bible Commonwealth: restricted to male members of the Puritan church