The Planting of English America Chapter 2 The Planting of English America 1500–1733

I. England’s Imperial Stirrings In the 1500s England made feeble efforts to develop overseas colonies. In the 1530s Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church, launching the English Protestant Reformation. In 1558 Henry’s daughter, the Protestant Elizabeth I, became queen and established Protestantism in England.

Elizabeth I (1533–1603), by George Gower, ca. 1588 In this “Armada Portrait” of Queen Elizabeth I, the artist proclaims her the Empress of the World. She was accused of being vain, fickle, prejudiced, and miserly, but Elizabeth proved to be an unusually successful ruler. She never married (hence, the “Virgin Queen”), although many romances were rumored and royal matches schemed. p26

II. Elizabeth Energizes England In 1577 English semipiratical “sea dogs” under Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe. The first English attempt at colonization was off the coast of Newfoundland. In 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh landed on North Carolina’s Roanoke Island. Virginia was named in honor of Elizabeth, the “Virgin Queen.”

II. Elizabeth Energizes England (cont.) In 1588 England defeated the Spanish Armada, marking the end of Spain’s imperial dreams. After victory, the English started to become masters of the world oceans—with important consequences for the American people. England had strong national characteristics.

III. England on the Eve of Empire England experienced strong economic and social changes and a “surplus population.” Laws of primogeniture meant that only eldest sons were eligible to inherit landed estates. By the early 1600s, the joint-stock company was perfected. Peace with Spain provided the opportunity for English colonization.

Sir Walter Ralegh (Raleigh) (ca. 1552–1618), 1588 A dashing courtier who was one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorites for his wit, good looks, and courtly manners, he launched important colonizing failures in the New World. For this portrait, Raleigh presented himself as the queen’s devoted servant, wearing her colors of black and white and her emblem of a pearl in his left ear. After seducing (and secretly marrying) one of Queen Elizabeth’s maids of honor, he fell out of favor but continued his colonial ventures in the hopes of challenging Catholic Spain’s dominance in the Americas. He was ultimately beheaded for treason. p28

IV. England Plants the Jamestown Seedling 1603: James I became king of England. 1606: Virginia Company of London received a charter to settle in the New World. This charter is significant; guaranteed settlers the same rights as Englishmen. On May 24, 1607, the Virginia colony of Jamestown was founded (see Map 2.1). John Smith was key to the colony’s survival.

Map 2.1 Early Maryland and Virginia Map 2.1 p29

V. Cultural Clashes in the Chesapeake In 1607 Chieftain Powhatan dominated the James River area. In 1610 Lord De La Warr arrived from England with orders to deal with the Indians. In 1614 the First Anglo-Powhatan War ended, sealed by Pocahontas’s marriage to colonist John Rolfe—the first known interracial union in Virginia.

V. Cultural Clashes in the Chesapeake (cont.) Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1644) was Indians’ last attempt to dislodge Virginians. The Powhatans’ misfortune was the three Ds: disease, disorganization, and disposability. “Powhatan’s Confederacy” lacked unity to oppose the disciplined whites. The Powhatans served no economic function for colonists.

A Carolina Indian Woman and Child, by John White The artist was a member of the Raleigh expedition of 1585. Notice that the Indian girl carries a European doll, illustrating the mingling of cultures that had already begun. p30

VI. The Indians’ New World Indigenous people’s destinies had changed. The shock of large-scale European colonization disrupted Native American life. Horses, diseases, trade, and the expanding Atlantic economy transformed Indian life. A new middle ground compelled both Europeans and Native Americans to accommodate each other.

VII. Virginia: Child of Tobacco In 1612 John Rolfe perfected tobacco culture. Virginia’s prosperity was built on this “bewitching weed,” but King Nicotine depleted the soil. Besides land, tobacco required lots of labor. In 1619 a Dutch warship landed at Jamestown and sold some twenty Africans, planting the seeds of North American slavery.

Advertisement for a Voyage to America, 1609 p32

VII. Virginia: Child of Tobacco (cont.) In 1619 representative self-government was born in primitive Virginia. The House of Burgesses was an assembly or miniature parliament in the New World. James I grew increasingly hostile to Virginia. In 1624 he revoked the company’s charter and Virginia became a royal colony.

VIII. Maryland: Catholic Haven 1634: Maryland, 2nd plantation colony, was founded by Lord Baltimore partly as a refuge for Catholics. Resentment between Catholics and Protestants flared into open rebellion. The Baltimore family for a time lost its proprietary rights, but the colony prospered. As in Virginia, indentured servants initially provided labor for the tobacco economy.

VIII. Maryland: Catholic Haven (cont.) Lord Baltimore permitted unusual freedom of worship at the outset. In 1649 the local assembly passed the famed Act of Toleration guaranteeing toleration to all Christians. However, it decreed the death penalty for Jews and atheists, who denied the divinity of Jesus.

IX. The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America England secured claims to several West Indian islands, including Jamaica in 1655. Their economy was based on sugar. Had different requirements than tobacco. Many enslaved Africans were imported to work the sugar plantations. Black slaves eventually outnumbered white settlers.

(above) Sugar Mill in Brazil, by Frans Post, ca. 1640; (left) Saccharum Officinarum (sugar cane) p34

IX. The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America (cont.) 1661: Barbados slave code defined slaves’ legal status and their masters’ prerogatives. Profitable sugar plantations crowded out most other forms of Caribbean agriculture. 1670: Displaced settlers from Barbados arrived in Carolina with their slaves. 1696: Carolina adopted the Barbados slave code, which eventually shaped slave laws throughout the mainland.

X. Colonizing the Carolinas In the 1640s civil war convulsed England. After 1660 empire building resumed during the Restoration period (see Table 2.2). In 1670 Carolina was created, and it formed close links with the English West Indies. Rice emerged as its principal export crop. Charles Town was busiest seaport in South; Carolina survived Spanish and Indian attacks.

XI. The Emergence of North Carolina North Carolina has been called “the quintessence of Virginia’s discontent.” “Squatters” (newcomers without legal rights to the soil) raised crops on small farms. Distinctive traits developed. In 1712 North Carolina officially separated from South Carolina (see Map 2.2).

Map 2.2 Early Carolina and Georgia Settlements Map 2.2 p36

XI. The Emergence of North Carolina (cont.) North Carolina shared with tiny Rhode Island several distinctions: Most democratic Most independent-minded Least aristocratic of original thirteen English colonies

XI. The Emergence of North Carolina (cont.) Relations between Indians and Europeans were bloody But tribes in the interior remained strong.

XII. Late-Coming Georgia: The Buffer Colony In 1733 Georgia was founded as a buffer to protect the Carolinas. It was named in honor of King George II of England. Launched by a group of philanthropists, it would also serve as a haven for debtors. Georgia was called “the Charity Colony.”

XII. Late-Coming Georgia: The Buffer Colony (cont.) Georgia founders wanted no slavery. James Oglethorpe, a key founder, helped ensure the colony’s survival. Savannah, like Charleston, became a melting-pot community. John Wesley served as a missionary. Georgia grew more slowly than other colonies.

XIII. The Plantation Colonies England’s southern mainland colonies shared: Devotion to exporting agricultural products, mainly tobacco and rice Slavery Slow growth of cities Religious toleration A tendency to expand

Map 2.3 Iroquois Lands and European Trade Centers, ca. 1590–1650 Map 2.3 p38

The Longhouse (Reconstruction) This photo shows a modern-day reconstruction of an Iroquois Indian longhouse typical of the kind built by many tribes in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. Bent saplings and sheets of elm bark made for sturdy, weather-tight shelters. Longhouses were typically furnished with deerskin-covered bunks and shelves for storing baskets, pots, fur pelts, and corn. p39

Which of the following did NOT influence the dramatic rise of England’s colonization efforts in the early 1600s? Population growth in England English land shortages Peace between Britain & Spain Promised rewards for explorers from the crown Desire for religious freedom

The struggling Virginia economy was ultimately saved by: Peace treaties with local Native American nations The slave trade Rice cultivation An influx of large numbers of new settlers The development of tobacco

The primary labor source for the early development of the plantation colonies of Virginia & Maryland was: Families who settled in the area Indentured servants Slaves brought from Africa Prisoners Second and third sons of English lords

Following questions refer to the excerpt below. “English expectations of the New World and its inhabitants died hard. America was supposed to be a land of abundance, peopled by natives who would not only share that abundance with the English but increase it under English direction. Englishmen simply did not envisage a need to work for the mere purpose of staying alive. The problem of survival as they saw it was at best political and at worst military. “Although Englishmen long remained under the illusion that the Indians would eventually become useful English subjects, it became apparent fairly early that Indian labor was not going to sustain the founders of Jamestown [Virginia].” — Edmund S. Morgan, historian, “The Labor Problem at Jamestown, 1607–18,” published in 1971

In the first half of the 1600s, American Indians in Virginia and Maryland most typically responded to the English colonization described in the excerpt by: Organizing communities to adopt English customs Defending their territory against the English Voluntarily moving farther west, away from the English Allying with the French to counter English encroachment

Which of the following was a long-term result of the situation in Jamestown described in the excerpt? The rapid growth of family-centered towns & villages The prioritizing of trade and shipbuilding over agricultural production The rise of the plantation system and the use of African slaves The removal of Spanish and French military threats to regional control