English Colonies In America

England Eyes America

1497 – John Cabot headed across Atlantic “discover whatever lands that are unknown” – King Henry VII landed near Nova Scotia, south along “barren shores” 1498 – sailed west again, never seen again (one ship returned to port following storm) Why so long before the first colony?

1517 – Martin Luther – Protestant Reformation 95 Theses – Castle Church - Wittenberg

John Calvin – Geneva, Switzerland  neither kings nor bishops should control the church  congregations should choose own church leaders Chillon Castle - Lake Geneva, Switzerland

St Peter's Cathedral (Geneva) - John Calvin preached here from 1536 to 1564

 1527 – King Henry VIII, asked Pope Clement VII for annulment, Catherine of Aragon  pope refused, Henry formed Anglican Church (kept Catholic rituals)  Puritans – wanted to purify the Church of all Catholic elements  many chose America as a refuge Canterbury Cathedral

many English raised sheep, wool industry enclosure movement – enclosed land, evicted tenants, sheep farms people out of work, leave England 1550 – too much wool, prices fell joint-stock companies – pooled $ of many investors, continued trade Devon, England

England Returns To America

Privateers – privately owned ships licensed by the gov’t to attack ships of other countries

Walter Raleigh – sent 2 ships to scout American coastline  passed through Outer Banks, N.C., landed on Roanoke Island  knighted…Sir Walter Raleigh (Queen Elizabeth)  he named the land Virginia…Elizabeth…”the Virgin Queen” Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

 1585 – Raleigh sent 100 men to settle Roanoke, hard winter, back to England  1587 – 91 men, 17 women, 9 children  month later, John White, governor, England for supplies  when he returned colony was gone  empty houses, Croatoan carved into a post on the fort, “Cro” nearby tree  Croatoan – nearby Native American group  “Lost Colony” of Roanoke

Possible reasons for disappearance… 1.moved to another location 2.assimilated into Native American tribes 3.killed by Native Americans 4.lost at sea, trying to leave 5.Spanish killed them

1606 – James I, Virginia Company, charter to plant colonies in Virginia Susan Constant, Godspeed, Discovery, 144 men Jamestown – King James I

colonists were not woodsmen, upper class – no work 1608 – 200 new settlers, 53 in all left by the end of the year Captain John Smith emerged as leader, trading with Natives Chief Powhatan – Powhatan Confederacy

frustrated, Virginia Company, new governor…Thomas West, Lord De La Warr winter of …”starving time” – dogs, rats, horsehides some dug up graves and ate human remains many left to establish other settlements in Virginia

smoking tobacco was extremely popular in Europe John Rolfe, colonist, experimented growing tobacco used seeds from Trinidad essentially saved the colony

 assembly to propose laws  July 30, 1619 – first general assembly  reps. were called burgesses  House of Burgesses

headrights – new settlers, bought share in the company or paid for their passage, 50 acres of land women and slaves begin to arrive as well around 1619

George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) – founded a colony, Catholics could practice religion 1632 – Maryland, Henrietta Maria (queen of Charles I) proprietary colony – proprietor, or owner, governed colony any way he wished Lord Baltimore wanted Maryland to be Catholic, many settlers Protestant, friction