Topic 1.3.2: English Colonization
Attracting More Settlers
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World [1607]. Established by a joint stock company, the settlers endured several years of starvation and the deaths of many until tobacco made the settlement sustainable. Anxious to attract more settlers, the London Company initiated the headright system that provided land to anyone who paid their own passage or the passage of others to the settlement. The headright system promoted the establishment of large tobacco plantations. Conflict over land with the natives increased as settlers took more land for tobacco production. Tobacco growers enlarged their landholding through the headright and secured workers by paying for the passage of indentured servants.
Colonial Politics
By the end of the 1600s however, they had turned to a more reliable source of labor – African slaves. The London Company also established the House of Burgesses [1619] so that settlers would have a voice in the governance of the colony. Although not completely democratic, this assembly followed English political tradition since the Magna Carta. Jamestown grew into the colony of Virginia and established the pattern for the southern colonies.
The New England colonies were founded as a haven (safe place) for religious groups persecuted in England. The Separatists [Pilgrims] landed at Plymouth after signing the Mayflower Compact [1620] establishing another bedrock of American democracy - the idea that the people form the government. They struggled to survive. With the help of Natives, they learned to plant corn and sustained themselves but never prospered.
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World [1607]. Established by a joint stock company, the settlers endured several years of starvation and the deaths of many until tobacco made the settlement sustainable. Anxious to attract more settlers, the London Company initiated the headright system that provided land to anyone who paid their own passage or the passage of others to the settlement. The headright system promoted the establishment of large tobacco plantations. Conflict over land with the natives increased as settlers took more land for tobacco production. Tobacco growers enlarged their landholding through the headright and secured workers by paying for the passage of indentured servants.
Colonial Politics
By the end of the 1600s however, they had turned to a more reliable source of labor – African slaves. The London Company also established the House of Burgesses [1619] so that settlers would have a voice in the governance of the colony. Although not completely democratic, this assembly followed English political tradition since the Magna Carta. Jamestown grew into the colony of Virginia and established the pattern for the southern colonies.
The New England colonies were founded as a haven (safe place) for religious groups persecuted in England. The Separatists [Pilgrims] landed at Plymouth after signing the Mayflower Compact [1620] establishing another bedrock of American democracy - the idea that the people form the government. They struggled to survive. With the help of Natives, they learned to plant corn and sustained themselves but never prospered.
Puritans and the New England
Colonies
A much larger migration of Puritans landed in the Massachusetts Bay [1630s]. The Puritans invested in their own joint stock company and brought their charter with them to the New World. They established a democratic form of government that included town meetings and a general assembly. All male church members could vote. They prospered immediately, harvesting the lumber of the great northern woods, building ships, and trading. They established schools so their children could learn to read the Bible and established religious conformity. Dissenters were exiled. Puritan families were large so the population grew and spread to other areas of New England. They enjoyed religious homogeneity (same beliefs), a thriving economy based on trade, and a democratic government.
Middle Colonies
Settlers to the Middle Colonies included a variety of Europeans, including the Dutch who first settled New York and the Swedes who first settled Delaware. English Puritans also moved into the Middle Colonies and English Quakers settled Pennsylvania. The Quakers were a group of religious dissenters who believed that everyone had an inner light. They promoted religious tolerance and good relations with natives in their region so the colony attracted many other groups of people. The Middle Colonies had the greatest diversity of people and religions in British North America. The king (Charles II) granted William Penn land in payment of a debt so Penn had proprietor rights and could name the governor of the colony. Pennsylvania also had a representative assembly as did the other colonies in the region. Founded for the purpose of profit, this region’s economic prosperity relied on its good harbors and fertile fields. It became known as the ‘breadbasket’ of the colonies.
Carolina and the Southern Colonies
Carolina, one of the Southern colonies, was founded as a proprietary colony when the king (Charles II) granted land to eight Lords Proprietors in payment of a debt, just as he had to a Penn in Pennsylvania. The proprietors hoped to make a profit by charging settlers a quitrent ($) on the land. The proprietors commissioned John Locke to write the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. This document included policies, such as religious toleration and a social class system based on granting titles to large landholders (even though this provision was never carried out, it shows the intention to make Carolina a society based on elites being in charge). Originally the Lords Proprietors controlled the government through a Governor and Grand Council, which included representatives of the proprietors, the Carolina elite and a smaller representation of the common people of the colony. Just as in the other colonies, Carolina had some degree of democracy from the beginning.
In order to encourage immigration, the proprietors granted large tracts of land to settlers through the headright system, just like Virginia. The headright system led to the establishment of large plantations based on cash crops that made South Carolina a distinctly southern colony. The first settlers were Englishmen who emigrated from the British colony of Barbados and brought a well-developed slave system with them. Slavery made the plantation owners very wealthy. The Carolina colony’s natural resources, including fertile land, a mild climate, and many waterways, also contributed to the development of plantations and prosperity.
A much larger migration of Puritans landed in the Massachusetts Bay [1630s]. The Puritans invested in their own joint stock company and brought their charter with them to the New World. They established a democratic form of government that included town meetings and a general assembly. All male church members could vote. They prospered immediately, harvesting the lumber of the great northern woods, building ships, and trading. They established schools so their children could learn to read the Bible and established religious conformity. Dissenters were exiled. Puritan families were large so the population grew and spread to other areas of New England. They enjoyed religious homogeneity (same beliefs), a thriving economy based on trade, and a democratic government.
Middle Colonies
Settlers to the Middle Colonies included a variety of Europeans, including the Dutch who first settled New York and the Swedes who first settled Delaware. English Puritans also moved into the Middle Colonies and English Quakers settled Pennsylvania. The Quakers were a group of religious dissenters who believed that everyone had an inner light. They promoted religious tolerance and good relations with natives in their region so the colony attracted many other groups of people. The Middle Colonies had the greatest diversity of people and religions in British North America. The king (Charles II) granted William Penn land in payment of a debt so Penn had proprietor rights and could name the governor of the colony. Pennsylvania also had a representative assembly as did the other colonies in the region. Founded for the purpose of profit, this region’s economic prosperity relied on its good harbors and fertile fields. It became known as the ‘breadbasket’ of the colonies.
Carolina and the Southern Colonies
Carolina, one of the Southern colonies, was founded as a proprietary colony when the king (Charles II) granted land to eight Lords Proprietors in payment of a debt, just as he had to a Penn in Pennsylvania. The proprietors hoped to make a profit by charging settlers a quitrent ($) on the land. The proprietors commissioned John Locke to write the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. This document included policies, such as religious toleration and a social class system based on granting titles to large landholders (even though this provision was never carried out, it shows the intention to make Carolina a society based on elites being in charge). Originally the Lords Proprietors controlled the government through a Governor and Grand Council, which included representatives of the proprietors, the Carolina elite and a smaller representation of the common people of the colony. Just as in the other colonies, Carolina had some degree of democracy from the beginning.
In order to encourage immigration, the proprietors granted large tracts of land to settlers through the headright system, just like Virginia. The headright system led to the establishment of large plantations based on cash crops that made South Carolina a distinctly southern colony. The first settlers were Englishmen who emigrated from the British colony of Barbados and brought a well-developed slave system with them. Slavery made the plantation owners very wealthy. The Carolina colony’s natural resources, including fertile land, a mild climate, and many waterways, also contributed to the development of plantations and prosperity.
Content information was obtained from the South Carolina state standards support document for eighth grade Social Studies. This document can be located at http://www.ed.sc.gov/agency/se/Instructional-Practices-and-Evaluations/documents/Grade8SupportDocument.pdf .All images were obtained from Google.com and were labeled as Free to Use or Share.