The Beginning of the Colonies: Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia

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The Beginning of the Colonies Virginia,
Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia

• Unit 1 Colonial History
• Study Packet 1, Section 1

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North America During Early 1600s

• For the most part had been free of European
  colonization
• Then, in early 1600s, 3 countries settled small
  colonies
• Spain in Santa Fe
• France in Quebec
• England in Jamestown, Virginia

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England vs. Spain

• In the 1500s the 2 countries were allies and
  therefore England didnt care about overseas
  colonies
• King Henry VIII breaks away from the Catholic
  Church (Protestant Reformation) and began the
  Protestant-Catholic rivalry.
• The rivalry intensified when Queen Elizabeth took
  the English throne in 1558, all of a sudden an
  interest in establishing colonies began.

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Importance of Queen Elizabeth

• Responsible for encouraging England to build
  colonial empire in the New World
• Offered monetary support to sea dogs who
  basically pirated Spanish ships
• Ex. Sir Francis Drake
• Behind 2 failed English attempts at colonization
• Newfoundland
• Roanoke Island by Sir Walter Raleigh

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The Spanish Armada 1558

• 130 Spanish ships invade the English Channel
• English sea dogs fight back
• England surprisingly wins
• Surprise victory by English meant beginning of
  end of Spanish empire.
• Ensured Englands naval power in the North
  Atlantic
• Put England on its way to becoming dominant
  colonial power

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17th Century England Ready to Colonize

• Opportunity Peace with Spain offered England
• Increase in population to 4 million Workers
• Motives
• High unemployment
• Primogeniture Decree law that meant that only
  the eldest son could inherit land
• many younger sons needed to look to other
  places for fortune.
• Religious freedom
• Means joint-stock companies of investors (or
  adventurers) bring their money together to
  invest in something

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Virginia
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Virginia Company of London, 1608

• Received Charter from King James I
• Main attraction
• Gold
• passage through America to Indies
• Plan put pressure on colonists to find gold or
  the company would abandon them

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Virginia Company Charter

• Gave men sailing to the New World the same rights
  as Englishmen.
• Settlers saw themselves as Englishmen, even
  though on foreign land

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Jamestown May 24, 1607

• Established along the James River
• Easy to defend
• Mosquito infested
• Early deaths
• Disease
• Malnutrition
• starvation
• Spent time looking for gold instead of food

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Captain John Smith

• Takes over in 1608
• Organized colonists, made them work.
• He who shall not work shall not eat.
• Still many died during starving time winter of
  1609-1610
• 60/400 survived

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Pocahontas J. Smith Peace

• John Smith kidnapped in Dec. 1607
• Mock execution by Powhatan, but Pocahontas
  saves him
• Was intended to impress John Smith with
  Powhatans power and Indians desire for peaceful
  relations with Virginians
• Pocahontas acts as intermediary between Indians
  and Virginians

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Lord De La Warr

• Spring of 1610
• Settlers try to board ships bound to England, but
  are stopped by De La Warr
• Ordered settlers back to Jamestown
• Imposed harsh military rule
• Took aggressive military action against Indians
• Raided villages
• Burned houses and cornfields
• Took food

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Settlers vs. Powhatans

• Whites banished Indians from landby 1685
  Powhatans extinct
• Victims of 3 Ds
• Disease Small pox and measles
• Disorganization no military unity against whites
  
• Disposability no labor source and no valuable
  commodities for trade
• All fueled by settlers desire for land.

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Changes to Native American life

• Horsesmove to Great Plains
• Forced migration
• Disease
• Increased fighting among Indians for trade with
  Europeans.

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Atlantic Indians Felt Colonization the Worst

• Atlantic Indians Those closest to European
  settlements suffered most.
• Further inland, where less Europeans, Indians
  able to keep position of strength.
• Greater population
• Traders wanting to do business HAD to conform to
  Indian ways

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John Rolfe Father of Tobacco Industry

• Perfected method for raising tobacco, making it a
  cash crop
• Huge demand in Europe
• Tobacco rush in Virginia causes
• Need to import foodstuffs
• Hunger for more land
• Need for plantation system (and therefore slave
  labor)

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House of Burgesses

• Established July 30, 1619 in Virginia
• Representative self government
• 1st of its kind in America
• James I distrusts HoB
• Revokes charter
• Makes Virginia a royal colony, no longer owned by
  a company

First Meeting, July 30, 1619
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Maryland
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Lord Baltimore

• Estb. Maryland in 1634
• To create a refuge for his fellow Catholics
• Tobacco crop
• Depended on white indentured servants for labor

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Marylands Act of Toleration, 1649

• Guaranteed toleration to all Christians
• Death penalty for Jews and Atheists
• Temporary protection for Christians

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The West Indies Sugar and Slaves
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• Sugar rich mans crop
• Extensive planting
• A lot of clearing
• Elaborate refining process
• Need for a lot of land and labor
• Therefore, heavily relied on African slaves
• More slaves More rules
• Barbados slave code of 1661
• Denied basic rights to slaves
• Gave master complete control over slave,
  including punishment

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South Carolina
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• Estb. in 1670 in honor of Charles II
• Hoped to grow foodstuffs for sugar plantations in
  Barbados
• Developed because of close economic ties to
  English West Indies
• Some settlers came from Barbados with slaves

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Crops of the Carolinas

• Rice
• Principal export crop
• Exotic food in England
• Heavily relied on slaves
• Rice grown in Africa, so paid lots of money for
  African slaves who knew how to grow it
• They were also immune to malaria, so mean that
  lasted longer in swampy rice plantations
• By 1710, they were the majority of Carolina

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Charles Town

• Busiest seaport in the South
• Attracted French protestant refugees because of
  religious toleration
• Conflict with Spain Anglo-Spanish War
• Disliked Protestants
• Incited Indians against S. Carolina

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North Carolina

• Quintessence of Virginias discontent

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• Est. 1712
• Attracted Virginians
• Because shared border with Virginia
• Fleeing Church of England
• Mostly squatters who raised tobacco on small
  farms, therefore didnt need slaves

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Georgia

• The Buffer Colony

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• Est. 1733 as buffer between the Carolinas against
  Spaniards in Florida and French in Louisiana
• Only colony to get monetary support from British
  government b/c had to offer protection
• Founded by philanthropists
• James Oglethorpe
• Grew slowly
• Plantation economy slowed by unhealthy climate
• Early restrictions on slavery
• Constant Spanish attacks

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The Plantation Colonies

• Lots of land
• Exported agricultural products
• Staple crops Tobacco and rice
• Slavery founded
• Scattered farms