The Spectrum of Settlement The Diversity of British

The Spectrum of Settlement The Diversity of British Colonization of North America

I. Diverse Motives for Migration • • • Purer form of worship Acquiring wealth, land, and better social status Escape jail, bad marriage or life-long poverty Sense of adventure No single motivation adds to diversity of British colonization • Diversity of environmental factors encountered by colonists creates American subcultures from the outset

II. The Chesapeake

A. Virginia • Settlement at Jamestown in 1607 • Initially, no cooperation and no planting • Colony saved by the leadership of Captain John Smith • Land offered after 7 years of labor = indentured servanthood • The winter of 1609 -1610 = “starving time” • John Rolfe experiments with tobacco in 1612

A. Virginia (cont. ) • Reorganization of the colony in 1618 --economic diversification urged --House of Burgesses created --headright system introduced • Significant arrivals in 1619: women and slaves • Many more men than women at first • Lots of death in the early days • Native American uprisings in 1622 and 1644

A. Virginia (cont. ) • No shared sense of purpose in early days and Company officials were embezzling funds and exploiting indentures • Virginia becomes a royal colony in 1624 • Isolation becomes a fact of life for these colonists due to geography, land policy and tobacco economy • Leads to importance of county government • Isolation retarded the growth of cities, schools, and churches

B. Maryland • Founder (Proprietor) = Second Lord Baltimore • Meant to stop Dutch influence to the north in New Netherlands • Large estates imagined by proprietor for colonists who would become lords of their manor—headright system adopted instead

B. Maryland (cont) • Meant to be a refuge for Catholics offering some measure of religious toleration—Act for Religious Toleration (1649) • Great political instability • Built around a tobacco economy

III. New England

A. Pilgrims and Plymouth Plantation • Separatists • First fled to Holland (16081609) • Traveled to America on the Mayflower (1620) --Led by William Bradford -- “Mayflower Compact” • Significance of Squanto and Samoset • Limited economic opportunities • Absorbed by Massachusetts Bay colony in 1691

B. Puritans and Massachusetts Bay • Desire to reform English (Anglican) Church, not separate from it • Sparked the English Civil War in 1642 • Political and religious crisis in 1629 led to Puritan exodus to America • John Winthrop leads Puritans to the Boston area in 1630 • “ The Great Migration”: 16301642

B. Massachusetts (cont. ) • Believed in predestination and the covenant of grace • Unified vision and holy mission: “city on a hill” • Entire community included in God’s covenant • Disorder was considered very sinful • The significance of the “conversion relation” • Congregational form of church government • Conflict between ministers and laity

B. Massachusetts (cont. ) • Came as nuclear families • Much less death than the Chesapeake colonies • Fairly wide franchise for era • Town = center of public life with the meeting house at its center • Compact villages enhanced church attendance and spiritual surveillance • Agricultural practices • Villagers paid taxes to support minister and participated in the local militia

B. Massachusetts (cont. ) • Harmony, unity and rule of law were emphasized • Certain individuals challenged this order --Roger Williams --Anne Hutchinson --Quakers like Mary Dyer • Puritans established four other colonies: New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Haven and Rhode Island

IV. Middle Colonies

A. New York • First settled by the Dutch in 1624 • Great ethnic diversity—most heterogeneous colony in North America • Colony was easily conquered by the English in 1664 and given by the King to his brother, James, Duke of York • Somewhat of a royal attempt to surround the Puritans • Closest thing to manorialism evolves here along the Hudson River– New York Patroons

B. New Jersey • • • Also carved out of New Netherlands—awarded to a group of proprietors by Duke of York Great ethnic diversity Tremendous religious diversity: Quakers, Anglicans, Puritans, Scottish Presbyterians, Dutch Calvinists and Swedish Lutherans —leads to real political instability Colony splits in two temporarily Becomes a royal colony in 1702 No major ports and limited economic advantages

C. Pennsylvania • Established as a refuge for Quakers • Founder = William Penn • Relations with Native Americans were good • Penn bought the 3 lower counties of New York from the Duke of York in 1682— becomes Delaware • Penn granted colonists religious toleration and no taxation without representation • Philadelphia = one of the first planned American cities

C. Pennsylvania (cont. ) • Penn promoted his colony with great success throughout Europe—leads to tremendous ethnic diversity in Pennsylvania • Penn’s stay in America was short and unhappy --Mason-Dixon Line • Colony prospers agriculturally (wheat) but suffers political instability • Delaware becomes separate colony in 1704 • Penn dies in 1718—broken and in prison for debt

V. Carolina • No “Solid South” even in the colonial era • Carolinas = political plum given to Stuart faithful following the English Civil War • Generous land policy, representative assembly and religious toleration offered --John Locke’s Fundamental Constitution

V. Carolina (cont) • Another failed attempt to create a conservative American pseudofeudalism • Poor land, poor climate and no good harbor discouraged settlement • Key proprietor in the ultimate success of this colony = Ashley Cooper

V. Carolina (cont. ) • Search for a money-making crop consumed the early history of this region • Half of the population before 1680 came from an overpopulated Barbados—so this colony is more like the West Indies than any other mainland colony • Colonists engaged in Native American slave trade • Only British colony with a Black majority

V. Carolina (cont. ) • Key city = Charles Town • Proprietary government overthrown in 1719 • Area divided and two royal colonies were created in 1729: South Carolina and North Carolina • Carolinas were fairly tolerant religiously