English Colonization

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English Colonization
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English Impact in the Colonies

• Growth of a Middle-Class, i.e., land-owners,
  merchants, yeoman farmers.
• Self-rule in the outlying counties towns.
• English local government officials were
  established here. Sheriff, Justice of the Peace,
  Judges, etc. Even the Judicial system was the
  same. Judges had the freedom to make decisions,
  hence creating Precedents that could effect later
  cases.

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Settlement

• 1606 Virginia was chartered, set up as The 1st
  Colony of London The 2nd Colony of Plymouth.
• Jamestown 1607- the 1st permanent English
  colony. Located in VA. It had good land, woods,
  fresh water. Settled by Gentlemen adventurers,
  townsmen, merchants, etc. No one able to farm,
  fish, hunt, protect the village, utilize the
  abundant natural resources that surrounded them.
  Relied on the local Indians, the Powhatans, to
  help keep them alive.
• The Indians taught the colonists how to farm, use
  the forests, rivers, ocean resources, how to
  hunt, etc.

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• Cpt. John Smith adventurer, hero, swashbuckler,
  was made a member of the Residential Council by
  the Virginia Co. in America. A very hard worker
  hard leader. Dont Work Dont Eat was his
  policy that caused him to have many enemies.
  The Gentlemen felt that work was beneath them
  that Smith was very vain. He is best known for
  the Pocahontas story. (He was too old for her)
• Pocahontas actually married John Rolfe, was
  baptized into the Anglican Church, changed her
  name to Lady Rebecca. Returned to England with
  her husband son, Thomas, in 1616. She was the
  toast of the town until her death a few months
  later.

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• Sir Edwin Sandy became head of the Virginia Co.
  in 1618 introduced many reforms. Most notable
  was the Head-Right System anyone who bought a
  share of the Co. was able to get themselves
  over to VA., could have 50 acres of land
  another 50 acres for any servants.
• Very popular, made his Co. wealthy, appealed to
  those that had money. But did nothing to address
  the need for those that could work 7 not be
  glory hounds.

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• July 30, 1619 1st General Assembly of VA. This
  consisted of the Governor, 6 Councilors 22
  Burgesses, in a church in Jamestown. The
  Assembly saw the need for wives in the colony, so
  90 young women were sent to Jamestown sold to
  the men. Also, a Dutch Warship dropped off 20
  African slaves for supplies, 1st known to be in
  English America.
• These events greatly increased the productivity
  in the colony. It grew rapidly began to lose
  contact with its Indian neighbors began to
  push further into Indian territory. They began
  to see the Indians as a problem that needed to be
  eliminated.

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• 1622 - Opechancanough, Chief Powhatans brother
  now leader of the Powhatan tribe, led an assault
  against the invading English, killing around 350
  colonists. Tension hostility between the two
  groups increased until the English policy was
  that of total extermination.
• 1623 Cpt. William Tucker tricked the Indians
  into drinking poisoned wine at a peace
  negotiations. This killed over 200 Indians, the
  soldiers killed 50 more. They looted the
  villages for food supplies, then burned them
  down, burned the crops storage facilities,
  decapitated the Indians brought the heads back
  as trophies.
• This would be the norm for the next 10 yrs.

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• 1624 Virginia became a Royal colony, becoming
  more stable continued to grow throughout the
  1630s 1640s.

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Bacons Rebellion

• 1675 Nathaniel Bacon, a local planter was
  spreading into Indians territory, causing tension
  with the Doeg Indians. This escalated into the
  killing of one of Bacons herdsmen. Bacon led a
  group of militiamen killed 10 Doeg 14
  Susquehannocks. VA. Maryland militia killed 5
  of their head chiefs as they were going to peace
  talks. Bacon continued the slaughter by leading
  some vigilantes, thus defying the Governors
  order to stop.

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• Bacon disobeyed the order led this group of
  militiamen, vigilantes, escaped slaves,
  indentured servants against the wealthy
  land-owning aristocracy. Some call this the
  Torchbearer of the Revolution! The struggle of
  the common man against the aristocrats.
• Bacon threatened the Governor the Assembly if
  they tried to stop him from killing every Indian
  he could. Bacons men attacked the Governors
  forces, burned Jamestown.

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• Bacon died a month from complications due to
  Swamp Fever dysentery.
• Gov. Berkeley had over 20 of the rebels hanged,
  took possession of their estates. The King
  claimed that Berkeley was too harsh, recalled
  him to England.
• This Rebellion opened up more land in the
  Indian territory, increased communication between
  the rural farmers towns folk, the common man
  the aristocracy, gave an indication of the
  discontent felt by those in the frontier for
  the government.

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Maryland Colony

• 1634 the Maryland Colony was established. The
  1st proprietary colony, owned by individuals, not
  a joint-stock company.
• Set up as a refuge for English Catholics by Sir
  George Calvert. He was the 1st Lord Baltimore.
  His son, Cecilius Calvert, the 2nd Lord
  Baltimore, actually founded the colony he had
  the power to make laws with the consent of the
  landowners.
• Bought an established village from the Indians.
  Originally set up to do mixed farming, but
  ended up like VA. Tobacco!

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Plymouth Colony

• 1607 the Plymouth Group of the VA. Company was
  originally founded in Maine. Only lasted 1
  winter moved south.
• 1620 the VA. Company became the Council for New
  England. These colonists missed VA. landed at,
  what is now, Cape Cod called it Plymouth.
• The Plymouth Colony was founded by Separatists,
  Puritans who cut all ties with the Church of
  England. William Bradford led _at_ 102 people
  aboard the Mayflower.
• They landed off course, far north of VA., on
  Dec. 26, 1620, they land at Plymouth Rock.

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Georgia Colony

• It was the last of the British colonies to be
  established in North America.
• There were many motives for the formation of the
  Georgia Colony.
• Mercantilismgoods, supplies natural resources
  were to be sent to England.
• StrategicImperial defense, set up as a buffer
  zone between Spanish held Florida the Carolina
  Colony. (prison colony idea starts)
• Refuge/Humanitarian-a refuge from religious
  persecution debtor relief.

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• 1730 21 men signed a petition to get a charter
  for a colony south of the Carolinas. This group
  became known as the Georgia Society.
• 1732 the charter was granted.
• Gen. James E. Oglethorpe Rev. Thomas Bray were
  hoping to build a colony free of religious
  debtor persecution. But, Oglethorpe also had a
  military job to do.
• The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
  The Society for the Propagation of Christian
  Knowledge were both founded by Rev. Bray. He had
  hoped to get them going in the new Georgia Colony.

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• 1733 around 120 colonists arrived with
  Oglethorpe settled at Yamacraw Bluff, on the
  banks of the Savannah River. The city of
  Savannah would be built later.
• Tomachichi, the Yamacraw Indian Chief, met with
  Oglethorpe to agree on the land. Mary Musgrove,
  ½ Indian served as the Interpreter. The land
  between the Savannah Altamaha Rivers were
  agreed upon.

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• 1734 arrival of the Protestant refugees.
  Austrians, Germans, Swiss, etc. Representing
  many diverse groups of the Protestant
  denomination, i.e. Salzburgers, Moravians,
  Lutheran, etc. The town of Ebenezer was a
  Salzburer town. The church is still standing
  today.
• 1735 Prohibition of slavery, alcohol
  Catholics in the new Georgia colony.
• Arrival of Highland Scot soldiers settled in what
  is now Darien.

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• Of the three (3) aspects that Georgia was
  founded, only 1 failed. The mercantile/philanthro
  pic aspect, at least in the beginning. The wrong
  crops (silk, rice indigo) were to be the
  staple. It would not be until cotton tobacco
  that agriculture became viable in the colony.
• 1732-1753 Trustee Colony. 21 men controlled
  the way the colony was ran. No representation in
  government, reported directly to the crown.

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• The Trustees were basically Utopians Utopia
  does not exist.
• Land restriction a person could not own more
  than 50 acres of land 50 acres per servant,
  with a limit at 500 acres total. This caused
  dissention within the colony was dropped after
  10 years.
• After 1753, the Trustee charter expired Georgia
  became a Royal Colony. This gave GA. real
  government, but would not be a successful colony
  until the 1760s.

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• Maintaining close ties with England, through
  trade, immigration, exporting raw materials
  goods, etc.
• This will be a very big problem by the onset of
  the Revolution.