The Founding & Development of the 13 Original Colonies
Virginia (founded 1607)
Founded by: London Company (joint-stockcompany)
Key facts:
-first permanent English settlement in New World (Jamestown)
-tobacco (John Rolfe perfected methods)
-House of Burgesses: 1st form of representative self government
Key people:
-John Smith: helped colonists through “starving time” winter of 1607
-Pocahontas: “peacemaker”; daughter of Chief Powhatan
-ChiefPowhatan: Powhatan Wars (1st warfare with Indians)
-John Rolfe: perfected tobacco
Massachusetts (founded 1620)
Founded by: Puritans
Key facts:
-1st was Plymouth- Pilgrims (separatists) but later overshadowed by Bay Colony
- Mayflower Compact (agreement for self-rule)
-Massachusetts Bay Colony (BibleCommonwealth)- Puritans (1628)
-Religious; townships
-Franchise given to all freemen (members of Congregational Church)
-Strict moral codes
-Halfway Covenant (to increase church membership) 1677
Key people:
-William Bradford- chosen governor 30 times (Plymouth)
-John Winthrop- “city upon a hill”; one of leaders that founded the Bay Colony
-Anne Hutchinson- banished from Bay Colony for antinomianism
-Roger Williams- banished for his belief in separation of church & state and religious freedom
New Hampshire (founded 1623)
Founded by: John Mason
Key facts:
-intended to create a fishing colony but died before he could build towns
-part of Massachusetts until England granted Massachusetts a royal charter in 1679
Key people:
-John Mason- founder
-John Wentworth- British colonial governor during Revolution
Maryland (founded 1634)
Founded by: Lord Baltimore
Key facts:
-desire for profit & to create a refuge for Roman Catholics who were being persecuted in Protestant England
-proprietorship (ran by one person; business term)
-tobacco
-Act of Toleration in 1649- religious freedom for all Christians
-“Haven for Catholics”
Connecticut (founded 1635)
Founded by: Thomas Hooker & group of Massachusetts colonists
Key facts:
-colonists were starting towns in 1635; towns join together to form Connecticut in 1636
-looked for more freedom & financial opportunities
-Pequot War (1636-1637)- fought between Connecticut settlers & Pequot Indians; decimated Pequot in the end
- Led to King Philip’s War
-Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)- first written form of Constitution (became basis for later U.S. Constitution)
Rhode Island (founded 1636)
Founded by: Roger Williams
Key facts:
-Roger Williams was banished by the Bay Colony for his beliefs in sseparation of church & state and freedom of religion
-Anne Hutchison, who was also banished, formed Portsmouth
-2 other settlements arose & all 4 joined together
-Nicknamed the “sewer of New England”
-First to guarantee freedom of religion/worship to all its citizens
-Founded on separation of church & state
-Known for its independence
Delaware (founded 1638)
Founded by: Peter Minuit & New Sweden Company
Key facts:
-Peter Minuit (Dutch) formed New Sweden as part of New Netherland
-Charles II (King of England) gave his brother (James, the Duke of York) New Netherland, he demanded it and Dutch surrendered it; nicknamed it Delaware
-Part of Pennsylvania until 1703
-Governed by Pennsylvania until Revolutionary War
North Carolina (founded 1653)
Founded by: Virginians/ eight nobles w/ royal charter from Charles II
Key facts:
- Carolinas known as Restoration Colonies since monarchy was restored under Charles II
-some Virginians settled in what would become North Carolina 1653
-1663: King Charles II issued royal charter to 8 nobles to settle region
-Carolinas spilt officially in 1729 because of cultural differences & internal conflicts with proprietors
-Grew tobacco, sold timber & tar but lacked good harbor
South Carolina (founded 1663)
Founded by: eight nobles w/ a royal charter from Charles II
Key facts:
-1719: settlers in South Carolina seized control from its proprietors
-Officially split in 1663
-Prospered from fertility of Low Country & harbors—trade in lumber, deerskin, beef
-Rice & indigo cultivation
New Jersey (founded 1664)
Founded by: Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret
Key facts:
-Duke of York received control of New Netherlands in 1664—granted 2 of his friends (Lord Berkeley & Sir George Carteret) land (became New Jersey)
-Advertised and promised settlers representative government & freedom of religion for colonizing
-Diversity of congregations (had 45)
New York (founded 1664)
Founded by: Duke of York
Key facts:
-Duke of York received control of New Netherlands in 1664 & renamed it New York
-Diversity of religious congregations (18)
Pennsylvania (founded 1682)
Founded by: William Penn
Key facts:
-intended to create a colony that allowed for freedom of religion & desire to protect Quakers from persecution
-third biggest & richest colony by 1700
-allowed for representative assembly elected by landowners
-freedom of worship & religion to all citizens
-friendly relations towards Indians
-antislavery
-unlimited immigration
-city of brotherly love
Georgia (founded 1732)
Founded by: James Edward Oglethrope
Key facts:
-James Oglethrope given charter by King George II in 1732 to create a “buffer colony” against Spanish expansion from Florida
-Served as a place for debtors & prisoners to start anew
-Toleration to all Christians except Catholic
-Wanted to avoid slavery but when it became royal in 1752, plantations and slavery became major part of its economy
New England, Chesapeake/Southern, and the Middle Colonies
New England (Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire)
Economy:
-focused on trading, farming, lumbering, fishing, later manufacturing
-Triangular trade (rum from New England for slaves in Africa -> molasses in West Indies -> New England)
-Small manufacturing—mostly for naval stores (tar, pitch, pine, turpentine)
Social:
-settlers moved by families
-emphasized on education & religion
-townships, center= church
-Jeremiad
-Franchise to freemen (male church members); some to all citizens
-Ran by assemblies
Chesapeake/ South (Virginia, Maryland, NorthSouth Carolina, Georgia)
Economy:
-Relied heavily on cultivation of tobacco
-Headright system (sponsor indentured servants to work on plantations/cultivation)
-By 1750, slaves were the main workers; came by the way of the “Middle Passage”
-Indigo & rice also made a profit
Social:
-mostly men; little women (came in search for economic opportunities)
-unhealthy population
-social pyramid: planter aristocrats > small farmers (yeomen) > landless whites > slaves
Middle Colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey)
Economy:
-“bread colonies”
Social:
-unlike the North & South, did not establish state religions
-distinguished by its racial & religious diversity—Dutch Mennonites, French Huguenots, German Baptists, Portuguese Jews, Lutherans, Quakers, African Americans, Native Americans, etc)