Heinrich's History: British Colonization in North America

Key Question

• How and why did British colonies develop into distinct societies despite being British?

Chesapeake Colonies

• Jamestown (1607)

  • First North American colony established by British
  • Funded by a joint-stock company (private investors, shared risks and rewards)
  • Purpose: Profit-driven motives (gold, silver)
  • Initial struggles: Famine, disease, and cannibalism
  • Tobacco (1612): John Rolfe's cultivation saved the colony
  • Labor: Indentured servants (7-year contracts for passage)
  • Land expansion led to conflicts with Native Americans

• Bacon's Rebellion

  • Led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley
  • Initially targeted Native Americans, then turned on Berkeley's plantations
  • Result: Elite planters sought new labor sources, leading to African slavery

New England Colonies

• Pilgrims (1620) & Puritans
  • Sought to live by their own religious conscience, unhappy with Church of England
  • Initial settlement in Holland for religious freedom, moved to America for economic reasons
  • Migrated as family groups, aimed to establish society and family economies
  • Struggles: High mortality due to disease
  • Economy: Agriculture and commerce

British West Indies and Southern Atlantic Coast

• Caribbean Colonies (1620s)

  • Islands: Saint Christopher, Barbados, Nevis
  • Cash crops: Tobacco initially, then sugarcane
  • Labor: High demand for African enslaved people
  • Barbados: Majority Black population, enacted harsh slave codes

• South Carolina

  • Inspired by British West Indies structure, replicated on mainland

Middle Colonies

• New York and New Jersey

  • Export economy based on cereal crops
  • Diverse population, growing inequality
  • Social structure: Wealthy urban merchants, middle class, unskilled laborers, enslaved Africans

• Pennsylvania

  • Founded by William Penn, a Quaker
  • Values: Religious freedom, negotiated with Native Americans for land

Governance

• Democratic Systems
  • Result of distance from Britain, colonies developed self-governance
  • Virginia: House of Burgesses, representative assembly
  • New England: Mayflower Compact, participatory town meetings
  • Middle and Southern Colonies: Representative bodies dominated by societal elites
  • Elites: Merchants in middle colonies, planters in the South

Conclusion

• Despite being British, the colonies developed distinct societies
• Commonality: Democratic systems of governance

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