English Colonization in North America

Overview

This lecture covers English colonization in North America from 1607 to 1660, focusing on motives, settlement patterns, social structure, conflicts, and key laws and events.

England’s Motives and Early Colonization

• Henry VIII created the Church of England (Anglican Church) after breaking from Catholicism.
• England’s harsh conquest of Ireland influenced treatment of Native Americans.
• England was late to colonization; Roanoke (1586) was the first, mysterious "lost colony."
• The defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588) established English naval dominance and enabled colonization.
• Colonies appealed to England’s poor due to economic opportunity and overcrowding at home.
• The enclosure movement displaced many English, pushing them to migrate.

Settlement Patterns and Demographics

• England sent men, women, and children; Spain and France mostly sent men in smaller numbers.
• The Chesapeake region included Virginia and Maryland, focusing on tobacco and indentured servants.
• Indentured servants worked 5–7 years for passage; about half survived to freedom.
• Land ownership was tied to liberty and voting rights.
• A proprietor was a person granted land by the king, e.g., William Penn (PA), Lord Baltimore (MD).

Relations with Native Americans and Land

• English colonists displaced natives rather than intermarried.
• Land taken by treaty after military defeat; little land was bought.
• European goods (guns, iron, horses, alcohol) transformed native life and escalated conflict.
• Expansion led to environmental changes and ongoing conflicts, e.g., Powhatan attacks, Pequot War.

Jamestown and Chesapeake Colonies

• Jamestown (VA, 1607) was the first permanent English colony; initial focus was on silver/gold, but shifted to tobacco.
• Starving Time (1609–10) decimated settlers; John Smith enforced discipline.
• The Headright System (1618) gave 50 acres for funding passage, favoring the wealthy.
• 1619: First Africans arrived; House of Burgesses (first representative government) established.
• Tobacco brought wealth but exhausted soil, causing expansion and conflict.
• Chesapeake societies were male-dominated; few rights for women; high death rates.

Puritans and New England Colonies

• Puritans wanted to purify (not leave) the Anglican Church; believed in predestination (John Calvin).
• John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill” speech aimed for a model religious society with limited religious freedom.
• Mayflower Compact established early self-government.
• Great Migration (1629–1642) brought 21,000 Puritans, mostly families, for religious and economic reasons.
• Close-knit, male-dominated towns, high life expectancy, early schools, and Harvard College established.

Law, Society, and Dissent

• Voting in Massachusetts Bay limited to male church members (“visible saints”).
• Bodies of Liberties (1641) listed colonists' rights; allowed for slavery.
• Puritans denied religious toleration; dissenters Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson banished to Rhode Island.
• Rhode Island practiced religious toleration and separation of church and state.

Economic Development and Church Membership

• New England economy mixed: farming, trade, fish, lumber, some slavery/indentured servitude.
• Halfway Covenant allowed partial church membership for descendants of original Puritans.
• Jeremiads warned of moral decline to encourage religious adherence.

Rights and Political Change in England

• Magna Carta (1215) established due process; colonists saw themselves as entitled to English rights.
• English Civil War (1640s) led to temporary parliamentary supremacy, beheading of Charles I, Cromwell’s rule, and eventual Restoration (Charles II).
• Levelers and Quakers advocated for democracy and religious toleration; Quakers settled in Pennsylvania and paid natives for land.

Maryland and Religious Toleration

• Maryland founded as a Catholic haven; Protestants gained power.
• Maryland Act of Toleration (1649) granted religious freedom to Christians but excluded other faiths.
• Cromwell expanded English influence and Navigation Acts regulated colonial trade.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Anglican Church — Protestant denomination with king as leader, established by Henry VIII.
• Indentured Servant — Laborer working 5–7 years in exchange for passage to America.
• Proprietor — Individual granted land by the king, governing a proprietary colony.
• Headright System — Policy granting land for sponsoring immigrant passage.
• House of Burgesses — First elected legislative assembly in colonial America (Virginia).
• Puritans — Group seeking to purify the Church of England from Catholic practices.
• Mayflower Compact — Agreement for self-government signed by Pilgrims in 1620.
• Halfway Covenant — Allowed partial church membership for New England Puritans’ descendants.
• Magna Carta — 1215 English charter granting certain liberties and due process.
• Maryland Act of Toleration — 1649 law granting religious freedom to all Christians.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review key differences between English, Spanish, and French colonization.
• Understand the social, economic, and religious motivations for migration.
• Know the significance of the House of Burgesses, Headright System, and Maryland Act of Toleration.
• Prepare for next chapter on Bacon’s Rebellion and the shift to African slavery.