Lecture

Honors U.S. History Name:

Wk 1 & 2
Mr. Irwin Period:

Lecture 2
The New England, Middle & Southern Colonies

Main Idea: Upon the success of the Jamestown colony, England, over a period of
approximately 125 years, establishes thirteen colonies that will eventually rebel against
the governmental policies of King George III.

Pilgrims
A congregation of separatists who in 1620, founded the Plymouth Colony, the second
permanent British colony in North America.

Puritans
A religious group, sometimes called separatists, that wanted to “purify” the Church of
England from some of the lingering ways of the Catholic Church, even though
Catholicism was no longer the official religion of England.

The New England Colonies

(Land that later became the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine)

New England
By 1700, there were more than 93,000 people living a fairly good life in New England.

Plymouth Colony
The colony founded by the Pilgrims in 1620 (associated with today’s Thanksgiving
Feast).

William Bradford
One of the men who drew up the Mayflower Compact. Between the years 1621 – 1656,
he was elected governor of the Plymouth Colony 30 times. He helped create a
government in which people guided their own affairs.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Founded by Puritans who were not separatists; they left England to escape religious
persecution, political repression and poor economic conditions. In 1630, they founded
the Massachusetts Bay Colony, just a few miles north of Plymouth Colony.

John Winthrop
The leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sought to create a moral society and
establish this colony as an example for others to follow. Winthrop and the Puritans of

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Massachusetts Bay were not tolerant of other religious beliefs. By law, everyone in
Massachusetts Bay was required to attend the Puritan Church and to pay taxes to
support it.

The Great Migration

Getting the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay solidly running, set the stage
for a flood of new comers. By 1643, the Massachusetts Bay colony had grown to
approximately 20,000 people living in 20 different towns, including Boston. This large
scale migration became known as the Great Migration.

William and Mary

In 1691, England’s William and Mary joined the colonies of Plymouth and
Massachusetts Bay together, to become one royal colony. The name of the merged
colony became simply, Massachusetts.

Salem Witch Trials

1692 – Several young girls were accused of acting improperly. They said that they had
been possessed by evil spirits. The townspeople wanted to find the source of witchcraft
that seemed to have come upon these girls. Massachusetts authorities tried and
sentenced to death, 20 men and women that they believed were witches.

Connecticut
Founded by Thomas Hooker, a Puritan minister. In the mid 1630s, he led a group of
settlers to new land, south of Massachusetts, to set up the colony of Connecticut.

Maine
Settled by Puritans who came from Massachusetts in the mid-1630s.

New Hampshire
Also settled by Puritans who migrated northward from Massachusetts. New Hampshire
became a separate colony in 1679.

Rhode Island
Established when Roger Williams broke from the strict Puritanical practices of
Massachusetts. He moved to Rhode Island and set up his own colony in which
religious freedom was guaranteed to all who would come.

Colonial Conflict with Native Americans

During the 1600s, as New England became more and more populated, the English
settlers pushed Native Americans off of their homelands. This in turn sparked many
skirmishes between the two groups.

King Philip’s War

In the spring of 1675, a conflict between English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe, in
which Native Americans, led by chief Metacom of the Algonquin Indians, fought with
settlers in the area that was rapidly becoming New England. Metacom united Native

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Americans from Rhode Island to Maine in an attempt to drive the settlers out. The
fighting lasted close to a year. Twenty towns were destroyed and about 2,000 settlers
were killed. It is estimate that about 4,000 Native Americans lost their lives. The war
ended with Metacom’s death.

The Middle Colonies

(Land that later became the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania & Delaware)

New Netherland (Dutch)

In 1621, the Dutch government granted the newly formed Dutch West India Company
permission to colonize “New Netherland” and expand the fur trade in the Hudson and
Delaware River valleys. A trading center was established at New Amsterdam, founded
at the mouth of the Hudson River, in 1625.

New York
In 1664, England’s King Charles II declared that the entire region of the Dutch colonies
belonged to his brother, the Duke of York. The English sent ships and soldiers to the
area, and the Dutch were forced to give up New Netherland. Once under English
control, the name was changed to New York. New York became a proprietary colony.

New Jersey
Part of the Duke of York’s charter. By 1702 two Jersey tracts were merged into one
single royal colony.

Proprietary Colony
A colony granted by a king or queen to an individual or group who could make rules or
laws as they saw fit. Initially, all the middle colonies were proprietary colonies.

William Penn, Quakers & Pennsylvania

Owner of the colony of Pennsylvania, established on land that he had received from
King Charles II in 1681. Penn was a Quaker, a Protestant group that had suffered
persecution in England. Quakers firmly believed that all people should be treated as
equals. Penn saw his colony as a “Holy Experiment,” and invited Quakers as well as
non-Quakers to settle in Pennsylvania.

Delaware
Established by the Swedes, taken over by the Dutch and then taken over by the
England’s Duke of York. The Duke of York turned Delaware over to William Penn to
manage.

The Southern Colonies

(land that later became Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas & Georgia)

Virginia
In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh sent a small reconnaissance fleet to the Outer Banks of
present day North Carolina. They returned with a positive report that included a

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description of “most gentle, loving and faithful Indians.” Raleigh named this new land
Virginia, after Queen Elizabeth I, who was sometimes referred to as the “Virgin Queen.”

Joint-Stock Companies
In 1605, two English companies were formed; the Virginia Company of London, and
the Plymouth Company. These companies were funded by investors who would put
up money in return for shares of stock in the company (which they hoped would
increase in value). We call companies that raised money in this fashion, joint-stock
companies.

The Virginia Company was granted a charter to colonize southern Virginia, while the
Plymouth Company was given rights to develop in northern Virginia.

Jamestown, Virgina – In December, 1606, 144 settlers, including the wealthy, as well
as the poor (who would have to go over as indentured servants), boarded three ships,
the Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Godspeed. Thirty-nine people perished on
the way. Consequently, the colony of Jamestown was established with the remaining
105 settlers. Building a triangular fort at the mouth of a river that they named the James
(in honor of their King James), the colony was officially established in May, 1607.
Jamestown became the first successful English colony in North America.

Initially, half of the Jamestown settlers died from sicknesses, including malaria. The
settlers sought help from the local Native Americans, and received it. For Jamestown,
the year 1609 was called “the starving time.”

During this bleak time, Captain John Smith took charge of the colony, and saved many
people from dying of starvation. He set down the rule that if you don’t work, you don’t
eat!

Captain Smith was able to get on friendly terms with the Indian chief, Powhatan.
Through his relationship with Powhatan, he was able to get some very badly needed
food, mainly corn and yams, for the settlers.

After the “starving period,” the colony began farming tobacco. The primary labor force
for this endeavor was indentured servants.

Pocahontas – Even though the nearby Indians helped the settlers of Jamestown, the
relationship was somewhat strained. A war could have broken out at any time. In 1613
Captain Samuel Argall kidnapped Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, and took her to
Jamestown as a hostage. Surprisingly, she learned the language and the culture of the
English and married tobacco planter John Rolfe, in 1614. This marriage resulted in
eight years of peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Native Americans, which
helped Jamestown to grow and prosper, mainly through its cultivation of tobacco.

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Maryland
Was first settled in 1634, as a haven for Catholics who had been persecuted in England.
In addition to the Catholic settlers, the population of Maryland also included a number of
Puritans. As the result, the Maryland Toleration Act was passed to protect Catholics
from persecution in Maryland. The early economy was based upon tobacco plantations
and slave labor.

Carolina
Originally a very large plot of land that King Charles II gave to a group of English
noblemen, in 1663. It was later split into North and South Carolina in 1712. Shortly
after this split, both Carolinas became Royal colonies. The colonies of the Carolinas
thrived on tobacco production and trade with Native Americans.

Georgia
Set up as a proprietary colony in 1732, it was managed by a group of trustees led by
James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe established Georgia as a place to send English who
had been jailed because they could not pay their debts. The Oglethorpe group
managed Georgia in this way for 20 years. Initially Catholics were barred from residing
in Georgia, liquor was prohibited and slavery was not allowed. Eventually, the
Oglethorpe group gave Georgia back to the King, and it became a royal colony.

The Original Thirteen Colonies

(that would become the United States)

New England
Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine

Middle Colonies
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania & Delaware

Southern Colonies
Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina & Georgia

- End of Lecture -

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