Chapter 2: Beginning of English North America 1607-1660

Religion, Politics, and Freedom
1. The Rights of Englishmen
2. The English Civil War
3. England's Debate Over Freedom
4. English Liberty
5. The Civil War and English America
6. The Crisis in Maryland
7. Cromwell and the Empire
Jamestown
1. Main Topic 2
England and the New World
1. Unifying the English Nation
  1. early empire building an extension of the consolidation of national power
  2. 16th c. England weak and divided
  3. Henry VIII launches English Reformation to obtain divorce refused by Roman Catholic Pope
    1. established the Church of England (Anglican) with himself as Head
    2. decades of religious strife follow, distracting England from overseas adventures
    3. Elizabeth I reigns from 1558-1603
2. England and Ireland
  1. England first attempts to conquer and subdue Ireland, retarding efforts to colonize North America
  2. English conquest of "barbaric" Irish Catholics a rehearsal for colonization of North America
    1. military conquest
    2. slaughter of civilians
    3. seizure of land
    4. settlement of English on Irish land
    5. English excluded Irish from their way of life
    6. Indians were equivalent to "primitive" Irish in English eyes-->confused liberty with license
    7. refused to respect English authority and conversion to Anglican Christianity
    8. English colonies known as "plantations"--communities planted abroad among alien populations
3. England and North America
  1. English began with pirating ambitions to prey on wealthy Spanish galleons
  2. government granted charters(grants of exclusive rights and privileges) to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh to establish colonies in North America at their own expense
    1. no royal support-->both fail
    2. Gilbert dies at sea
    3. Raleigh's North Carolina "Roanoke" settlement ends mysteriously
    4. successful colonies required more capital investment than one person could provide
4. Spreading Protestantism
  1. national glory, profit, and religious mission merged in English thinking about New World prospects
    1. God! Gold! Glory!
    2. Reformation split Catholic Spain against Protestant England
    3. English believe they are struggling against evil Catholic Pope in establishing Protestant settlements in North America
  2. English spread the "Black Legend" of Spanish torture and brutality against Native Americans
  3. anti-Catholicism became deeply ingrained in English culture by late 16th century-->important trait of America for many centuries
  4. English describe their colonial ambitions in language of freedom and liberation from Catholic tyranny
    1. empire and freedom went hand in hand
5. Motives for Colonization
  1. colonization would enable England to rival the wealth and standing of much larger Spain and France
  2. French in Canada and Spanish in Mexico left middle North America--without gold or sugar-to English
  3. promoters touted fertile soil and abundant wild life-->could easily supply England with valuable commodities
  4. shift from gold to trade as basis for empire
6. The Social Crisis
  1. America could be dumping ground for the excess population of worthless beggers, theives, and undesirables
  2. English enclosure movement of 1560-1650 by wealthy landowners forced millions of landless peasants off the land and into towns and cities-->violence and anarchy threatened to disrupt English society
  3. large poor population (50%) threatened to swamp meager English resources for "poor relief"
  4. poor jobless, landless, potentially criminal population could be exported to America and become productive workers and enrich England
7. Masterless Men
  1. English believe liberty depended on having own means of support, especially land
  2. those who worked for wages were "dependent" on others
  3. outlaws and robbers were "freer" in popular mind then peasants who worked for landlord
  4. America "sold" to English as a place of "second chances" where a man or woman could get a fresh start and rise by their own efforts
  5. no prospect of owning own land for most English peasants or paupers-->only possible in America
The Coming of the English
1. English Emigrants
  1. 17th c. America unstable and dangerous
    1. disease decimated Indian and settlers
    2. colonies divided by religious, political, economic tensions
    3. drawn into imperial wars with rival European powers and Indians
  2. settlers remained dependent on mother country for protection and economic help
  3. without continuous immigration, settlements would have collapsed
  4. desperate economic conditions in England spurs far larger immigration than France or Spain
  5. largest number of settlers went to Ireland and West Indies--not North America
  6. three waves of emigration
    1. Chesapeake
    2. New England
    3. Middle Colonies
  7. most immigrants were young, single men willing to take great risks
  8. later, more families immigrated
2. Indentured Servants
  1. well-off professionals, merchants, clergy arrived in America as free persons --> owned their own land
  2. in 17th c, 2/3 of settlers came as indentured servants
    1. voluntarily surrendered freedom for a specified period of time (5-7 years) in exchange fior passage to America
  3. servants could be bought and sold, could not marry w/o permission;were subject to physical punishment; courts enforced their obligations; crime tro run away --> led to longer periods of servitude
  4. pregnant women hot extended contracts, even if their masters raped them
  5. unlike slaves, servants could look forward to release and freedom
  6. high death rate prevented many servants from attaining freedom
  7. freedom dues too small to allow land purchase --> went back into service
3. Land and Liberty
  1. English believed land was the necessary basis for liberty
    1. owning land gave men control over their own labor --> right to vote
    2. promise of eventually owning land lured many Englishmen into indentured servitude
  2. kings rewarded faithful service with large tracts of land
    1. each colony began with a royal grant of land to a corporation or an individual
  3. land was source of wealth and power for colonial officials and their favorites
  4. without labor, land was useless
  5. eventually, many property owners turned to slaves as labor supply
4. Englishmen and Indians
  1. North America already occupied --> the land was already :"taken"
  2. English did not want to conquer and subdue the native population --> they wanted to remove them and occupy their land for their own people
  3. English did not mix with Indians; marry them; or rule over them; or put them to work
    1. marriage of Rolfe and Pocahantas almost uniquefor 17th century
  4. formally, English refused to recognize Indian title to land they did not cultivate or improve
    1. acquired land by purchase --> often through treaties forced on Indians after military defeat
    2. some states tried to limit individual land purchases
  5. 17th century full of warfare and conflict between English and Indians
    1. attempted to enforce clear boundaries between two groups
    2. English often settled in abandoned Indian towns and fields --> adopted many Indian ways to survive
    3. later, depended less on Indians and went their separate ways
5. The Transformation of Indian Life
  1. Eastern Indians initially welcomed English "visitors" --> saw them as allies against traditional Indian rivals
  2. Indians valued unique goods they couldn't make
    1. woven cloth
    2. metal kettles and tools
    3. iron axes
    4. hoes
    5. guns
  3. Indians become integrated into Atlantic economy
    1. metal goods subtly change Indian economy
      1. men devote more time to hunting beaver for fur trading
      2. older survival, self-sufficiency skills wither
      3. alcohol became more common and disruptive
      4. as military advantage of Europeans gained, trade worked more to their advantage
      5. dependency on Europeans stimulated increased intertribal warfare
      6. overhunting of beaver led to conflict of competing Indian tribes for scarcer hunting grounds
      7. Europeans brought diseases that decimated Indian populations
6. Changes in the Land
  1. introduction and spread of European farming techniques and domesticated animals undermined traditional Indian farming techniques
  2. European pigs and cattle roamed freely --> trampling Indian cornfields and hunting grounds
  3. European need for trees for housing and heat led to smaller hunting grounds
  4. overhunting of beaver led to declining animal populations
New Englanders Divided
1. Intro
2. Roger Williams
3. Rhode Island and Connecticut
4. The Trials of Anne Hutchinson
5. Puritans and Indians
6. The Pequot War
7. The New England Economy
8. The Merchant Elite
9. The Half-Way Covenant
The New England Way
1. The Rise of Puritanism
2. Moral Liberty
3. The Pilgrims at Plymouth
4. The Great Migration
5. The Puritan Family
6. Government and Society in Massachusetts
7. Puritan Liberties
Settling the Chesapeake
1. The Jamestown Colony
  1. early history of colony disastrous
    1. weak leadership
    2. high death rate
    3. search for quick profits --> near bankruptcy
    4. anarchic quarreling
    5. gentry and skilled craftsmen preferred to search gold and jewels rather than to work to eat
  2. poor location near a malaria-infested swamp with salt water in wells
  3. "starving time" winter reduced population to 65
  4. 80% of immigrants dead by 1616
  5. only Captain Smith's rigorous military discipline saved the day
  6. "He that will not work, neither shall he eat."
2. From Company to Society
  1. Virginia Co. directors decide to abandon search for quicj riches and concentrate on survival --> grow own food and find marketable commodity
  2. Co. introduced "headright system"
    1. awarded 50 acres of land to anyone who paid for their own or someon else's passage to Virginia
  3. charter of "grants and liberties" --> leads to founding of self-governing House of Burgesses
    1. first elected assembly in colonial America 1619
    2. Virginia Co. retained veto power
  4. first African slaves brought to Virginia in 1619 --> but indentured labor remained main source of labor for next 60- years
3. Powhatan nd Pocahonyas
  1. Jamestown/Virginia region ruled by Powhatan
    1. ruled confederation of 20,000 Indians in 30 tribes
    2. he quickly realized advantages of trading with English newcomers
    3. English adopt friendly approach to Indians at first --> to show up Spanish britality
    4. Captain Smith forbade English to steal Indian food to preserve good relations with Indians
    5. Powhatan arranged "kidnapping" of Captain Smith in order to forge alliance through his daughter Pocahontas
    6. conflict with Indians escalates after Smith's departure
    7. Pocahintas marries John Rolfe, converts to Christianity, and travels with him to England where she meets the King --> dies of disease in 1617
4. The Uprising of 1622
  1. conflict with Indians inevitable once they become permanent settlers competing for same land
  2. Indians launch well-coordinated surprise attack on English in 1622 --> wipe out 1/4 of 1,200 settlers
  3. English survivors organize and retaliate __. massacre scores of Indians and burn their villages
  4. Indian attacks mean no right to own land --> England adopts an expulsion strategy
  5. eventually, after several failed attacks on English, Indians agree to depart Virginia for lands further west --> remaining Indians live in undesirable areas "reserved" for them
  6. King takes over Virginia Co. after Indian Wars expose poor management of colony --> "Royal Colony" governed by King's ministers who appoint the Royal Governor
  7. Virginia never made a profit for its investors
5. A Tobacco Colony
  1. Europeans go mad for tobacco --> believe smoking it has medicinal properties
  2. King profited from customs duties on tobacco imports to England
  3. rapid growth of tobacco cultivation led to mad scramble for best land for growing and exporting to ships
    1. disperses population over wide area
    2. no town centers
    3. arrival of mid-century English gentry with money led to large landed estates due to headright system along waterways of Chesapeake bay --> social and political elite
    4. increased demand for field labor --> young male indentured servants with high mortality rates
    5. Virginia's society began to resemble hierarchical English society: large landowners on top--middle classes--landless laborers on bottom
    6. 90,000 whites in VA. by 1700
6. Women and the Family
  1. men outnumbered women in Chesapeake by 4:1 throughout 17th century
  2. women had to complete contracts before marrying --> average age 26
  3. high death rate produced society with very rate of orphans and widows
  4. patriarchal power weakened by short life spans and small families, widows, orphans, etc
  5. scarcity of women led to increased influence and power for women on their own
  6. some women exercised surprising degree of legal rights --> others were abused and left with unpayable debts when husbands died
7. The Maryland Experiment
  1. Maryland developed as smaller version of Virginia as tobacco-based economy
  2. Maryland founded as proprietary colony --> ownership given by quasi-Catholic King James II to Lord Baltimore as refuge for Catholics in America
  3. Baltomore intended Maryland to be a feudal domain where he woul own everything and live off the rents paid by his tenants
  4. citizens promised all the "rights of Englishmen" --> recipe for future conflict
8. Religion in Maryland
  1. most officials were Catholic; most settlers were Protestants --> formula for conflict