Reasons for English Colonization

1. Reasons for English Colonization By: Mr. Daniell

2. Economic Reasons • Mercantilism

3. More Economic Reasons • High unemployment in England caused by landowners who forced tenant farmers off the land • Promise of gold to increase England’s wealth • Indentured servants – young, unskilled workers who exchanged their labor for a period of time, usually three to seven years, for passage, room, and board in America for a better life

4. Jamestown(Example of Economic Reason for Colonization) • 1607 - Jamestown founded in Virginia; first permanent English settlement in North America. http://www.history.com/topics/jamestown/videos#life-in-jamestown

5. Jamestown • Reason for settlement: • King James I granted a charter to a group of London entrepreneurs, the Virginia Company, to settle Virginia, find gold, and seek a water route to the east

6. Jamestown • Early hardships: • Hot climate was not conducive to the growth of the plants they had brought from England (farming) • Swampy location of settlement caused health issues – polluted water, mosquitoes spreading disease (disease caused 80% of colonists to die) • Attacksby the native Algonquian Indians made life almost impossible

7. Jamestown • John Smith – leader of Jamestown established rigid discipline, strengthened defenses, and encouraged farming with this admonishment: "He who does not work, will not eat."; because of his strong leadership, the settlement survived and grew Captain John Smith

8. Jamestown • Pocahontas - daughter of Powhatan, the powerful chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia near Jamestown who helped the colonists received food from the Indian; vital link between colonists and Native Americans http://www.history.com/topics/jamestown/videos#pocahontas

9. Jamestown • John Rolfe – developed cash crop of tobacco at Jamestown that saved the colony (the ability to grow tobacco made land especially valuable, causing a significant population growth); married Pocahontas

10. Jamestown • House of Burgesses was the first representative assembly in the American colonies. • (Burgesses means elected officials.)

11. Jamestown • Bacon’s Rebellion (The Background) • Bacon led a group of frontier settlers in a rebellion against the Governor of Jamestown. They were mad about high taxes and no protection from the Native Americans. • They took control of the House of Burgesses and burned Jamestown to the ground.

12. Jamestown • Bacon’s Rebellion (The Result) • Bacon died from illness, his followers were hanged. • BUT, the House of Burgesses passed laws so that a royal governor could not have that much power again. • Showed that colonists WILL fight for rights.

13. Political Reasons for Colonization • Search for the Northwest Passage to India in order to compete with Spain and Portugal • Acquisition of territory to add to empire • Buffer against Spanish colonies in America

14. Social Reasons for Colonization • Freedom from religious persecution • Protection of culture

15. Plymouth • Plymouth Colony (example of social reason- religious freedom) • 1620 – arrival of the Pilgrims in Plymouth and the signing of the Mayflower Compact http://www.history.com/topics/thirteen-colonies/videos#the-mayflower

16. Puritans & Pilgrims • Separatists—Protestant group that cut all ties with the Church of England & developed their own churches • Pilgrims: a group of Separatists

17. Puritans & Pilgrims • 1608: Pilgrims escape to Netherlands to freely practice religion

18. Puritans & Pilgrims • Immigrants—people who leave their original country to live in another country • Pilgrims unhappy in Netherlands • Formed a joint-stock company & returned to England

19. Plymouth • •Reasonfor settlement: Pilgrims fled religious persecution in England; after a decade in Holland, came to America in order to worship freely

20. Plymouth • Mayflower Compact – Signed by the men on the Mayflower, an agreement that established self-government and gave the leaders the power to enact laws for the good of the colony.

21. The Founding of Plymouth • Mayflower Compact written because colonists landed too far away from Virginia to be ruled by its government. Original Mayflower Compact

22. The Founding of Plymouth • Mayflower Compact—documents creating a new political society signed by the Pilgrims Signing the Mayflower Compact

23. The Founding of Plymouth • Pilgrims land in present-day Massachusetts in late 1620

24. The Pilgrim Community • Women had more rights in the Plymouth Colony than they had in England: • Make Contracts • Own property • Bring cases before court

25. Plymouth • Early hardships: During the first winter in the New World, the colonists suffered greatly from disease, lack of shelter and general conditions onboard ship; 45 of the 102 emigrants died the first winter

26. Plymouth • William Bradford - Leader of Pilgrims

27. Pilgrims & American Indians • March 1621: Indian walks into Pilgrim community speaking English • Pilgrims meet Squanto • Indians use Pilgrims in internal tribal struggle for power Samoset walking into Pilgrim community

28. Plymouth • Squanto – created peace between the Native Americans and Pilgrims and taught the Pilgrims how to hunt and farm

29. Massachusetts Bay Colony • The Puritans come to America fleeing religious persecution. • Puritans create a community bound by common interest and law. • They wanted to “purify” the Church of England Puritans land at Plymouth Rock http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/D36FFC29-BC97-45F2-AFA7-74ACBE2ED5C8

30. Puritans • Governor of Massachusetts Bay colony was John Winthrop. • Established economy as a “common wealth”, meaning people work together for the good of the whole community.

31. Puritans • Held “town meetings” (a form of self government in which they made laws) • “New England Way” was a term used to describe the beliefs of their society.

32. Puritans • Some Puritans moved to Connecticut andset up a form of representative government called the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.

33. Puritans • Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written constitution in the colonies. • It gave voting rights to non church members and limited the power of the governor.

34. Puritans • Puritans were centered around church. • Salem Witch Trials

35. Colonial Self-Government • In the absence of royal authority the colonies became accustomed to self-governance. • The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first elected representative legislature among the colonies. • The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written constitution for a colony.

36. Independent Government

37. French and Indian War • Rivalry between Britain and France over the Ohio River Valley led to a world-wide conflict. The War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. France loses all of its North American territory. British advance on Indians in war.

38. Review Questions • What motivated the explorers? • Why were the colonies settled? • How did the colonies develop self government? • What motivated the war between Britain and France?