Chapter 2: The Challenge to Spain and the Settlement of North America

1. AP US History Chapter 2: The Challenge to Spain and the Settlement of North America

2. The Protestant Reformation • In 1517, Martin Luther touched off a worldwide revolt against the Catholic Church • Several new denominations of Christianity sprung up as a result • Believed that salvation came from faith alone • John Calvin, a French Protestant, inspired other churches as well • French Huguenot, Dutch Reformed Church, Church of Scotland, Anglican Church, and the Puritans • Calvinists believed in predestinations, belief that God chose who was saved or who was damned, regardless of the life you live • This religious upheaval gave European nations the desire to break from the influence of the Catholic Church and challenge Spain for worldwide dominance

3. Early French Exploration • Giovanni da Verrazano: Italian sailor hired by France in 1524 • Searched for the Northwest Passage • Explored coast from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas • Jacques Cartier: three voyages from 1534-1543 • Explored St. Lawrence River Valley of Canada before harsh winters forced him to give up • Samuel de Champlain: made 11 voyages to Canada by 1645 • Established the colony of Acadia (Nova Scotia) and Quebec, eventually known as New France • Hoped to unite Catholics and Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) • Sought friendly relations with Native Americans • Failed in religious tolerance, as New France became a Catholic only colony in1625 • Did open the fur trade and the coureurs de bois (roamers of the woods), much to the struggle of the missionaries

4. French Jesuits • The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits had great success in establishing missions in New France • Highly respected amongst Natives • Learned Native languages and lived amongst the tribes • Believed conversion could occur while keeping traditional culture • Eventually, lost influences as the fur trade gained steam and the French Crown assumed control of New France in 1663

5. New France After 1663 • Louis tried to transform colony into model absolutist society • Governor general: responsible for military and diplomatic affairs • Professional soldiers were sent to Canada to provide defense • Seigneurs: gentry that controlled land in New France, but were not as powerful as aristocrats in France • Efforts were made to restrain fur trade and the colony’s population • Population 3,000 by 1750 • Frenchmen also settled in the Caribbean • Founded sugar colonies on Saint-Domingue (Haiti), Guadeloupe, and Martinique

6. Dutch & Swedish Settlement • The Dutch differed vastly from other European monarchies • Valued personal liberties, prosperity and religious toleration • Established the Dutch East India Company in 1602 • Drove the Portuguese out of the Spice Islands • Sent Henry Hudson to North America, where he sailed up the Hudson River and claimed the river valley and the surrounding area for the Dutch • Dutch West India Company formed in 1621 • Controlled slave trade and American trade • Established New Amsterdam (modern day NYC) in 1624 • Traded heavily with Natives, did not venture far inland • First experiment in religious toleration

7. Swedish Settlement • First settled in 1638 near present day Wilmington, DE • Settled on land already claimed by the Dutch • Mostly Lutheran, but tolerant of all religions • English expansion from the North (New England) and South (Virginia) threatened the success of the colony • Eventually, “Yankees” (land pirates) attacked the colony in 1664

8. English Exploration • Religion played a great role in English expansion and influence in the Americas • The various monarchs throughout the 1500s had differing views on religion • By the end of the 1500s, the Church of England emerged as the official religion • Calvinist in belief, Catholic in practice and structure • Puritans arose, rejecting the Catholic influence • Non-Separatists: loyal to the Church of England, but resisted Catholic influence • Separatists: formed their own congregations, hoping to break away from the Church of England • Some left for other areas of Europe • Eventually, the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, MA, in 1620 • Explorers like Sir Francis Drake pillaged Spanish settlements, much to the approval of the English Crown

9. English Exploration • Wars with Ireland were also influential in English settlement • English tried to force customs and religion on the Irish, making them ever more Catholic • Even today, a tense rivalry exists between the English and Irish • Used as a model against Native Americans upon arrival to the Americas • Roanoke Island was the first attempt at colonization in 1585, off coast of present day North Carolina • Founded by Sir Walter Raleigh • Struggled for a few years before Raleigh returned to England for supplies • Upon his return in 1590, the colony was abandoned, with a strange message – CROATOAN – carved into a tree • Unknown to this day what happened to the settlers of the colony

10. Jamestown • In 1607, the London Company launched an expedition to colonize present day Virginia • Colony nearly failed from the start • Colonists focused on finding gold, not building shelter, growing food, etc. • Survived because of the leadership of John Smith and Pocahontas • Daughter of local tribal chief Powhatan • Soothed relations between the tribe and colonists • Cultivated tobacco, ensuring the survival of the colony • Formed the House of Burgesses, a representative government • Nearly destroyed in wars with Natives in 1622 • English Crown took over control in 1624, making it a royal colony, with the governor and council appointed by the Crown • Attracted indentured servants to grow tobacco

11. Maryland • Formed on the basis of a haven for Catholics in 1632 • Led by Lord Baltimore as a proprietary colony, one in which a proprietor controls the colony • However, most settlers ended up being Protestant • Toleration Act of 1649 granted freedom to all Christians • No established church like Viriginia, colonists worshiped without ministers until 1690 • Established a bicameral legislature • Relied on tobacco, corn and livestock

12. New England • In 1620, Puritan Separatists sailed aboard the Mayflower, settling the colony of Plymouth • The passengers agreed to the Mayflower Compact before going ashore • First Constitution in America • Majority rule and consent of the governed • Suffered during the first winter, helped greatly by the local Native tribes • Squanto, a Patuxet Indian, was especially influential • Showed the colonists how to grow corn and fish • Celebrated in the fall of 1621 with the first Thanksgiving feast • More Puritans began leaving England, and the Massachusetts Bay Company formed in 1629 to colonize the lands around Plymouth

13. New England • Economically, the Plymouth and MA Bay Colony thrived • Agriculture • Fishing • Ship building • Religiously, Puritan influence eroded • Anne Hutchinson: completely rejected the Church of England • Banished from Massachusetts • Helped to form Rhode Island with Roger Williams • Colonies formed own institutions that were influential on the formation the United States • Open-field agriculture, where the town worked together to feed each other • Chamber of Deputies: representative government • Body of Liberties (1641): guarantee of basic rights, precursor to the Bill of Rights

14. The Carolinas • North Carolina: formed by former servants of VA and MD in 1663 • South Carolina: formed by former servants of the Barbados in 1663 • Formed as one, until split in 1700s • Diversified economy, but leader in rice production • Led to increase in slave labor

15. New York • Established in 1664 • Took land away from the Dutch without a fight • Renamed New Amsterdam to New York • Self government nearly non-existent • New Jersey formed in 1665 by taking land away from New York • Allowed for self government, making more attractive to settlement • Lost many settlers to more tolerant Pennsylvania • Eventually enacted the Charter of Liberties to protect basic rights in 1683

16. The Quaker Settlements • The Quakers were a religious group that faced great persecution in England • Pacifists • Inner light: all people can be good • Rejected slavery • Settled in several areas • West New Jersey • Delaware • Pennsylvania • Eventually lost control of colonies and moved to Pennsylvania • Settled by William Penn in 1681 • Friendly relations with Native Americans • First Frame of Government (1682) formed a representative gov’t • Second Frame (PA Charter of Liberties) in 1683 revised the gov’t • Equality of all religions and the sexes • Quickly became an economic success