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English
Settlement in North America
English Backgrounds
Claims and Conflict
During the second half of the 1400s the English were caught up in a series
of civil wars.
King Henry VII showed interest in the New World and hired an Italian mariner
to explore the coast of North America for England.
The explorer John
Cabot provided the basis for England's claim to land
in the New World.
Henry VII's son Henry VIII changed religion in England because of a disagreement
with the Pope. He persuaded Parliament to set up the Church of England,
with the monarch as the church's leader. Many people were displeased with
this and bitter conflict followed.
Rule of Elizabeth
She worked to create religious as well as political unity in England.
Actions by the English that led to war with Spain were taking cargoes
from Spanish ships and sinking them.
Elizabeth approved of attacks on Spanish ships.
Early Exploration and Settlement
Gilbert's Voyage: Sir Humphrey Gilbert was sent to the New World to establish
an English settlement. He became lost at sea. Queen Elizabeth then sent
Sir Walter Raleigh to complete the job.
The Lost Colony: The first English settlement in the New world was Roanoke
Island, Virginia; however, the people disappeared!
Invincible
Armada: The Spanish became angry at the repeated robbery of
Spanish ships by English sea dogs. In 1588, Spain sent a fleet of warships
to attack England. The guns of the smaller, more maneuverable English ships
damaged the Spanish fleet. The English defeated the Spanish and became
a major naval power.
First Permanent Colonies
Joint Stock Companies
The first English settlements were financed by joint stock companies.
Jamestown Settlement
Starving Time: Hardships the first settlers faced were disease and a lack
of food.
Tobacco Farming: this and cattle raising became the basis for early settlers
to make money. Tobacco brought a high price in England which enabled settlers
to make good profits to buy manufactured goods.
Indian-Settler Relations: John Rolfe married Pocahontas in 1614, and the
relationship between natives and settlers was okay. Later, diseases began
to kill many Native Americans, and disputes over land led to a poor relationship.
Representative Government: formation of the House of Burgesses began the
first representative government in North America.
Plymouth Colony
Mayflower
Compact: Puritan (Pilgrim) agreement to set up a civil government
and to obey its laws.
Plymouth Plantations: Pilgrim farms taken over from the Indians who had
died from disease.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Two religious groups that formed settlements in Massachusetts during the
1600s were the Puritans and the Separatists.
Rhode Island and Connecticut
Roger Williams: Rhode Island and Connecticut became colonies when Roger
Williams, a religious dissident from Massachusetts, started the settlement
of Providence and in 1644 received a charter for the colony of Rhode Island.
Anne Hutchinson: founded a settlement to the south of Providence.
Thomas Hooker: In search of greater religious and civil freedom, Thomas
Hooker of Massachusetts established towns in the Connecticut Valley and
in 1662 was granted a charter for the colony of Connecticut.
Maryland
The colony of Maryland was different from early colonies in that it was
the first proprietary colony, and it protected religious freedom.
Maine and New Hampshire
These proprietary colonies were formed in hopes that they would weaken
the power of Puritan Massachusetts; however, the Massachusetts Bay Colony
began buying up land in later years. New Hampshire was then made a royal
colony (the first colony of this type) and put under direct control of
the king.
Later Colonies
The Carolina Grant
In 1642 a civil war broke out in England. The king, Charles I, was executed
and Parliament took control of running the country under the direction
of Oliver Cromwell. No new colonies were established in the New World,
and those that existed were allowed to handle their own affairs. By 1660
a new king, Charles II, was back in power in England.
The Carolina colony, at first a proprietary colony, ran from Virginia
to Spanish Florida. The northern part had many farms and used slaves. The
southern part was involved mainly in trade as a port settlement, and in
1719 broke away from the north to become a royal colony. The North became
a royal colony a few years later as the king took away their grant.
New York and New Jersey
England gained control of New York and New Jersey as it took them from
the Dutch.
Pennsylvania
The Society of Friends (Quakers) established the colony of Pennsylvania.
Delaware
This colony was established by William Penn to provide a water outlet
for Pennsylvania. It was under the control of Pennsylvania for 20 years
and shared the same governor.
Georgia
James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia as a refuge for English
debtors.
Governing the Colonies
Royal Colony Government
Charles II formed royal colonies to have colonies that were under the
direct control of the Crown.
Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England was created to organize and unify the colonies.
The Dominion of New England came to an end because when the "Glorious
Revolution" in England deposed James II, some people in Boston imprisoned
Edmund Andros and his followers.
Glorious Revolution
When the English drove out James II, they asked his daughter Mary and
her husband William to be joint rulers. They agreed and the change took
place without bloodshed.
The Glorious Revolution guaranteed important rights for the English people,
including the people in the colonies. The Declaration of Rights of 1689
said that the crown could not pass tax laws without the consent of Parliament,
could not keep an army in peacetime, and stated other basic rights.
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