Download 1- colonial America

Early American History
• Leif Ericson discovers Vinland (New England) around 1000 a.d.
• In 1492, an Italian sailor, on a Spanish expedition, discovers
Hispaniola, and the rest is history.
Migration to the Americas
Archaeologists have unearthed remains
pointing to the arrival of humans in America
at about 35,000 B.C.
Scientists generally agree that the first
inhabitants of the Americas were nomadic
travelers from Siberia.
These peoples traversed an ancient land
bridge which connected northeast Asia with
Alaska.
Migration routes
Within a
few
thousand
years they
had
populated
the entire
Western
hemisphere
Precolumbian America
The Aztec
people of
present-day
Mexico
numbered
about 20
million in
1492.
The Aztec
capital of
Tenochtitlan
later became
Mexico City.
Aztec Empire
North America before the Conquest
• Long history of Native American nations &
societies
• There were a variety of Native American societies
before European contact
• Recently, scholars have estimated that the precontact population of America north of the Rio
Grande stood at about 4 million.
• Native American societies were experiencing many
changes on the eve of European colonization
Population Density in 1492
Native American vs. European
• Europeans arrived with many preconceived notions of Native Americans
•
EUROPEAN
•
INDIAN
•
Civilized
•
Savage
•
Christian
•
Heathen
•
Developed
•
Primitive
•
Ordered
•
Disorder/Chaos
•
Reason/Logic
•
Base/Instinctive
•
Laws of Society
•
Laws of Nature
•
Productive
•
Unproductive
Colonial Outposts 1550-1650
•Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and
England establish settlements in North
America
•Renaissance, Reformation and Nationalism
created bitter European Rivalries and fueled
social change in Europe and the “new” world.
•Conversion of Indian peoples was
competitive in the context of the reformation
and counter reformation
Different attempts at colonization
in 16th century
• Economic distress, civil disorder, plague, and
Renaissance culture encouraged impulses to expand
into the New World.
• Spain had began colonizing America in search for gold
and for missionary purposes
• France was rent with civil and religious wars
• England was struggling with the Reformation and its
consequent political turmoil.
Columbus’s Four Voyages
Spanish Expeditions
in North America
Spain’s Northern Frontier
Composed of the present-day
Sun Belt of the United States:
Texas
Florida
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Netherland
Dutch
exploration and settlement was
much like the French—few people and
little support from the crown in Europe
Gave almost the entire responsibility
of settlement not to the priests or to
military but to a private, for profit
company
New Netherland was protestant,
therefore no Catholic orders of friars or
priests were present
New France Looks West
• France was convulsed by a bitter civil war until
1598
• Samuel De Champlain was sent by the French
Crown to create new outposts for France in
search of profit—1608 founded Quebec
• In 1604 and 1608, France established outposts
in present-day Nova Scotia and Quebec.
• Bitter skirmishes with the Iroquois set the tone
for future colonial wars with an ongoing alliance
of the English and Iroquois against the French.
Conflict arises
New France, comprised of the Mississippi
Valley from the Great Lakes to New
Orleans, was developed into an active
series of trading posts and forts which
threatened to pin the English to the Atlantic
coast.
The growth of French strength brought
them into conflict with the British on several
occasions; King William’s War, Queen
Anne’s War, Seven Years’ War.
French
North
Americ
a
16081763
England also Looks West
THREE FACTORS ENCOURAGING ENGLISH COLONIZATION
•Political
– English Civil War
– Opposition to Spanish increasing World domination
•Economic/Demographic
– Rising Prices and Increased Population
•Religious
– The Reformation and Rise of Puritanism
Political reasons
• Stop further Spanish expansion in the New
World
• Stop further spread of Catholicism in the
New World
• Profit
• Prevent Spain from Dominating Europe
- 1588 and the defeat of the Spanish Armada
Economic Motives for
Colonization
• Social safety valve – a dumping ground for the English
poor
• A place to produce commodities for the English
economy
• Restore economic and social stability at home
Structure of English Society
•THE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING
• Every person and thing had its appointed place on Earth and in
the social order
• Described society as it was and justified social inequality as
God-given
• Was instrumental in organizing the “types of Mankind” along a
hierarchical order.
Changes to the Great Chain of
Being
• Aristocrats saw their fortunes decrease
• Gentry and small farmers saw their wealth increase
• The poor peasants faced even bleaker times as food became
more expensive
• System of deference and paternalism breaks down
Economic Changes in England
•Rising Prices caused by influx of Spanish Gold inflation
•Rising population
- English population grew from 2.5 million in 1520 to about
5 million in 1680
•Caused a sharp rise in food prices
•Supply could not keep up with demand
• England’s first attempts at American colonization were
weak and unprofitable.
Indentured Servitude
•Primary source of labor in 17th century Virginia
•Bound for a set number of years
- Not hereditary
- Mostly of a voluntary nature
• Labor was enslaved, but not the person
•High mortality rates
Roanoke
•Sir Walter Raleigh
•Sent 117 Colonists to Roanoke Island in N.C. In 1585.
•Commander Ralph Lane
•Colonists mistreated Native Americans
•Colony disappeared after one year
• Eastern coast of North America is named Virginia, after
the Virgin Queen
Jamestown: 1607
• The Jamestown colony was a joint-stock
venture of the King of England and the
Virginia Company of England.
• 144 Settlers
• Nearly all from upper classes
• John Smith
• Powhatan
•“Starving Time”
JAMESTOWN
CHIEF POWHATAN
Religious reasons for colonization
•Those internal to English Society
•Those external to English society
The Reformation
• Martin Luther
• Priesthood of all believers
• No need for an intermediary
• Print the Bible so all can read it
• “Justification” by faith alone
• Salvation as a gift from God
• We could not influence our salvation
Protestantism in England
• King Henry VIII – 1533
• Wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon
• Pope refused to grant him a divorce
• Henry then broke away from the Church and
created the Church of England
• Appropriated all Catholic properties – This new
church very similar to the Catholic Church
The Puritans
•The “Hottest Sort of Protestants”
•Followers of John Calvin
•Believed man to be innately depraved and evil
• They stressed hard work as a primary method of
serving God
Why Puritans Left
•Felt that God was going to unleash his wrath
against England
•Faced increasing hostility from the King.
•In 1629, Charles I dissolved Parliament – a
body in which the Puritans enjoyed some
power.
•Led to English Civil War in 1642. Forces
of Parliament battled those of the King
The Covenant
• An agreement between God and every nation and
people
• They would abide by his law and he in turn would
protect them
• Purpose of government was to carry out this sacred
agreement with God
• People were to make sure their governors stayed true
to this task.
• If not, they were to rebel and replace them
Dilemmas of Puritanism
•How do you build a “pure” church if you
can never know for sure if you are among
the few that are saved?
•If it does not matter how you act – in that
either you are going to heaven or not – then
why act “good” at all?
Dilemmas Solved
•The conversion experience separated the
saved from the damned
•Although acting “good” or moral did not
lead to salvation, it was an indication that
one may be saved – for God had given you the
strength to resist evil
Community Life
• They went over in family units
• Groups of men, often from same village in
England, applied for land communally
• Widespread, though not equal, ownership
of property
• Organized around town center
• Church also center of community life
Two Groups of Puritans
• Separating Puritans: England is going to hell
– Led by William Bradford and settled
Plymouth Colony in 1620
– Did not think that England could be saved
— Men of little education
• Non-separating Puritans: Must leave England to save it
– led by John Winthrop and settled Massachusetts
Bay Colony in 1630
— Many were educated (clergymen) or wealthy
(Members of Parliament, etc.)
The Separating Puritans
• Organized Plymouth Colony in 1620
• Believed the Church of England and England
were beyond salvation
• God ready to unleash his wrath against the
English
• Decided they must withdraw from the world
of sin
The Mayflower Expedition
•In 1608 migrated to Holland to escape religious
persecution
•The “Pilgrim Fathers” arrived in Cape Cod on
November 19th
•Landed at Plymouth in December 1620
•Established a colony following the terms of the
Mayflower Compact.
•The colony survived the first winters thanks to the
leadership of William Bradford
The Non-Separating Puritans
• Could not escape the world of sin
• The Church and England were not beyond salvation
• Duty to reform and purify them
• God would hold them responsible too – if they did not
attempt this reform
• The only way to save England, though, was by leaving it
• Needed to Separate without Separating
John Winthrop
• Non-Separating Puritan
• Involved in the wool trade and government work
• Governor of Massachusetts Bay Company
• They settled in Boston
The Suppression of Dissent
• Roger Williams
– An avowed separatist
– Believed only the saved should be allowed in churches
– Questioned Puritan rights to Native American land
– Believed the state should not punish breaches of the first
four commandments
– First articulation of separation of church and state
– Banished to Providence, RI in 1636
Anne Hutchinson
• Could be considered the first American feminist
• Claimed that women should be admitted to meetings
• Began holding meetings at her own house
• Was exiled from the colony
The Conquistadors’ Onslaught at
Tenochtitlan
Within a single generation after the death of Columbus,
Spain had conquered most of the New World.
Spain was motivated by religion, nationalist pride, and
dreams of personal enrichment.
Spain was lucky—they found treasure enough to justify
their investment