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ENGLISH COLONIZATION
I. Early English Colonial Experience
A. English Approach to Colonization
1. 16th-century British society was based upon Protestant institutions.
2. Its government was a constitutional monarchy with a Parliament with increasing
power
3. The new world climate was not as much of a factor for Great Britain as for Spain.
4. The area settled by Britain faced smaller nomadic tribes over a smaller land area.
B. Background for English Colonization
1. English colonies existed before England developed a concept of empire,
but at first no specific plan for colonization or overall plan for settlement
existed.
2. England became unified after the War of the Roses when the Houses of
York and Lancaster merged with the marriage of Elizabeth of York to
Henry of Lancaster.
3. Henry VII (1485-1509) strengthened the monarchy by reducing the
power of the nobility.
a. He turned down Columbus' brother who was searching for funds for
exploration.
b. Following an economic buildup, in 1497 he authorized a venture by
John Cabot.to seek a Northwest passage. Cabot found a rich fishing area
near Newfoundland.
(1) When he returned to England, the king rewarded him with ten pounds.
(2) He disappeared during a second voyage with his brother Sebastian
(about whom rumors persisted that he had returned to England).
(3) Because of Cabot's voyage, England claimed vast areas of territory but
soon lost interest.
4. Henry VIII (1509-47) seemed more interested in fathering sons as
legitimate heirs than in establishing English colonies.
a. His only living son, Edward , was too young to rule without regents,
dying at age 15.
b. Henry's daughter, Mary , by Catherine of Aragon, whom he first
married, ruled bitterly, briefly returning England to Catholicism during her
five year rule, forcing many Protestants to flee the continent to further
study in leading Protestant centers of Europe.
5. Another daughter, Elizabeth I (1559-1603), although "illegitimate" during
Mary's reign, proved to be an able ruler.
a. Elizabethan Settlement 1559 - Church of England moved decidedly
toward Protestantism
b. England gained naval supremacy after defeating Spain's Armada
(1588) but had no empire yet
6. As English naval power increased, Elizabeth I encouraged the raiding of
Spanish shipping and settlements.
a. Sir Humphrey Gilbert wrote in 1576 that America was an island. If so
there must be a way around it to the north.
(1) He made a voyage to the New World (1578-79) to find the Northwest
passage.
(2) He returned to the Newfoundland area in June 1583 with five ships and
260 men but perished at sea on the return voyage in Sept.
b. Sir Walter Raleigh 's Colony (1584-1602)
(1) After Gilbert's half brother, Raleigh, received a renewal of the Gilbert
patent, he sailed to the New World in ships commanded by Sir Richard
Grenville and Ralph Lane .
(2) The expedition searched the North American mainland, which he
dubbed Virginia , in honor of the "Virgin" Queen.
(a) They spied on Spanish defenses in the Caribbean and landed on
Roanoke Island before returning to England.
(b) He dispatched a colonizing party (Apr 1585) to Roanoke Island,
leaving Lane in charge.
(c) The colonists abandoned the area (June 1586), returning to England
with Sir Francis Drake
(3) Grenville returned with supplies to find the colony abandoned and left
15 men.
(4) Another expedition under John White arrived in July 1587 and found
no survivors, leaving another group of colonists.
(5) White returned to England one week after his granddaughter, Virginia
Dare (18 Aug), was born, the first English child born in the New World.
(6) Unable to return until Aug 1590, Wjote found no trace of the colonists
(except for the letters CRO carved in a tree and the word CROANOAN
carved in a doorpost).
(7) A final expedition dispatched in Mar 1602 made a futile search for
survivors.
c. George Weymouth searched (Mar 1605 - July 1606) for territory
suitable for colonization for English Catholics, after English persecution
of Catholics intensified
7. Motivating factors for English Immigration
a. Desire for a quick profit
b. A chance to start over with a variety of opportunities and vast amounts
of land.
c. Religious freedom
(1) Although the Elizabethan Settlement made the Church of England
more Protestant, in the minds of many it did not go far enough to purge the
church of remaining Catholic vestiges.
(a) Those wishing to stay within the Church of England but further
"purify" it of remaining Catholic elements were known as Puritans who
viewed themselves as true members of the Church of England who merely
desired to make the Church better.
(b) The struggle between the Crown as head of the Church and Puritans
resulted in a Great Migration of them to New England during the reigns
of James I , son of Mary, Queen of Scots (aka James VI of Scotland )
and his son, Charles I .
(c) James I (1603-25) believed in the divine right of kings , saw
nonconformity to his bishops as a threat to his authority as king of the
realm and therefore stiffened in his opposition to Puritans and
Nonconformists.
(d) Charles I (1625-49) proved to be even more headstrong concerning the
monarchy and ruled without Parliament from 1628-40, levying taxes by
royal decree.
(e) The struggle between Charles I and Parliament intensified into a civil
war which resulted in the execution of Charles I and an end to the
Migration.
(f) Puritans ruled England during the Interregnum (1649-60) under
Oliver Cromwell
(2) Some, frustrated at the inability to further change the Anglican Church
under Elizabeth I, eventually left the church and were called Separatists .
(a) Separatists had no hope for the Church of England; it could not be
salvaged.
(b) Some migrated to Holland before migrating to the New World Pilgrims .
II. Establishment of Virginia
A. Financing for Colonial Development
1. Four types of exploration and colonization financing methods were formed in the
1500s
a. Trading Company or Joint Stock Company Colony - Hoping to find something
of value to send back to the mother company, using individual investors.
(1) With the king's permission, a company was formedwhich often had exclusive
rights of trade in a particular area or over a particular product.
(2) These company charters enabled the owners to sell stock or shares to private
investors, who were hoping for dividends.
b. Covenant or Self-governing Colony - colonies created and governed by the
settlers (as at Plymouth, Rhode Island and Connecticutt).
c. Proprietary Colony - One individual or group was given by the crown the right
to govern or to settle a specified company (as in Maryland). The government
formed could be any type except that colonists had to be guaranteed basic English
rights.
d. Royal Colony - remained under Crown control. For various reasons most
English colonies lost their separate status and reverted to royal colonies by 1776.
2. As a result of Weymouth's explorations, two interrelated groups of merchants
from London and Plymouth petitioned the crown in 1605 for a patent (granted in
Apr 1606) to colonize for profit, rather than prey on Spanish settlements and
shipping.
a. Two Virginia Companies were authorized:
(1) London or South Virginia Company was to settle the region between 34
degrees North and 41 degrees North (present-day New York city).
(2) Plymouth or North Virginia Company was to settle the region between 38
degrees North (present-day Washington D.C.) and 45 degrees North.
b. Because neither was to settle within 100 miles of the other, a neutral zone
occurred.
c. A company received all lands 50 miles north and south of the first settlement
and 100 miles inland.
B. Settlement of Jamestown (20 Dec 1606 - 23 May 1609)
1. London Company sent 3 ships with 105 settlers to Chesapeake Bay who
settled around Jamestown (Apr 1607) while simultaneously, the
Plymouth Company landed 100 men in Maine (Aug 1607, but this was
later abandoned).
a. CPT Christopher Newport returned twice from London with supplies
in 1608.
b. Because of a poor climate, famine from a failure to grow many crops,
disease and an antagonistic local Indian population, the colony was
reduced to 32.
2. The colony, now run by a council, elected CPT John Smith , a soldier of
fortune, president (Sept 1608).
a. His compulsory work program ("He who shall not work shall not eat")
emphasized self-sustaining agriculture (primarily maize) which proved to
be a turning point for the colony's survival, but not its profitability.
b. His capture by the Indian chief Powhatan gave rise to the "Intervention
by Pocohontas " legend (although this occurred when he had left the
colony in 1607).
3. Company officers requested additional help from the Crown who granted
the colony a new charter (June 1609), which turned the trading company
into a Joint Stock Company, placing its control into the hands of a
company-selected council and extending its boundaries from "sea to sea
and 200 miles north and south of Old Point Comfort."
C. Jamestown under Company Control (1609-24)
4. Several companies were anxious to invest in Virginia.
a. No import or export duties were charged on goods to the New World.
b. Settlers were promised land after working for the company for up to
seven years.
5. Thomas Lord De La Warr arrived (June 1610) after some dissension in
the colony.
a. Smith had refused to yield authority to De La Ware's interim, Thomas
Gates , but left finally (Oct 1609), because of a gunpowder burn, returning
to London.
b. The colony faced a difficult time during the winter of 1609-10 without
Smith's forceful leadership, and was reduced again to only 60 survivors in
1610.
c. Sir Thomas Dale assumed control of the colony (May 1611) after after
an ill De La Warr left.
(1) Dale Code imposed severe penalties for internal disorder.
(2) He began construction of a fort at Henrico, fifty miles from
Jamestown.
d. Sir Thomas Gates (Aug 1611 - early 1614), completed stockades at
Henrico.
6. A Third Charter (granted in Mar 1612) placed Bermuda under company
control and allowed the use of a lottery in England as a fundraising device.
a. Dale served as governor (early 1614 to Apr 1616).
b. George Yeardley was acting governor in 1616-17.
c. Sir Samuel Argall misruled as deputy Governor until Nov 1618.
d. John Rolfe introduced (1612) a profitable marketable cash crop -- West
Indian Tobacco
(1) The first shipment of Tobacco went to England in Mar 1614.
(2) Because several settlers received their own land, they grew their own
tobacco and the company suffered financially.
(3) Although frowned upon by James I, pipe smoking became fashionable
in court and tobacco became very popular in England.
(4) Although some profit was made by the settlers, most of it was made by
the tobacco merchants in London.
e. Rolfe's marriage to Pocohontas (1614) briefly stabilized relations with
local Indians
7. Sir Edwin Sandys , a Puritan with a high position in Elizabeth I's court
and the Earl of Southampton, gained control of the company (1618) and
introduced reforms through Yeardley who governed from Apr 1619.
a. The harsh legal code was repealed in 1619, allowing the settlers the
Rights of Englishmen including a representative assembly .
b. A General Assembly composed of 22 burgesses (2 from each town,
hundred or plantation), the Governor and Council met in the Jamestown
church from 9-14 Aug 1619 -- first colonial legislature in the New
World , the beginning of representative government).
c. A system of granting land to subordinate corporations was continued.
(1) To encourage new settlers, a new headright system was installed - any
investor who bought a share for 12 1/2 shillings, or went to the Virginia
Colony, received fifty acres of land.
(2) To encourage agricultural settlements and families, the company sent
ninety women to the colony for more permanence. (Payment for a wife
was for her passage to the colony, about 125 pounds of tobacco).
d. A Dutch man-of-war stopped in Jamestown and left 20 black
"indentured" servants -- the introduction of black labor in the English
colonies .
8. Under governor Sir Francis Wyatt (1621-24).
a. A break in 1619 between the Sandys-Southampton group and Sir
Thomas Smith , ex-treasurer + the lottery suspension by the Privy
Council in 1622 resulted in many unprofitable years
b. The company went into receivership to be managed by the Privy
Council starting in July 1623.
c. Its charter was revoked (24 May 1624) and the colony became a royal
colony.
d. As a profit venture, the joint-stock company failed in America and was
abandoned after the Virginia colony.
9. Between 1607 - 19, 1,650 settlers had left England for Virginia.
a. 300 returned to England
b. Of the 1,350 who remained, only 351 were alive at the beginning of
1619.
c. Within five years, of 8,000 immigrants, Jamestown had only 1,132
population.
d. In 1622, a major Indian uprising killed 347 settlers, including John
Rolfe (after Pocohontas had died in London).
10. The labor problem at least temporarily as well as the distribution of land
was greatly aided by the use of indentured servants.
a. For passage to the New World, the one paying the passage received land
while the one who migrated to Virginia worked for a specified period of
years, usually from 5 to 7 years.
b. The servant was given food, shelter and clothing, but no wages.
c. At the end of the period of service, the servant received something
(lump cash sum, tools, land).
11. Because the company continued to suffer financially, when the company
went bankrupt, at Sandys' request Virginia became the first Royal colony.
a. The crown appointed the governor and the council which governed the
colony.
b. Colonists retained the basic rights of Englishmen.
c. Although the crown did not call for a continuation of the House of
Burgesses, the governors found it impossible to rule without it.
d. The House of Burgesses met annually after 1629.
12. Why didn't the original promoters of the colony make a profit?
a. Unrealistic goals -- No valuable commodity was produced by Indians
for which the company could trade and no gold existed in the area making
agriculture the key to wealth and industry.
b. Many early settlers were not used to gathering or producing their own
food , "gentlemen" ignorant of woodlore who did not know how to get
their own game and fish (although the area was plentiful in game, nuts and
berries, and fish) and who scorned manual labor who had come for gold,
not farmers coming to establish an agricultural settlement.
c. Poor knowledge of health practices led to settling around marsh lands
which fostered diseases
d. Working on company lands provided little incentive for artisans and
skilled laborers who were sorely needed in Virginia.
e. Profitable staple crops like tobacco were discovered too late for the
company.
f. The relationship with local Indians was unstable especially after John
Smith left.
(1) It stabilized after John Rolfe married Pocahontas but deteriorated after
her death in London of small pox in 1620.
(2) A 2nd major uprising in 1644 resulted in nearly 350 settlers' death,
after which the Indian rebellion was put down in such a manner that a
similar massive uprising never reoccurred.
g. Bickering in London among company officials over policy hurt the
company.
D. Virginia as a Royal Colony
13. James I appointed Wyatt as governor in 1624.
a. Yeardley became governor in Mar 1626 followed by Francis West
(Nov 1627 - Mar 1629) who convened a General Assembly in Mar 1628.
b. John Harvey served until 1639 and was replaced by Wyatt again
(1639-41).
14. Virginia under Sir William Berkeley (1606-77), governor (1642-52).
a. He abolished the poll tax.
b. In Jan 1649 Virginia declared allegiance to the Stuarts following the
death of Charles I and became a refuge for Cavaliers fleeing England.
(1) Parliament in Oct 1650 retaliated with a blockade on Virginia, sending
two armed vessels.
(2) Berkeley and the Council submitted in Mar 1652, receiving liberal
terms.
15. The Burgesses chose as governor Richard Bennett , a Parliamentary
commissioner.
16. Samuel Matthews , as successor until his death in 1659, threatened to
dissolve the burgesses, who removed him temporarily as an object lesson,
before re-electing him.
17. When the Protectorate collapsed in 1660, the burgesses controlled Virginia
until lawful authority was restored in England, electing the Royalist
Berkeley governor in Mar who was then commissioned by Charles II upon
the Restoration in England.
18. Virginia after the Restoration
a. Because of the Acts of Trade and Navigation (1650), tobacco prices
declined.
b. Efforts to decrease tobacco production occurred, replacing it with cloth
works in every county.
c. The Dutch Wars (1664, 1672) caused severe losses to the tobacco fleet.
d. Continued unrest occurred after a severe cattle epidemic, a new poll tax
was introduced and many servant uprisings happened.
e. A further outcry occurred from Virginia when Charles II granted
proprietary rights to a 5 million acre tract of land which the Virginia
colony claimed.
19. Bacon's Rebellion
a. Nathanial Bacon of Henrico County without commission led several
frontiersmen against bands of renegade Susquehannock Indians for which
he was declared a traitor in May 1676.
b. He then led 500 against Jamestown unopposed, forcing Gov. Berkeley
to sign his commission.
c. Berkeley could not raise sufficient forces against Bacon, and fled East
to the shore.
d. Large plantation owners supported Bacon who continued to make
retaliatory raids against the Indians, before driving Berkeley's forces out of
Jamestown.
(1) After Bacon died suddenly on 18 Oct, rebel forces were captured or
surrendered under promise of amnesty.
(2) COL Herbert Jeffreys was sent to restore order, but his royal pardons
for the rebels were nullified by Berkeley (10 Feb 1677).
(3) 23 rebels were executed before Jeffreys formally took over the
government.
20. Later Governors
a. Sir Henry Chicerley served as governor from Nov 1678 - May 1680
followed by Lord Culpepper (to Sept 1683).
b. Lord Howard of Effingham (1683-89) struggled with Virginia's
legislature who presented James II with a list of grievances in Sept 1688.
(1) James II was removed under the Revolution of 1689 , and replaced by
William and Mary in Feb 1689 before the grievances were addressed.
(2) Howard's removal and the accession of William and Mary were hailed
in VA as victories
III. Establishment of Maryland
A. Background -- Ten years after Virginia became a Royal Colony
1. A second plantation colony (England's fourth colony of the original thirteen) was
established near VA by George Calvert (1580-1632) who resigned as James I's
Secretary of State (1625) after converting to Catholicism, although he was
declared First Lord Baltimore by James I.
a. As a member of the Virginia Company (1609-20) and the Council for New
England (1622), Calvert purchased the southeastern peninsula of Newfoundland
and created the colony of Avalon, which did not prosper.
b. Although he settled in Virginia in Oct 1629, he was forced to leave when he
refused to take the necessary Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy to the Monarch.
c. Calvert applied for a proprietary charter from Charles I for territory north of
the Potomac River, but he died in 1632 before the request was finalized, which
then passed to his son, Cecilius , 2d Lord Baltimore (1605-75).
d. He established the first proprietory colony, Maryland, named after Queen
Henrietta Maria
e. The charter stipulated:
(1) Colonists must be guaranteed basic English rights.
(2) Calvert could make laws with the consent of free male property owners.
(3) The first legislative assembly met in 1635, and split into two houses in 1650.
(4) Because the charter did not forbid the establishment of churches other than
Protestant, Lord Baltimore made Maryland a haven for English Catholics.
(5) The proprietor could grant manorial estates which he did to many Catholic
relatives and friends but settlers could not be attracted without the promise of land
of their own.
(6) Few Catholics would migrate, and Protestant settlers soon outnumbered
Catholics, who were now threatened with restrictions in their own colony.
B. Settlement of Maryland
1. The first 200 settlers arrived in Virginia in Feb 1634.
2. Calvert, ruling by Deputy, appointed as first governor his brother,
Leonard Calvert , who established a manorial government and fostered
friendly relations with the Indians.
3. Trouble brewed between these settlers and William Claiborne (15871677) of Virginia over territory within Maryland's grant but which had
been used by Claiborne.
4. The crown ruled against Claiborne's claim in Apr 1638.
5. During the Interregnum
a. The Calverts were ousted from their proprietorship briefly (and again
under William III) and forced to flee to Virginia after additional trouble
from Claiborne and from Richard Ingle , a Protestant tobacco grower,
both of whom captured parts of Maryland and plundered other parts.
b. The charter was almost revoked after Ingle returned to England in 1647.
c. Under a Protestant deputy governor, William Stone , Maryland passed
an Act of Toleration in Apr 1649, one of the first such acts to grant
religious freedom in the colonies, although it did not protect Jews or
Athiests, but tolerated Trinitarians.
d. A Roman Catholic royalist governor, Thomas Greene , recognized
Charles II's claim to the throne and caused an investigation of the colony
in England.
e. Parliamentary commissioners, including Claiborne, designated William
Fuller as governor who called an Assembly in 1654, which repudiated the
proprietor's authority in the colony and also revoked the Act of Toleration,
denying Catholics the protection of law.
f. A brief civil war in 1655 was won by the Puritans who imprisoned
Stone.
6. Philip Calvert regained his place as proprietor in Nov 1660 and was
succeeded by Charles Calvert who became 3d Lord Baltimore in 1675.
7. Increasing tension (1661-81) between the proprietary regime and the antiproprietary party, led by Josias Fendall ousted as governor when the
Calverts returned to power
a. The proprietors became unpopular when the price of tobacco dropped.
b. Problems intensified after voting restrictions were limited to freeholders
(Dec 1670), Indian raids increased, nepotism rose, and anti-Catholic
sentiment grew.
c. A short-lived rebellion was crushed in Sept 1676 with the leaders
hanged.
d. A second rebellion (Apr 1681) was unsuccessful before Fendall was
banished.
8. Revolution of 1689 in Maryland (1684-95)
a. Lord Baltimore returned to England in May 1684 to settle boundary
disputes with Virginia and with Penn's colony to the north and to answer
charges that he favored Roman Catholics and interfered with royal
customs collectors.
(1) His nephew, George Talbot , acting governor in his absence, was
accused of murdering a collector (1684), a charge of which Lord
Baltimore was also questioned.
(2) Lord Baltimore was fined for obstructing the collectors, and Talbot
was sentenced to death before the king banished him for five years in
1686.
b. During Lord Baltimore's absense, anti-proprietary sentiment grew
amidst rumors that the colony would be turned over to Catholics, and was
aided by a struggle between the assembly and Baltimore's new
appointment, William Joseph .
c. After the accession of William and Mary and the declaration of war
with France in May 1689, John Coode led a Mar against St. Mary's and
forced Joseph and his lieutenants to surrender.
9. Maryland as Royal Colony
a. The new assembly petitioned the crown to take over the colony and
elected Nehemiah Blakiston as president.
b. The Lords of Trade made Maryland a royal colony in 1691 and
appointed Sir Lionel Copley as first royal governor.
c. The Church of England was established in Maryland (1692).
d. Its capital was moved from St. Mary, a catholic city, to the Protestant
city of Annapolis, 1695
e. Benedict Leonard Calvert converted to Anglicanism (1713), rearing his
children as Protestants.
f. The proprietorship was returned in 1715 to his son Charles Calvert , as
4th Lord Baltimore, when the charter of 1632 was restored.
C. Developmental Patterns in Maryland (similar to Virginia)
10. Prosperity was connected to tobacco farming.
11. Initially a white indentured labor force was brought in to work the
plantations.
12. In the late 1600s, large numbers of lifetime black servants began to flood
the colony
IV. Founding of Plymouth Bay
A. Early Activities of the Plymouth Company
1. The first company expedition (1606) was captured by the Spanish in the West
Indies.
2. Sir John Popham led a second expedition, exploring the coast of Maine to the
South.
3. Sir Ferdinando Gorges in 1607 sent the Gift of God under George Popham and
the Mary and John under Raleigh Gilbert who landed in Maine, where a fort was
erected.
4. The initial colony failed because of idleness and factionalism.
5. Trading and fishing activities were sent to the Maine coast by Sir John Popham
(son) as well as the Dutch, French and Spaniards.
6. John Smith explored the New England coast (1614) for the company, finding
many possible settlement areas on which he published A Description of New
England , which gave the region its name.
7. Richard Vines, after a winter at the mouth of the Saco, reported on the rich cod
fishing which revived the interests of the Plymouth Company.
8. Although the Plymouth company received a charter from James I in 1620, a new
charter granted to the Council for New England all land between 40 and 48
degrees North and from "sea to sea."
B. Founding of Plymouth Rock
1. James I required all Englishmen to attend the services of the Anglican
Church, permitting no any other church services to be held in England.
2. Some Separatists migrated to the Netherlands where they were granted
limited asylum by the Dutch Calvinists beginning in 1607.
3. Some English Separatist immigrants, who had settled in Leyden in 1609,
became concerned after ten years in Holland that their children were
losing contact with English culture, could not join local Dutch guilds, and
would be subject to the Inquisition once a 12-year Spanish and Dutch
truce expired in 1621, and began negotiations with the VA Company to
emigrate to company lands in the New World.
4. Leyden group leaders included their pastor John Robinson andWilliam
Brewster (1567-1644).
5. They secured a patent from the Virginia Company in 1619 to settle within
company borders in the name of an English clergyman, John Wyncop, and
also had gained an important concession from James I, that he would not
interfere with their religious practices -- observance of Anglicanism would
not be enforced in their colonies.
6. After rejecting a Dutch offer, they combined with Thomas Weston, an
ironmonger, and John Pierce, a clothmaker and set up three groups in
1620, which controlled all capital and profits for seven years after which it
would be divided proportionately:
a. 70 adventurers in England at 10 pounds per share;
b. Adventurer-planters received 2 shares per 10 pound consideration for
their settling;
c. Planters who received one share each for their labor.
7. Pilgrim Voyage (22 July-9 Nov 1620)
a. Thirty Pilgrims from Leyden sailed to London and boarded the
Mayflower as part of 101 persons plus crew and officers.
b. CPT Miles Standish (c.1584-1656), a non-Pilgrim, was hired as
military leader.
c. Because some doubted the legality of their patent, they (may have
deliberately) landed outside of the Virginia Company's boundaries.
d. After several non-pilgrim passengers asserted that no one had authority
over them, Pilgrim leaders drafted the Mayflower Compact , a social
contract, setting up a "civil body politic" to frame "just and equal laws,"
signed by 41 adults, not all of whom were pilgrims (21 Nov 1620).
C. Plymouth Colony 1620-24
8. Plymouth was chosen as the sight of the colony on 25 Dec and a deacon,
John Carver (c.1576-1621) served as the first governor through the mild
first winter
9. Weakened from the journey, half the Pilgrims died within four months of
landing.
10. The survivors in the spring of 1621 owe their lives to Squanto and
Samoset, two Indians who taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn and also
helped to initially establish good relations with local Indian tribes,
although with the firearms the Pilgrims were able to become the dominant
partner.
11. This provided the roots for the traditional Thanksgiving celebration, first
celebrated after the harvest of 1621 as a way of cementing their
relationship with the Indians, a three-day event with some 90 men present.
12. Relations with the Indians worsened after news of the Virginia massacre
of 1622 forcing the Pilgrims to militarize their colony, under the
leadership of Miles Standish .
13. By imposing stern discipline the Pilgrims managed to become
agriculturally self-sufficient, but after seven years the Pilgrims were
heavily in debt that they faced fifteen more years of labor to free
themselves.
a. Fishing failed to be profitable for them, but they learned to trade their
corn surpluses with the Indians of Maine in exchange for furs.
b. The colony prospered by fur trading and by preparing lumber for
shipment to England.
c. The settlement finally freed itself from its debts and grew to several
hundred, living in present day Massachusetts
14. William Bradford , second governor who held the post except for 5 years
until his death in 1656, kept a journal of colony activities until 1651 which
was published as Of Plymouth Plantations .
8. The colony received a second patent in June 1621 from the Council for
New England, which gave title to land jointly for adventurers and planters
(100 acres per person transported and 1,500 acres for public use) at an
annual rent of 2 shillings per 100 acres, although the exact boundaries of
the colony were undefined.
9. The colony abandoned its communal economy in 1623.
15. Additional attempts by others to found colonies in the same area failed
either because of mismanagement, or they were driven away because of
"uninhibited lifestyles."
D. Plymouth Colony 1625-91
16. Pilgrims bought out the London investors and assumed all debts (15 Nov
1626).
17. The buy-out was underwritten by eight colonists who were granted a trade
monopoly and given a tax of corn and tobacco per shareholder until the
debt was paid.
18. This groups established two trading posts near Plymouth.
19. In Jan 1630 a new Plymouth patent was granted by the Council for New
England which defined the colonies's boundaries to include the trading
post lands.
20. A code, Great Fundamentals , drawn up in 1636, established a single
house General Court (composed of two deputies from each town elected
by the freemen), a Governor and his assistants.
21. Although the colony held a land grant from the Council for New England,
it had no charter from the government, and in 1691 was absorbed by the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, with a population of 7,000
Significance of the Pilgrims
They helped inspire the American vision of sturdy, self-reliant, God-fearing folk
crossing the Atlantic to govern themselves freely.
They also foreshadowed the methods that later generations would use to gain
mastery over the Indians -- firearms.
F. Additional Colonies in Present-day Maine and New Hampshire
22. John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges in Aug 1622 received a patent
from the Council for New England to all lands between the Merrimack
and Kennebec Rivers.
23. David Thomson (1622), and Christopher Levett (1623) received a grant of
6,000 acres
24. John Oldham and Richard Vines settled on the Southside of the Saco
River in 1623-24.
25. Mason and Gorges divided their joint northern holdings in 1629 after
which they were given trading rights to an extended area as far as Lake
Champlain and the St. Lawrence
26. In 1631 Gorges received a grant of 24,000 acres on the Agamenticus
(York) River where he concentrated his efforts.
V. Establishment of Massachusetts Bay Colony
A. Background of the Massachusetts Colony
1. By 1600 Puritans held considerable influence in the Church of England and when
the economy grew worse, many Puritans became interested in colonizing New
England.
a. Puritans wanted to eliminate the office of bishop but James I bitterly opposed
their efforts, believing the monarch's power to name bishops greatly strengthened
his power because bishops comprised about a quarter of the House of Lords, the
upper chamber of Parliament which at that time had strong voice in enacting laws.
(1) Bishops also controlled the clergy and could silence ministers whose sermons
were critical of government policies.
(2) James I consequently made it clear that he saw Puritan attacks on bishops as a
direct threat to himself when he snapped "No bishop, no king."
b. After Charles I came to the throne in 1625, Anglican authorities undertook a
systematic campaign to eliminate Puritan influence in the church.
(1) Bishops insisted that services be conducted according to the Book of
Common Prayer which prescribed rituals similar to Catholic practices
(a) They dismissed Puritan ministers who refused to perform High Church rites
(b) Church courts also judged cases involving religious laws and harassed Puritan
laity with fines or excommunication .
(c) Also a deep recession plagued England during the Thirty Years War that
prevented Germany from buying English cloth after 1618.
(2) This further encouraged Puritans to look for opportunities away from
England's constricting environment.
2. An earlier colony of the Dorchester Company planted a settlement near presentday Gloucester in 1624-26 which failed, although almost forty settlers remained at
a trading post near present-day Salem.
3. New England Company was established 19 Mar 1628 by the Rev. John
White , a member of the Dorchester Company
a. The company received a patent to land extending three miles north of the
Merrimack river to three miles south to the Charles river.
b. Its 90 members, nearly all Puritan, included six from the old Dorchester group.
3. John Endecott (1589-1655) arrived with colonists in Sept 1628, serving as the
colony's first governor until 1630.
5. Massachusetts Bay Company (Mar 1629) with a royal charter replaced it.
a. The charter, however, failed to specify where its annual meeting would be held.
b. The government was transfered to New England as a result of this oversight.
c. The company was transformed into a self-governing commonwealth.
d. The Salem church was established along separatist lines and two freemen were
expelled when they insisted on conforming to the Anglican ritual.
4. Cambridge Agreement 1629, prepared by 12 members of the Massachusetts Bay
Company who ratified it in Aug, transfered the charter and the government of the
company to the new world.
5. The Puritan position decreased after William Laud became Bishop of London in
1628 and Charles I dissolved Parliament in Mar 1629.
8. Not until 1630 however did a large scale migration begin, building
communities based on religious ideals, believing they could found America's first
Utopian society.
B. Puritan Beliefs
1. The purpose of civil law was to enforce to enforce God's laws.
2. The concept of salvation involved the doctrine of election, whereby God
selected or preordained those who would be saved -- saints versus sinners.
3. Nothing that a person did would influence God's choice.
4. Certain signs were available to help the individual determine if he was
among the elect.
a. If things were going well for you, this could be a sign that you were
elected.
b. Although you could not earn salvation through good works, works
might be a sign of election
5. Puritan Practices
a. Each community had its own church, which was an individual unit run
by the members of each congregation, who elected their own minster.
b. Ministers worked together informally, enforcing certain beliefs and
practices through social pressure.
c. Ministers could not hold public office, but advised public officials.
C. New England Way
6. It set very high standards for identifying the "elect"
7. They normally only accepted those who correctly professed their faith,
repented of their sins and who lived free of scandal.
8. To become a candidate for membership, one had to undergo a soul-baring
examination in front of the congregation and describe their spiritual life
and conversion experience
a. This strict soul-searching was criticized as an unnecessary barrier to
membership esp because it intimidated shy and humble saints who felt
awkward about neighbors voting on their state of grace.
b. Many people from New England refused to give public confessions of
grace before the church
c. Some were denied membership such as a women, so overcome by
nervousness that they began sobbing uncontrollably until the congregation
relented.
d. This embarrassing spectacle of having to openly share your spiritual
feelings before your neighbors was the single most criticize part of the
New England Way .
(1) New England Way insisted on literacy so everyone could read the
Bible to experience God's quickening grace.
(2) Parents were responsible for seeing that their children were not
ignorant of the Scriptures and even sent elders to check whether children
were instructed in the elements of religion.
(3) Clergymen were responsible for leading saints to repentance and
stimulating piety.
(a) Ministers were to stir the heart and faith of his congregation with
moving sermons that could be understood by laymen.
(b) Clergy were to be highly educated and Harvard College was founded
in 1636.
(4) This insistence on high standards led Oxford University in England to
recognize Harvard degrees as equivalent to its won by 1648, so the New
England Way would not falter due to a lack of properly trained clergy.
New England Way of Winthrop and Cotton helped to enforce religious
conformity
a. Leaders believed that without this conformity and order, divisiveness
among Puritans over questions such as church-state relationship , church
membership, economic individualism and women's role could lead to
colonial splintering, a failure in God's eyes.
b. Despite the leaders efforts for conformity, some Puritans had radical
ideas and insisted on expressing them.
D. Early Colonization 1630-40
9. Four ships arrived in Mar 1630 with the newly elected governor John
Winthrop , and were followed by seven more within one month.
a. Winthrop viewed the colony as a sacred experiment, a city upon a hill
which would serve as a lighthouse to humanity -- an agreement with God
to build a model holy society for the rest of mankind to observe.
b. Winthrop was governor for nineteen years.
10. The population settled along the Massachusetts coast north of Plymouth.
11. JohnSmith's pamphlet inspired discontented English Puritans to migrate in
droves to what they viewed as a haven.
4. Increased difficulties for Puritans in England after Laud was elevated to
the primacy, and economic troubles produced an influx of immigrants into
the colony (Great Migration ) beginning in 1633.
a. Within one decade, 20,000 settlers emigrated to New England.
b. They included John Cotton (1584-1652) and Thomas Hooker (15861647).
12. The colony prospered with an economy built on fishing, shipbuilding, and
fur trading.
6. The Civil Government was limited initially to share holders but was
later enlarged to include freemen or adult males who were members of the
Puritan or Congregational Church (about 2/5 of the male population),
which violated their charter.
a. The freemen of each town elected deputies to the 18-member General
Court.
b. The General Court elected the Governor and Deputy Governor.
c. Deputies and assistants sat together in a single house until 1644 when it
evolved into a bicameral government (Court of Assistants and House of
Deputies).
E. Troubles in Paradise
13. Roger Williams Arrives
a. Having arrived in 1631, Williams emerged as pastor of the Salem
church
b. After he attacked the validy of the charter, questioned the right of civil
authorities to legislated in matters of conscience, and urged the Salem
church to separate from the rest and all Puritan churches to separate from
the Church of England, the General Court refused to seat deputies from
Salem until they repudiated Williams.
c. Although some Puritans agreed that the church should be free of state
control because they opposed theocracy (govt. run by clergy), they
disagreed with Williams in that they believed that a Holy Commonwealth
required cooperation and interaction between church and state.
(1) Williams however took a different route arguing that civil government
should remain absolutely uninvolved with religious matters whether it
concern blasphemy, failure to pay tithes, refusal to attend worship, or
swearing oaths on the Bible in court.
(2) Williams had derived his stance from the Anabaptist tradition which
believed that the elect must limit their association with society's sinners to
protect God's church from contamination.
(3) William opposed any kind of compulsory church service or
interference with private religious beliefs, not because he felt that all
religious beliefs deserved equal respect but because he feared that the state
would eventually corrupt the saints.
(4) Williams believed that the true purpose of founding Massachusetts Bay
was to protect true religion and prevent heresy.
(5) True to William's ideals, Rhode Island became the only New England
colony to practice religious toleration and although it grew slowly, the
colony's four towns had eight hundred settlers by 1650
d. Political authorities declared Williams to be a subversive and the
General Court banished him in Sept 1635 but let him stay through the
winter.
(1) John Winthrop advised his friend to go south with four companions to
a place they called Providence , which he purchased from the
Narragansett Indians.
(2) Williams fled the colony in Jan 1636 and wintered among the Indians.
(3) He attempted to settle in Plymouth before purchasing land from local
Indians near present Providence which he founded in June 1636.
(4) Other dissenters to the New England Way drifted to settlements near
Providence which eventually came to be known as Rhode Island Colony.
e. His emphasis on the purity of the church and freedom from coercion in
matters of faith laid the foundation for the US doctrine -- separation of
church and state .
14. Attempts to revoke the Charter
a. Thomas Morton, having been banished from the colony, combined with
Gorges to have the Massachusetts Bay Company Charter revoked.
(1) Before the Privy Council in 1633, a committee (Lords Commissioners
for the Plantations in General or the Laud Commission ) in May 1635
ordered its recall because it had been questionably obtained and had
exceeded its authority.
(2) Gorges was to notify the Massachusetts company officials but could
not do so.
b. Winthrop ignored the Privy Council order (Apr 1638), but the outbreak
of war with Scotland prevented the Crown from further actions at that
time.
15. Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) -- for views of Antinomianism
a. Hutchinson was the second major challenge to the New England Way.
b. She arrived in Massachusetts Bay in 1634 with her husband and family.
c. Sir Henry Vane, elected Governor in May 1636 and a member of the
Boston congregation, soon came under her influence, as well as two other
ministers, John Cotton and John Wheelwright.
d. Her beliefs
(1) Her ideas derived from the theology of the respected John Cotton, yet
Cotton insisted that true congregationalism required saints to be entirely
free of religious or political control by anyone who had not undergone a
conversion experience (born again).
(2) Cotton extended that to include even those in authority who led
upright, blameless lives insisting that they had to be reborn spiritually.
(3) Hutchinson extended Cotton's argument to state that saints must be
free from interference by the nonelect into an attack on the authority of the
clergy.
(a) Because she was dissatisfied with her minister, she charged that he was
not of the elect and that saints could ignore his views if they believed he
lacked saving grace.
(b) She eventually declared that all the colony's ministers were not saved
except John Cotton and her brother-in-law, John Wheelwright and so the
ministers lacked any authority over those like herself, who were really
saved.
e. Further problems with her beliefs
(1) She criticized the Puritan emphasis on the covenant of works , stressing
the covenant of grace and magnified the idea of personal revelation which
minimized the role of the orthodox clergy.
(a) She began to hold meetings in her home following Sunday church
services in which the sermons of the pastor, John Cotton, were further
discussed.
(b) She believed that because one could not earn salvation by good works,
a holy life of good works were not a sign that one was elected, and the
truly elect need not bother to obey the law, undercutting the moral
endeavor of the community
(c) As long as these were private discussions in her home, little was said,
but when men began to attend, a gender problem arose, because the Bible
said that "women should not teach men."
(2) Hutchinson cast doubt on the spiritual state of all the colony's clergy
and thus denied them the right to judge the saints.
(1) She undermined the clergy's moral authority to even interpret and
teach Scripture.
(2) Her critics stated that her views would incite people to believe that
they were accountable to no one but themselves.
(3) She and her followers were called Antinomians -- opponents of the
rule of law .
(4) Because Hutchinson was a woman, she was seen as an especially
dangerous foe.
f. By 1636, Massachusetts Bay split into two camps -- her critics and
supporters
(1) Supporters included merchants like her husband who had come to
dislike the government restrictions on their businesses.
(2) Young men also joined Hutchinson because they did not like the
chafing they had to endure from the elders
(3) Many women protested their second class status in church affairs.
g. Banishment of Hutchinson
(1) When the Rev John Wheeler (1592-1679) denounced the doctrine of
works in a sermon in Boston in Jan 1637, he was tried for sedition and
contempt, and convicted.
(2) In the next election (May 1637), Winthrop defeated Vane, a
Hutchinson supporter who returned to England but a third supporter, John
Cotton , recanted.
(3) To define orthodox Puritan doctrine, a synod of 25 ministers convened
in Aug at Newton Massachusetts, away from pro-Hutchinson Boston.
(4) The General Court in Nov banished Wheelwright and ordered Anne
Hutchinson to stand trial for sedition and contempt for which she was
convicted and sentenced to be banished.
(5) Governor Winthrop brought Hutchinson to trial for heresy but she held
her own at court because of her excellent understanding of Scripture,
making her superior to her interrogators.
(a) Winthrop described her as haughty and fierce, a nimble wit and active
spirit.
(b) Since most Christians and orthodox Puritans believed God had ceased
to speak to individuals through direct revelation since New Testament
times, Hutchinson failed when she claimed to have communicated directly
with the Holy Spirit.
i) One only knows on the basis of an inner vision or inner illumination
from God.
ii) She claimed that not only was she saved but that she knew who was
also saved.
iii) When she revealed that only three ministers were saved and fit to
serve, she undermined the authority of the colony.
iv) This developed into a struggle between Boston and the outlying areas.
(6) Following her excommunication in Mar 1638, she and her family
along with other antinomians went to Rhode Island but soon joined other
Boston exiles in establishing Pocasset (Portsmouth) in Mar.
(7) After her husband died she moved to New Netherlands where in 1643
she was killed by local Indians
(8) She settled at Long Island after her husband died in 1642.
(9) After she with most of her family and many others were massacred in
1643 by Indians in the vicinity of Eastchester, Governor Winthrop wrote
that her death was "a special manifestation of divine justice."
h. After the Antinomian defeat, new restrictions were placed on women
independence and equality and women were now increasingly prohibited
from assuming public religious roles.
16. Self Interest becomes the primary threat to Winthrop's city upon a hill
a. Some Puritans came to the New World dedicated to stability, self
discipline, mutual obligation and social reciprocity but many came to find
prosperity and social mobility
(1) This group consisted primarily of merchants who fueled the economy
but their lifestyles did not conform to traditional New England values.
(2) Merchants were uneasy in a religious utopia that equated financial
shrewdness with greed
(3) They resisted government church leaders trying to regulate prices to
prevent chronic suffering
b. Puritan leaders feared a "market economy" would strangle the spirit of
community and create harsh new world of frantic competition.
VI. Offshoots from Massachusetts 1631-60
A. Connecticut
1. Edward Winslow explored the Connecticut Valley (Fall 1632) into Dutch
territory (New Amsterdam) and built a fort and trading post near present-day
Hartford (1633).
2. John Oldham of the Bay Colony led a party to winter at present-day
Wethersfield in 1634-35 while LT. William Holmes , commissioned by
Winthrop, established a trading post above Hartford at Windsor on land claimed
by Plymouth.
3. Several colonists from the Massachusetts seacoast towns moved to Windsor in the
spring of 1635 and again in Oct.
4. In July 1635, a group headed by Lord Saye and Sele, claimed rights to the region
on the basis of a patent from the Council for New England, and authorized John
Winthrop the Younger (1606-76) to take control at the mouth of the Connecticut
River.
a. Winthrop's authority was accepted by the settlers before Mar 1636.
b. Massachusetts General Court's plan of government gave authority to the
inhabitants.
5. Rev. Thomas Hooker and several from Newton reached Hartford (May 1636).
a. His democratic views were expressed in a sermon in May 1638 in which he
declared that authority rested upon the free consent of the "people."
b. His views were shared by John Haynes and Roger Ludlow who founded
Fairfield and Stratford in 1638.
6. The frame of government known as the Fundamental Orders was adopted by
Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield (Jan 1639).
a. Springfield under William Pynchon refused to join and after 1649 regularly
sent deputies to the Massachusetts General Court.
b. Freemen, or "admitted inhabitants" (Trinitarian male householders) who were
approved by the General Court or by one or more of the magistrates, selected the
magistrates and the Governor from an approved Congregation.
c. Voting in town affairs was open to "admitted inhabitants" who after 1657 were
in possession of an estate valued at thirty pounds.
7. The franchise was as restrictive as the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was
composed of 15 towns by 1662 before New Haven was absorbed into it.
B. Rhode Island (1636-56)
1. Roger Williams established Rhode Island on the basis of an Indian deed.
2. Dissenters from other colonies flocked to Providence and soon established
other towns.
a. William Coddington from Boston in Apr 1638 with Anne Hutchinson
founded Pocasset or Portsmouth.
b. Coddington split from Hutchinson and established Newport in May
1639.
c. Warwick was founded by Samuel Gorton in 1643.
3. Williams' colony required no oaths regarding one's religious beliefs, no
compulsory attendance in worship services, and no taxes for a state
church, and granted full religious freedom, even to Jews
4. Williams established the first Baptist church in the English colonies, but
died as a Quaker.
5. Facing hostility from the New England Confederacy, Williams returned to
England via New Amsterdam in Mar 1643 to obtain a charter, which was
granted in Mar 1644.
6. The charter allowed a general assembly, composed of freemen from four
towns.
a. It convened at Portsmouth in May 1647 to draft a constitutional
structure.
b. The constitution gave freedom of conscience, separated church from
state, provided for town referenda on laws passed by the Assembly, and
gave towns the same right as the Assembly to initiate laws.
7. Anti-unionist William Coddington sought a separate charter for the island
of Aquidneck (Mar 1651), but it was not revoked by the council of State
(Oct 1652), after which Coddington accepted the authority of Providence
Plantations (Mar 1656).
C. New Haven (1637-42)
8. Rev. John Davenport (1597-1670). a friend of John Cotton, arrived in
Boston (June 1636) with several others including Theophilus Eaton
(c.1590-1658) before establishing a colony and trading post at Quinnipiac
or New Haven.
9. A town established on land purchased from the Indians was laid out on a
modified grid pattern and a government was established, restricting the
franchise to church members.
10. Stamford was established in 1641 and in 1643 the independent settlements
of Guilford and Milford joined the New Haven colony.
11. A General Court was established, comprised of two deputies from the four
towns, which adopted in Nov 1643 a Frame of Government, and made the
Mosaic law the basis of its legal system, but no provision was made for
trial by jury.
D. New Hampshire (1638-43)
12. Fishing and trading activities north of Boston resulted in new
communities.
a. John Wheelwright , banished from Massachusetts (Apr 1638),
established the town of Exeter.
b. Settlers signed the Exeter Compact , similar to Mayflower Compact, in
July 1639
13. Portsmouth and Dover conceded the authority of Massachusetts in 1641
followed by Hampton in 1642 and Exeter in 1643.
14. Wheelwright withdrew to Maine rather than submit to Massachusetts.
E. Maine (1640-51)
15. Although Gorges tried to govern Maine through his cousin, Thomas
Gorges, and through a provincial court, established at York in June 1640,
Massachusetts continued its northward expansion.
16. Although the Maine government appealed to Parliament in 1651, the
Massachusetts General Court claimed that Maine was included within the
boundaries of their colony.
17. Several communities were annexed in 1652 and others capitulated to
Massachusetts.
F. Massachusetts as an Independent Commonwealth (1641-60)
18. The General Court in Dec 1641 a code, the Body of Liberties , drawn up
by Nathaniel Ward , over one porposed by John Cotton (published in
England as An Abstract of the Lawes of New England (1641).
19. The Body of Liberties based its criminal code on the Pentateuch.
20. In Nov 1646, Robert Child along with others complained that the Bay
Colony discriminated against non-Puritans, in violation of the laws of
England.
21. The General Court adopted in 1648 a more extensive code which was
influential throughout the northern colonies, except for Rhode Island
whose code of 1647 adhered to English common law.
22. The General Court began to mint its own coins in June 1652 (down to
1684) and in defiance of Parliament, in Oct 1652, declared itself an
independent commonwealth.
G. New England Society -- Government Structure, Community Life, Occupations,
Family Life
23. To preserve the New England Way, Puritans developed religious
institutions far more democratic than those in England.
a. Massachusetts Bay company gave the right of electing the governor and
his executive council to all male saints and in 1634 each town gained the
option of sending two delegates to General Court
b. In 1634 a bicameral or two-chamber lawmaking body was established
when the town's deputies separated from the Governors council to form
the House of Representatives.
c. Massachusetts did not require voters or officeholders to own property
but bestowed full citizenship on every adult male accepted as a saint.
d. By 1641 about 55% of the colony's 2300 men could vote, while
England's property requirements permitted only about 30% could vote.
e. New England legislatures established a town by awarding a grant of
land to several dozen heads of families who enjoyed almost unlimited
freedom to lay out the settlement, organize its church, distribute land
among themselves, set local tax rates, and make local laws.
f. Each town then determined its own qualifications for voting and holding
office in the town meeting yet custom held that all male taxpayers
including non saints be allowed to participate.
g. The meeting could exclude anyone from settling in the town, or it could
grant the right of sharing in any future land distributions to newcomers.
24. Community Life in New England
a. The founders of a town usually granted each family a one-acre house lot
(enough for a vegetable garden) within one-half-mile of the meetinghouse.
b. A town meeting gave each household strips of land or small fields
farther out for its crops and livestock.
(1) Some individuals owned several parcels of land in different location
and so gained the right to graze a few extra animals on the town
commons.
(2) By granting families no more land than they needed to support
themselves, towns were inherently created to maintain a tight cluster for
community life (tending more toward an urban rather than rural
atmosphere).
(3) By separating a family's home from its farm acreage, forcing all
residents to live within a mile or one another, created a physical setting
conducive to traditional reciprocity.
(a) In England however this mode of land division was becoming
inefficient as farmers tried to produce a greater surplus for sale by
consolidating landholdings.
(b) By 1600 English agriculturalists preferred scattered farms away from
village centers.
(4) New England's compact system of settlement forced people to
interact with each other and created an atmosphere of mutual watchfulness
that promoted godly order.
(a) New Englanders showed little disposition to settle as individuals upon
separate farms.
(b) Long established custom, along with the desirability of having a
church easily accessible and the need to protect against hostile Indians,
kept settlers together in villages.
(5) Consequently the development of a New England town came to be the
social and economic unit on which all New England life tended to center.
(a) The town as a natural self-governing political unit and practice among
Puritans with respect to church government allowed each congregation to
choose its minister, deacons and elders, and tithing men.
(b) Even in matters of doctrine, the decision of the congregation was final.
(c) In secular government matters, the same ideas of democracy prevailed
as matters of local importance were brought before town meetings to
which usually all church members were entitled to come.
(d) Levying of taxes, land distribution, establishment of schools, passing
local ordinances were all brought before the town meeting.
(e) The town was also the unit from which members or representatives
were chosen to the lower house of the colonial legislature.
25. Occupations
a. New England's climate and topography prevented the development of
staple money crops for import to England (like tobacco, rice and indigo as
in the South).
b. Fields in New England were cleared of timber and stones, stones being
used extensively for the construction of stone walls to serve as fences, yet
crops of many kinds were planted.
c. Normally each family had land of their own because it was plentiful and
usually each farmer tilled his own land.
d. Because labor was scarce, landholdings tended to be no more than one
man could work.
e. Because most New Englanders lacked money with which to buy
manufactured goods from Europe, farmers tended to fashion for
themselves the tools they used, they shoes the family wore, the furniture
they needed and the women spun wool or flax in yarn, wove cloth, and
made the clothes the family wore
f. The shortage of money caused New Englanders to develop habits of
thrift and frugality.
g. Agriculture was supplemented by fishing and commerce, because New
England coasts were rich in fish, and fishing led to commerce because
they were able to export vast amounts to the West Indies and in Southern
Europe, coming to be known as "Yankee traders"
(1) Commerce expanded into other commodities (molasses, sugar, ginger,
lumber and furs).
(2) As slaves were brought to the West Indies they were exchanged for
molasses, which was brought to New England to make more rum, to
acquire more slaves, to exchange for more molasses and so on.
(3) New Englanders developed a taste for rum which became the standard
drink of New England.
(4) Shipbuilding paralleled fishing and commerce as skillful craftsmen
built strong ships to withstand the elements and smuggling developed as
the Navigation Acts tightened.
26. Puritan Family Life
a. Puritan society rested upon the little commonwealth -- nuclear family,
not the individual.
b. "Well-ordered families," declared Cotton Mather in 1699, "naturally
produce a Good Order."
c. A proper Puritan family of wife, children and servants dutifully obeyed
the husband.
(1) Winthrop said a 'true wife" thought of herself "in subjection to her
husband's authority"
(2) Matrimony was defined as a contract subject to state regulation rather
than a religious sacrament and so were married by justices of the peace,
not ministers.
(a) Marriage could be dissolved by the courts for desertion, bigamy,
adultery or physical cruelty
(b) Divorce was allowed only as a last extreme measure, as a remedy fit
only for extremely wronged spouses.
(3) English Common Law did not extend property rights to a wife
independent of her husband unless he consented to a prenuptial agreement
giving her control over any property she already owned.
(4) Only if a husband died heirless or in his will awarded his widow full
control could she claim rights over household property, yet she normally
held a legal lifetime use of one third of the estate for her support.
(a) A typical male in England who reached age 18 could expect to die at
age 53 and females who reached 18 lived to about 45
(b) A typical family had five children of who three grew to adulthood.
(c) One in six never married
(d) Most women who married were already orphans by the time of their
wedding day.
(5) New England settlers did better because of a more disease free
environment
(a) They received a better diet and less disease and infection
(b) New Englanders lived long and raised large families, having a life
expectancy of 65 for men and women lived nearly that long
(d) More than 80% of all infants survived long enough to get married
(d) Large families helped supply a labor force on the homesteads.
(e) Children depended on parents to provide enough acreage to get started.
(f) Young men often stayed at home and postponed marriage until
receiving their own land.
(g) Average family raised three to four boys to adulthood and could
depend on thirty to forty years of work if their sons delayed marriage until
age 26.
(6) Because of short growing seasons, rocky soil salted with gravel and an
inefficient system of land distribution, farmers were forcedto cultivate
widely scattered strips which prevented them from becoming wealthy yet
they fed large families and stayed just ahead of their debts.
(a) Because New England was not suited for farming, some New
Englanders turned to lumbering, fishing, fur trading, and rum distilling
into major industries which employed much seasonal labor
(b) It also caused the New England economy to be much more diversified
and its inhabitants to grow more worldly (secular).
(c) This shift toward secularism caused fewer and fewer of the children to
emerge as saints.
H. Demise of the Puritan Mission -- Changes within Massachusetts Society
27. Following the capture of Parliament by Puritans in 1640, the Great
Migration subsided.
a. The number of Puritan church members dwindled to a minority.
b. Second and Third generation settlers decreasedthe number of church
members per capita
28. As England fell into civil war chaos in 1642 over Charles I 's efforts to
impose taxes without Parliamentary consent, Puritans gained control of the
government with the Lord High Protector Oliver Cromwell.
29. After Cromwell's death, the Stuart restoration of Charles II doomed
Puritanism in England.
a. High Church Anglicans ruthlessly expelled Puritan ministers from their
parishes.
b. Anglican harsh laws forbade Separatists from establishing churches and
schools.
c. One English saint believed "God has spit in our face."
d. Restoration of the Anglican Monarchy left American Puritans without
a mission
30. American Puritans hoped their example would shame England into
reforming its church, but having conquered the wilderness and built their
city upon a hill, New Englanders discovered after 1660 that the eyes of the
world were no longer on them, creating an internal crisis in the New
England Way, which stemmed from the failure of their children to declare
themselves saints
a. First generation Puritans believed they had a hold contract or covenant
with God, which obliged them to establish a scripturally-ordained church,
preserved by their children.
b. In return they believed God would prosper them and shield them from
corruption.
c. Yet few second-generation Puritans were willing to join the elect by
required conversion before their congregation.
31. By 1650, less than half the adults in John Winthrop's congregation were
saints as very few of the second generation were willing to subject
themselves to a grilling before relatives and friends
a. Most second-generation Puritans had witnessed the ordeal that potential
saints suffered such as Sarah Fiske who, for more than a year, had to
answer charges of speaking uncharitably about relatives (esp her husband)
and was admitted to the Church only after publicly denouncing herself as
worse than a toad .
b. Second-generation Puritans were more passive preferring a more
inclusive religious community like the English Puritans.
(1) In England non-separatist ministers routinely certified adults as
members worthy of taking communion after hearing a private conversion
relationship with God.
(2) This entitled their children to be baptized.
c. Second-generation Puritans also rejected the public conversion-ritual as
unnecessary because it created bitterness and division that undermined
Christian fellowship.
d. Half-Way Covenant - 1660s
(1) A new kind of church membership was created -- First generation
Puritans had only baptized babies born to saints and were finding that now
their grandchildren were not baptized because second generation Puritans
had not gone through the ceremonial public confession to become a saint
or full church member
(2) This created the need to loosen the standards for church membership.
(3) Half-Way Covenant -- Those whose parents had been members, who
agreed with the general beliefs of the church, could have their children
baptized, which as half-way church members, allowed them to vote in
colony elections, but not partake in communion or vote in church affairs.
(4) Although this broadened the voting base of the colony, Anglicans
complained to the king because they were not permitted to vote yet in
Massachusetts.
e. This signaled the end of the New England Way because it sacrificed
purity for community, as most second-generation adults chose to remain in
"halfway" status for their entire life and thus the "saints" became a
shrinking minority as the third and fourth generation matured.
(1) There were finally more women in saint status than men, but since
women could not vote in church affairs, religious authority stayed in male
hands.
(2) The Puritan Church thus became more secularized and shifted from a
first generation focus on collective welfare toward a individualistic ,
more worldly groups of Americans who demanded less restrictions on
their economic behavior.
(3) Farmers lost their political control to the merchant who now controlled
town meetings and eventually outnumbered farmers in officeholdings six
to one.
(4) New England became highly vulnerable to internal conflict between
prosperous merchants and its agricultural folk.
(5) Secularization permeated New England with a major shift in values so
that by 1700 they were no longer called Puritans but Yankees because of
the growing interest in shrewd business practices and sharp eye for
economic opportunity, made them appear as business predators building a
thriving international commerce, although most New Englanders
maintained strong religious roots and convictions.
I. Salem Witch Trials 1691
32. A West Indian slave woman named Tituba taught voodoo (witchcraft) to
some Salem New England girls who began to act strangely, casting spells
on people, bringing illnesses and destroying property
33. After questioning, things got way out of hand as the girls indicted
prosperous farm wives and also accused a local minister of being a wizard
(male witch).
34. The jails overflowed as more people were accused to the extreme
a. One suspect's four year old daughter spent nine months in heavy chains,
believing she was "possessed" (demonized).
b. A seven-year-old sent her mother to the gallows, and a wife and
daughter, facing death testified against her husband.
35. Fifty persons saved themselves by "confessing" but twenty who would not
disgrace themselves went to their deaths.
36. The hysteria continued until some church ministers began to demand
evidence to corroborate the accusations after which the indictments
subsided.
VII. Beginnings of Unification
A. Pequot War (1636-37)
1. Puritan Expansion
a. As Native Americans continued to die drastically from disease Puritans sought
to expand their settlements.
b. As the Puritans moved further inland they met Indian resistance beginning in
1633 with the Pequot tribe who controlled the trade in furs and wampum with
New Netherlands.
2. A punitive expedition in Aug 1636, led by John Endecott of Massachusetts,
against the Pequots was in reprisal for the murder of a New England trader John
Oldham.
3. The Pequots in turn made reprisal raids in the Spring.
4. CPT John Mason of Connecticut destroyed the main Pequot village in May.
4. Gov. William Bradford saw it as a good thing as the English praised God for
helping to destroy these Indians.
5. A fleeing remnant was slaughtered in July near New Haven by a combined force
from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
6. Surviving Pequots were taken as slaves and the settlement of Connecticut
proceeded unimpeded
B. New England Confederation (19 May 1643)
1. Because military action was not well coordinated in the Pequot War, and
against the threat of Dutch expansionism, delegates from Massachusetts,
Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven met in Boston.
2. They drew up twelve articles of confederation which was ratified by the
four colonies, under the name of the United Colonies of New England.
a. The territorial integrity of the four colonies was guaranteed.
b. The government consisted of eight commissioners, two from each
colony, chosen annually by their respective general courts.
c. The commissioners had power to declare offensive and defensive war,
the expenses of which would be paid for proportionally by each colony
based on the number of male inhabitants between the ages of sixteen and
sixty, and also had jurisdiction over interstate quarrels, fugitive servants,
fugitives from justice, and Indian affairs.
d. Six votes were required for a decision.
e. Annual sessions were held until 1664, after which meetings were held
occasionally until the termination of the federation in 1684.
C. Treatment of Religious Minorities
3. Maine's government passed an act in Oct 1649 which granted all
Christians the right to form churches which were "orthodox in judgement
and not scandalous in life."
4. In July 1651, Massachusetts heavily fined three Baptists and banished
them.
5. The first Quakers to arrive in Boston in July-Aug 1656 were imprisoned,
brutally treated and expelled, with the approval of Federal Commissioners
(Sept 1656).
6. The Massachusetts Bay Colony imposed penalties on Quakers entering its
colony (Oct 1656), forbade Quaker meetings (May 1658), and imposed the
death penalty on Quakers who returned to the colony after being expelled
(Oct 1658).
a. William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson were hanged in Oct 1659.
b. Mary Dyer in June 1660 and William Leddra in Mar 1661 were also
hanged.
7. Similar laws in Plymouth and New Haven (1657-58) were not as
vigorously enforced.
8. The persecution of Quakers in the colonies was suspended only after the
Restoration (Sept 1661) when a royal order commanded that all Quakers
under sentence of death or corporal punishment be returned to England for
trial.
a. Massachusetts allowed its Quakers to leave the colony rather than return
them.
b. The suspended corporal punishment act was revived in Oct 1662.
D. Conversion of Indians
9. Rev. John Eliot (1604-90), learned Indian dialects, began to preach to the
Indians, and established fourteen colonies of "praying Indians" of over
1000 total.
10. His work led to the Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England
in London in July 1649 but the work was largely destroyed by King
Philip's War in the 1670s.
VIII. English Colonies From the Restoration To the Glorious Revolution 1660-89
A. Background
1. After Oliver Cromwell died in 1660, the government temporarily was headed by
his son, Richard, but he was no Oliver, and a move was made to restore the
monarchy to England.
2. Charles II, son of the beheaded Charles I, was crowned king.
3. The restoration of the monarchy to England placed the New England colonies in
peril.
a. When the Puritans ruled England, they were sympathetic to the cause of the
Bay commonwealth and to the independence of New Haven as a colony.
b. Gradually, however, as judges and governors were replaced by monarchists and
not Puritans, the colonies were converted into Royal colonies.
B. Fate of the New England Colonies
1. New England's colonies gradually accepted the ascension of Charles II to
the throne: (18 Oct 1660), Connecticut (14 Mar 1661), New Haven (5
June) and Massachusetts (7 Aug).
2. Fate of Connecticut and Rhode Island
a. Connecticut had no charter and Rhode Island's charter of 1644 was no
longer legal.
b. Governor John Winthrop Jr (since 1657) obtained in May 1662 a
royal charter for Connecticut, with clearly defined boundaries.
c. Connecticut's charter now included Providence, but an agreement with
Rhode Island limited the eastern boundary of Connecticut to the
Pawcatuck River.
d. The Charter granted to Rhode Island in July 1663 guaranteed religious
freedom regardless of "differences of opinion in matters of religion."
3. Fate of New Haven
a. In accordance with the Charter of 1662, Connecticut demanded its
incorporation, but New Haven's freemen voted to maintain independence
in Nov 1662.
b. Stamford, Guilford and part of Milford decided to join Connecticut in
Dec 1664 to avoid coming under the jurisdiction of the Duke of York.
c. New Haven formally submitted in Jan 1665, although some colonists
went to Neward in East Jersey, rather than yield.
4. Establishment of the King's Commissioners
a. The crown sent four commissioners to New England to enlist aid in the
war against the Dutch, investigate the colonial governments, settle all
boundary disputes between the colonies, and secure enforcement of the
Navigation Acts.
b. Four requirments were placed on the colonists:
(1) all householders must swear an oath of allegiance to the crown;
(2) all men of competent estates must be freemen;
(3) all orthodox believers must be admitted to existing churches or to
churches of their own choosing;
(4) all laws derogatory to the crown must be removed
C. Plymouth, Connecticut and Rhode Island agreed to comply, but not
Massachusetts.
D. Three commissioners recommended the Bay Colony charter be
revoked, but in 1666 Massachusetts refused to send representatives to
England to answer charges.
5. Fate of Maine
A. The king's commissioners set up a government in Maine (Oct 1665May 1668)
B. A special convention at York recognized Massachusetts' claim of
authority in July 1668 and three Maine deputies were seated in the
Massachusetts General Court.
6. Duke of York's Claim
A. In June 1674, a patent issued to the Duke of York recognized his title to
lands between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers and the St. Croix and
Kennebec in Maine.
B. Sir Edmund Andros (1637-1714) was designated Governor-General
by the Duke of York.
C. King Philip's War (1675-76)
7. Background
A. 5 New England Indian Tribes increasingly were pressed by English
expansion.
B. Philip, who became chief of the Wampanoags, yielded only a token
amount of arms (Apr 1671), when Plymouth authorities requested that
they be turned in.
c. This led to charges of conspiracy against the colonists resulted in the
murder of the accuser and the trial and execution of three Indians (June
1675).
8. Start of Hostilities 1675
a. Philip's forces attacked a settlement at Swansea in June and colonists
from Boston and Plymouth retaliated by attacking the Wampanoag
stronghold at Mt. Hope.
b. Philip, now joined by other Indian tribes attacked the entire southern
frontier.
c. New England Confederation declared war (Sept), assigning each colony
a quota of men.
9. Narragansett Campaign (2 Nov 1675-Jan 1676)
a. Josiah Winslow from Plymouth led combined forces against the
principal fort of the Narragansetts (in Rhode Island).
b. Although killing some 300 women and children and most of the old
men, most of the warriors had escaped by Jan.
10. Indian Counterattack (10 Feb-30 Mar 1676)
a. Indians, driven by starvation, attacked Lancaster, sacked the town and
took hostages, including Mrs. Mary Rowlandson whose True History
described her captivity and the starvation.
b. Attacks on other settlements followed, including Plymouth and
Providence.
11. Collapse of Indian Resistance (18 May - 28 Aug 1676)
a. A colonial force of 180 attacked Indians near Deerfield in the
Connecticut Valley and destroyed many supplies before being annihilated.
b. A war of attrition conducted by colonists and friendly Indians gradually
stripped the Indians of their offensive power until many were killed or
driven into the New Hampshire hills, before many started surrendering in
large numbers.
c. Philip was betrayed, run down, shot and his wife and child were sold
into West Indian slavery.
d. The last sizeable surrender took place 28 Aug.
12. War in the North (5 Sept 1675 - 12 Aug 1678)
a. 80 Maine settlers were killed (Dec 1675) and many others abandoned
their settlements when war resumed (Aug 1676).
b. Indian raids resumed (Spring of 1677).
c. Sir Edmund Andros successfully negotiated peace terms with Indians
(Apr 1678) by which the Indians received one peck of corn annually from
each family settling in Maine.
13. Cost of the War
a. One out of every 16 men of military age died.
b. 90,000 pounds was spent on the war.
c. 12 New England towns were entirely destroyed and 1/2 of the rest were
damaged.
D. Problems with Massachusetts
14. Special agent of the Crown, Edward Randolph , arrived in Boston with
instructions from the king and he investigated the enforcement of the
Navigation Acts.
15. His reports charged Massachusetts with failure to enforce the Navigation
Acts, with executing English citizens for their religious beliefs, for
denying Englishmen the right of appeal to the Privy Council, and for
refusing the oath of allegiance.
16. The Lords of Trade upheld the title to Maine of the heirs of Sir Fernando
Gorges.
a. Massachusetts bought out the heirs for 1,250 pounds in Mar 1677.
b. Maine remained part of Massachusetts until 1820.
17. Additional negative reports from Randolph led to the Court of Chancery
annulling the charter of the Bay Colony in June 1684 (finalized in Oct).
E. New Hampshire 1680-86
18. New Hampshire was separated from Massachusetts in Sept 1680 by royal
decree and John Cutt served as governor until 1682.
19. Edward Cranfield (1682-85) ruled with no assembly after they refused to
his revenue bills in 1683.
20. Walter Barefoote served briefly until the Dudley Commission arrived.
21. New Hampshire was part of the Dominion of New England (1686-89).
22. Its royal authority was restored in 1692 after which its only connection to
Massachusetts was that each colony had the same governor from 16981741.
F. Dominion of New England and the Andros Regime (1685-88)
23. Joseph Dudley (1657-1720) in London to protest the loss of the Bay
Colony charter was appointed Governor over Massachusetts, Maine and
New Hampshire by James II.
24. Sir Edmund Andros assumed the governorship in Boston in Dec 1686
over all of New England (except for Connecticut and Rhode Island).
25. He organized the Dominion of New England to include NY, NJ and PA
for more effective military operations in the event of war with France and
for better enforcement of Navigation Acts.
26. RI was incorporated (Dec), and CN was taken over (Nov 1687)
27. Andros became more unpopular for actions such as these:
a. He demanded that Anglicans share the Old South Meeting House (Mar
1687) which he then converted into an Anglican church;
b. He reexamined all land titles which led to an insistence that all regrants
pay a quitrent;
c. He imposed assessments, resisted by an Ipswich town meeting in Aug
led by Rev. John Wise (1652-1725), which led to the arrest and fining of
some and their disqualification for holding office
d. He limited town meetings to only one annually (Mar 1688)
e. He placed the militia under his direct control (Mar 1688)
28. Rev. Increase Mather (1639-1723), President of Harvard, sailed to
England to make grievances against Andros before the Lords of Trade
(Aug 1688).
G. Glorious Revolution in New England Jan-July 1689
29. After Andros learned of the landing of William of Orange on English soil
(Jan), he returned to Boston but had to seek refuge in a fort to escape an
angry mob in Apr.
30. A manifesto, mostly by Cotton Mather (1663-1728), was read which
justified the uprising because of abuse by the Andros regime, the fear of a
French alliance and a rumored Popish plot.
31. Andros surrendered and was jailed.
32. A "Council for the Safety and the Conservation of the the Peace" was
established in Apr and the election of Deputies to a General Court was
held in June.
33. An Order in Council in July called for the return of Andros and his
councilors for a trial.
H. Massachusetts Royal Charter
34. A royal charter replaced the old and incorporated Maine and Plymouth
into Massachusetts, provided a Governor appointed by the Crown,
permitted a Council to be elected by the General Court but subject to the
Governor's veto, substituted property for religious qualification, permitted
the crown to review all legislation, and allowed appeals to be made to the
King in Council.
35. Rhode Island and Connecticut still operated under old charters until 1842
and 1818 respectively.
IX. Settlement of the Middle Colonies
A. New Netherland based on Dutch claims in the New World through the exploration of
Henry Hudson.
1. Adriaen Block (d. 1624) further explored in the early seventeenth century, and
noted on maps for the first time that Manhattan and Long Island were separate
islands.
2. Dutch West India Company, chartered by the States General, had a trading
monoploy and the right to colonize in the New World and along the west African
coast below the Tropic of Cancer.
3. A Provincial Order (Mar 1628) was issued to govern life aboard ship.
4. Colonists were divided into free colonists (who could own their own homesteads
and were given transportation, seeds, cattle and other necessities for 2 years) and
indentured husbandmen (who worked for company officials or on company
farms for a specified time).
5. Trading with outsiders was banned, being confined to the Company.
6. The first permanent settlement was established in 1624 under the leadership of
CPT Cornelis Jacobsen May near NY Bay.
7. In 1626 Peter Minuit , director of the colonies, purchased Manhattan from native
Indian chiefs for 60 guilders ($24.00) worth of goods.
8. He erected 30 houses on the island and changed its name to New Amsterdam .
9. Patroonships were established by the States General which confirmed the
Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions .
a. The company granted feudal rights to estates along the river to those
transporting 50 settlers.
b. By 1630, 5 patroonships were granted, but only one succeeded.
10. Minuit was replaced by Wouter Van Twiller (1633-38) because he was too liberal
in granting trading privileges to patroons.
11. Willem Kiefft (1597-1647) replaced him after he was charged with illegal trading
activities and with hostility toward the Dutch Reformed Church.
B. Further Dutch Expansion
1. Increased English settlement into their territory and the ascendancy of
Iroquois created tensions between Dutch colonies and local Indians, some
of whom raided Dutch settlements in the 1640s.
2. Peace between the Dutch colonies and the Indians was not restored until
Aug 1645.
3. The Dutch resettled Long Island in 1646, but were gradually frozen out of
Connecticut because of English expansion into that region.
4. Peter Stuyvesant (1610-72) succeeded Kiefft and permitted the Dutch
colonists to elect a council of Nine to advise him and to act judicially.
5. New Amsterdam was granted a municipal charter in 1652.
C. New Sweden -- founded by Dutch and Swedish investors in 1633 through the
New South Co
6. A charter was granted in 1637 to settle on the Delaware, and Ft. Christina
was built in 1638, lasting until 1640, leaderless after Minuit was lost at sea
in June 1638.
7. The Dutch members of the New Sweden Co. were bought out in 1641 and
Johan Bjornsson Printz (1592-1663) served as governor from 1643-53.
8. Struggles increased between Dutch settlements and New Sweden, esp over
Ft. Casimir, which when recaptured by the Dutch in Sept 1655, effectively
ended Swedish colonization in America.
D. Anglo-Dutch Relations 1650-64
9. Stuyvesant negotiated a boundary settlement with the New England
Confederation which divided Long Island and the mainland.
10. This treaty, although never recognized by Britain, remained in force until
the fall of New Netherland.
11. Anglo-Dutch War July 1652-Apr 1654
a. New England Confederation was reluctant to declare war on New
Amsterdam, although Ft. Good Hope was seized by Connecticut.
b. Stuyvesant was forced to recognize English suzerainty over towns on
Long Island in 1664.
12. Indian relations were strained with attacks upon each other's villages until
May 1664, when the Indians surrendered the Esopus Valley to the Dutch.
E. Conquest of New Netherland
13. The English considered the Dutch settlements to be a hinderance to their
expansion westwardly and to the successful enforcement of the Navigation
Acts.
14. Charles II gave his brother, James, Duke of York a sizeable land grant
(Mar 1664).
15. The Duke appointed COL Richard Nicolls (1624-72) to capture New
Amsterdam and to settle disputes in the New England colonies.
a. Stuyvesant quickly surrendered to the British, lacking support from his
colonists
(1) The British granted the Dutch settlers liberty of conscience, property
and inheritance rights, and the right to trade with Holland for six months.
(2) The British took over other Dutch settlements without much incidence,
although a show of force was necessary before the Dutch surrendered in
Delaware.
b. New Amsterdam was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of
York.
c. Colonial deputies in 1665 from English and Dutch towns approved the
Duke's Laws , a civil and criminal code, by which the government was
organized.
16. The British replaced the Dutch as allies of the Five Nations of the
Iroquois .
17. Second Anglo-Dutch War (Dec 1664-July 1667)
a. The property of the Dutch West India Company was seized in 1665 as
well as property of Dutch colonists who did not swear allegiance to the
British crown.
b. Peace of Breda July 1667 officially recognized British control of New
Netherland after which COL Francis Lovelace served as governor (166873).
18. Third Anglo-Dutch War (Mar 1672-Feb 1674)
a. The Dutch under CPT Anthony Colve, briefly reoccupied NY in Aug
1672 and recaptured Esopus and Albany before the Treaty of
Westminster restored English control under Sir Edmund Andros.
b. Andros reconfirmed the government established under Duke's Laws and
extended his control over other towns in the area.
19. In the 1670s the Duke of York resisted colonial desires for a representative
assembly but finally under Thomas Dongan (1634-1715) he let a general
assembly convene at least once every 3 years
a. The assembly enacted the Charter of Liberties in 1683 and approved
taxes.
b. After the Duke became James II in Feb 1685, he tried to cancel this
legislation, shifting power to the Royal Governor instead.
c. The assembly never met again after its disolution in 1687.
20. Leisler's Rebellion (11 Aug 1688-20 May 1691)
a. NY was included in the Dominion of New England under Andros.
b. After war broke out between France and England, it reached NY in
1689.
c. Amidst rumors of a Catholic plot, which included CPT Francis
Nicholson left in charge by Andros, Jacob Leisler (1649-91) seized Ft.
James in May 1689, recognizing William and Mary
(1) He called upon other counties and towns to send representatives to
NY's government.
(2) He established a Committee of Public Safety.
d. Meeting in Albany in May 1690, representatives from MA, NY, CN and
Plymouth agreed to invade Canada, but this proved disastrous.
e. COL Henry Sloughter, commissionedby the Lords of Trade in Nov
1689 as the new governor, was delayed in arriving.
f. MAJ Robert Ingoldesby arrived with a regiment of troops, but Leisler
refused to recognize his authority, and hostilities broke out.
(1) Only after Sloughter arrived in Mar 1691, did Leisler surrender.
(2) He and 7 others were tried, sentenced to death but only he and his
lieutenant were hanged.
21. An assembly met in Mar 1691, beginning representative government in
NY.
F. Establishment of New Jersey
22. Duke of York granted John Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret
land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.
23. Although no governmental rights were granted, proprietors in Feb 1665 in
their Concessions and Agreements , granted freedom of conscience, very
generous land concessions, and a general assembly of deputies elected by
freeholders, which met from June 1668 to Nov 1671.
24. Philip Carteret was appointed governor in Feb 1665 and was accepted by
the Dutch in the North, but was resisted by English settlers in the South.
25. Acquisition by Quakers 1674-87
a. Lord Berkeley sold his proprietary rights for 1000 pounds to John
Fenwick (1618-83) and Edward Byllinge (d. 1685), both Quakers.
b. Carteret was given the northern part of New Jersey and the province
was divided by the Quitipartite Deed between Carteret on one side (East
Jersey ) and Byllinge, William Penn, and two other Quakers on the other
(West Jersey ).
c. Byllinge's heirs sold their share to Dr. Daniel Coxe of London while
Carteret's heirs sold their share to William Penn and eleven associates,
mostly Quakers.
26. East Jersey
a. A power struggle between Andros, head of the Dominion of New
England and Philip Carteret, governor of East Jersey, resulted in the arrest
of Carteret.
b. James II secured the surrender of both proprietor charters and
incorporated the area into the Dominion of New England.
c. With the removal of James II, the proprietors resumed control in 1692,
and sent Andrew Hamilton, a Scot, as governor until his death in Apr
1703.
27. West Jersey
a. Struggles between Andros and Fenwick over West Jersey continued
until 1682 when Fenwick sold his holdings to Penn
b. 4 proprietors (Mar 1677) issued the Laws, Concessions, and
Agreements (mostly authored by Penn), granting freedom of conscience,
civil rights (trial by jury and no taxation without representatives of the
voters [proprietors, freeholders and inhabitants]).
c. An Assembly, meeting at Burlington from 1681-1701, challenged the
rule of the proprietors (1683), by electing their own governor, Samuel
Jennings.
d. Coxe in 1692 sold out to the West Jersey Society, 48 investors, mostly
Anglicans.
e. Board of Trade recommended that the Crown resume control of private
colonies (1701).
(1) Surrendering to crown authority, the proprietors retained property
rights (1702)
(2) NY's Governor served as NJ's Governor under a separate commission
until 1738, when NJ had its own Governor, beginning with Lewis Morris
(1671-1746).
G. Pennsylvania
28. In college William Penn (1644-1718), joined the Society of Friends or
Quakers
a. His father, Admiral Sir William Penn, had a claim against the crown for
16,000 pounds.
b. Although a Quaker, Charles II granted a charter to the son in 1681 to
satisfy this debt.
c. Penn became absolute proprietor of the area between 40 and 43 degrees
North, west from Delaware through five degrees in longitude.
(1) Settlers paid to Penn a small tax as quick rent.
(2) Penn paid the crown two beaverskins per year as rent.
d. Pennsylvania became a haven for Quakers ; its leaders endeavored to
build it upon the kingdom of God, having the church and state work
closely together.
(1) While Puritans had substituted the Bible as the source of authority,
instead of the Pope or Crown, the Quakers believed the only source of
authority was God who spoke to individuals.
(2) The Spirit of God resided within every man (who was basically good)
and guided each individual as an inner light.
(3) Germantown Quakers issued the 1st colonial protest against slavery
(1688).
(4) Quaker missionaries were active in every colony, especially
Massachusetts.
(5) Aid was given to individuals for specific persons because humans in
the event of misfortune deserved the help of other humans.
e. Other pertinent Quaker beliefs
(1) Equality - All people were equal. In the English language of the 1600s,
"you" denoted social superiority and was used when talking to inferiors.
Thus the Quakers used "thee" and "thou" when addressing each other;
(2) Simplicity - to emphasize their plain living, they wore darker colors,
like grays, browns and blacks and did not like to have their portraits
painted;
(3) Peace - Quakers refused military service as pacifists and when they
controlled the legislature, they refused to appropriate any monies to fight
the Indians.
f. Penn, granted limited governmental powers, was required to obey the
Navigation Acts, have his laws approved by an assembly, and make all
legislation subject to the Privy Council for five years.
g. The Crown also heard appeals from provincial courts, and reserved the
right to impose taxes through Parliament (although not done until 1765).
29. Penn Takes Over Delaware
a. In Aug 1682, the Duke of York granted Penn title to an area which
contained Delaware, although no rights of government were conferred.
b. The Charter of 1701 permitted Delaware a separate government from
Pennsylvania.
c. In Nov 1704, the first independent assembly met at New Castle.
d. Both areas had the same governor, pending royal approval, until the
Revolution.
30. Beginning of Pennsylvania's Government
a. Initially upon receipt of the property from the Duke of York, Penn
proclaimed that the Duke's Laws would be enforced until the people
decided otherwise.
b. Penn's Frame of Government (May 1682) provided a Governor (who
was the proprietor or his deputy), a council (originally 72 members, 1/3
being elected each year), and an assembly of between 200 and 500
members elected by freeholders.
(1) The council initiated laws, performed administrative and judicial
functions, and tried officials impeached by the assembly.
(2) The assembly either ratified or rejected legislation until 1696, when it
also had the power to initiate laws.
(3) The assembly in 1683 declared liberty of conscience.
c. A second Frame of Government (Apr 1683) reduced the council to 18
members and the assembly to 32 delegates.
d. Penn returned to England in Aug 1684 to defend his title in a boundary
dispute with Lord Baltimore.
31. Early Settlement
a. Extensive advertizing with the British Isles, Holland and Germany,
resulted in sizeable immigration from the beginning of Penn's colony.
(1) Many immigrants were Quakers from the Rhineland, lower Palatinate,
Ireland and England.
(2) German Protestant groups were called the Pennsylvania Dutch
("Deutchland")
(3) Scot-Irish Presbyterians arrived in the 1700s as indentured servants.
b. Because land grants were careless, Penn's second son, Thomas (170275), tried to organize the land system and settle the title quarrels.
32. Glorious Revolution in Pennsylvania 1688-94
a. Because Penn enjoyed a good relationship with James II, and Quakers
remained passive toward England's war with France, the crown appointed
(Mar 1692) Benjamin Fletcher (NY governor)
b. The proprietary government was restored in Aug 1694.
c. Penn returned to the colony as resident Governor in 1699.
33. Charter of Liberties Nov 1701
a. Penn granted a charter which was the constitution of Pennsylvania until
the Revolution.
b. The unicameral legislature approved laws passed by the governor.
c. Propietary rule ended, except for the appointment of the Governor.
d. Penn returned to England in 1701 and left James Logan (1674-1751) in
charge.
e. The penniless Penn had to mortgage his province to trustees in 1708.
34. Pennsylvanian Society
a. Social Mobility - the example of John Bringhurst
(1) This son of a London printer arrived in Pennsylvania in the 1690s with
his mother and was apprenticed as a barrel maker (hooper) at age ten.
(2) He went to sea as a hooper, saving his money from voyages to the
West Indies.
(3) He became a ship navigator.
(4) He returned to Pennsylvania and built his own barrel making company,
bought shares in ships, and by the 1740s was an elder at Quaker meetings.
b. A Center of Science and Culture -- The first general hospital, the first
medical school, the first center of the only inner colony philosophical
society.
c. An early business and farming center
d. After the Quakers lost their numerical edge they lost control of the
legislature.
e. When that one-house legislature voted to raise an army to fight the
Indians, many Quakers left the Government (1750s).
X. Establishment of the Lower Thirteen Original Colonies
A. Development of Spanish Florida
1. First Spanish Missionary Efforts 1577-1600
a. Franciscan activity under Fray Alonso de Reynoso was unsuccessful.
b. Fray Juan de Silva (1595) intensely established several mission provinces.
c. Although meeting with some Indian hostility, hundreds of Indians were
converted and several chapels were erected north of St Augustine.
d. Indian attacks (1597-1600) resulted in the abandonment of all missions north of
St. Augustine except for Santa Elena.
e. Retaliatory strikes against Indian villages resulted in a return to peace by 1600
and the establishment of numerous missions throughout Florida.
2. Second Line of Advance
a. Franciscans pushed northward establishing many missions (1601-80).
b. Activity also pushed westward across the neck of the Florida peninsula
c. Despite Indian uprisings through 1647, 38 missions existed with 26,000 Indians
at least partly converted by 1655.
B. English Activity in the Carolinas
1. Background
a. Sir Robert Heath received a patent (1629) to settled the area between 31
and 36 degrees North (New Carolina ).
b. Henry Lord Maltravers was granted the province of Carolina by
Heath and by Gov John Harvey of Virginia (1632), although no
settlements were begun.
c. Albermarle Colony 1653-54
(1) Several colonists from VA moved into present NC in 1653, north of
the Albermarle Sound.
(2) This was encouraged by Virginia for the protection of its southern
frontier.
d. Spain's Colony at Jamaica fell to the English (1655), fostering a belief
that Spain could be driven from North America and encouraging English
expansion southward
e. Cape Fear Company , organized in 1660 by New Englanders and
London merchants, sent colonists from New England to the Cape Fear
River in 1662, but was abandoned after 1 year.
2. Charters of the Carolinas (Apr 1663 - July 1665)
a. Charles II granted to 8 proprietors the area between 31 and 36 degrees
north and extending westward to the "south seas", and later extended
(1665) to 29 degrees which incorporated the entire settled part of Florida.
b. The proprietors were Sir John Colleton, Sir William Berkeley (exgovernor of VA), Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (Earl of Shaftesbury after
1672), Earl of Clarendon (King's chief minister), Duke of Albemarle
(General Monck), a naval officer John Lord Berkeley (Sir William's
brother), Earl of Craven , and Sir George Carteret .
c. Counter claims to the territory, including one from the Cape Fear
Company, were voided by the Privy Council in Aug 1665.
d. Claims from Daniel Coxe's descendants of New Jersey (owners of the
Heath patent) were settled by the crown in 1768, granting 100,000 acres in
New York
3. Background to Settlement
a. The proprietors desired to promote settlement from New England and
Barbados.
b. William Drummond was designated Governor of Albemarle.
c. The proprietors drew up Concessions and Agreements in 1665 (also
used in New Jersey) which granted freedom of conscience, generous land
grants, and an assembly of representatives chosen by the freeholders.
4. Fundamental Constitutions 1669-70
a. The proprietors issued an elaborate scheme of government written by
John Locke and Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (Mar 1669) to strengthen the
Concessions.
b. Religious freedom was revised (Mar 1670) to establish the Church of
England.
c. A popular (not standing) army was authorized.
d. Carolina society was envisioned with a hereditary nobility, proprietors
(with 12,000 acres in each county) at the top, 26 landgraves next (48,000
acres each), 13 caciques (24,000 acres each), lords of manors (3,000 12,000 acres) and freeholders (50-acre minimum voting requirement) at
the bottom.
(1) A total of 26 landgraves and 13 caciques were created.
(2) No barony above 12,000 acres or any manors were ever created.
(3) In most cases the titles expired with the original holder but in a few, it
descended to the 2d and 3d generation.
e. A Palatine Court , composed of the eight proprietors in England,
appointed the Governor, approved the laws and heard appeals from the
5.
6.
7.
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colony.
f. A provincial assembly was composed of the Governor, hereditary nobles
and deputies (freeholders with 500 acres).
g. A Governor's council became known as the Grand Council .
h. Although the Fundamental Constitutions were revised several times and
abridged in 1698, they were never accepted by the assembly.
Charleston was founded (1669) by settlers from England
a. Originally settling at Port Royal Sound they moved northward near
Albemarle Point because of fear of the Spaniards.
b. By 1672, settlers from NY, England and Barbados increased the
population to 400.
c. Initial conflicts with local Indians resulted in their complete defeat and a
brief experiment with Indian slavery.
d. The first governor was William Sayle (d. Mar 1671) followed by Joseph
West who called the first assembly in Aug 1671.
e. Sir John Yeamans, as sole landgrave resident, claimed the right to be
Governor in Apr 1672, but was replaced by West again in 1674.
f. The colony relocated to the present sight of Charlestown in 1680.
Culpepper's Rebellion 1677-80
a. Protesting the actions of Governor John Jenkins at Albemarle, Thomas
Miller of the proprietary faction tried combining the office of Governor
and customs collector.
b. An anti-proprietary faction captured Miller who escaped to England
who appealed to the Privy Council.
c. The rebel faction was defended by John Culpepper , before Miller was
deemed to have exceeded his authority and Culpepper was acquitted.
Port Royal Colony 1682-86.
a. The Carolina proprietors permitted Scotsmen to settle at Port Royal in
1682, but this offended the Spaniards who viewed it as a violation of the
Treaty of Madrid (between Spain and England in July 1670 which was
the basis for future boundary disputes between Florida and the Carolinas).
b. Their colony, called Stuart's Town was completely destroyed because of
fighting in the area between Indians and Spanish, and because of
antagonism from Virginia.
Political Activity in the Carolinas 1683-96
a. Colonists in the Charleston area rejected the revised Fundamental
Orders of 1682 and the proprietors responded by dissolving the assembly.
b. Many colonists supported those who preyed on Spanish shipping and
therefore were often acquitted of violating the Navigation Acts.
c. Colonists at Albemarle ousted their governor, Seth Southel, (1689) but
the controversy did not end until his death in 1694.
d. Later governors tried to restore order
South Carolina as a Royal Colony 1706-29
a. After 1706 because of the weakened proprietary position, the last
proprietary governor was replaced in 1719 by the colonists, James Moore
ruling temporarily.
b. Francis Nicholson (1655-1728) was appointed by the Crown in May
1721 and South Carolina was formally incorporated as a Royal Colony.
c. 7 proprietors sold their claims to the Crown by 1729 and the 8th took
land south of VA.
10. North Carolina as a Royal Colony 1691-1729
a. Unrest kept Albemarle, after 1691 known as North Carolina, torn up
until the Vestry Act 1701 declared the Church of England as the
established church.
b. Dissenters including Quakers were intensely opposed to this action.
c. Thomas Cary tried to enforce it, but the proprietors gave permission for
his removal.
d. When he refused to leave, he was sent to England before returning
home.
e. Tuscarora War (1711-12) resulted in the removal of these Indians who
went to NY and became the sixth tribe in the Iroquois Confederation.
f. NC received a separate governor, Edward Hyde (1712) and surrendered
its charter and became a Royal Colony in July 1729.
C. Settlement of Georgia
11. A Royal Charter was granted for 21 years to James Edward Oglethorpe
and 19 trustees for a colony south of the Savannah River (originally part
of SC but the Crown's after 1729).
12. The trustees, concerned with pauperism, wanted to provide relief for
imprisoned debtors as well as establish England's naval supremacy.
13. The charter granted liberty of conscience to everyone except Catholics,
and limited grants of land to 500-acre tracts.
14. Oglethorpe established Savannah (Feb 1733).
15. Initially the importation of rum and slaves into the colony was prohibited
but rum was permitted after 1742 and the ban on slaves was repealed
(1749).
16. Gradually the size of holdings were increased to 2,000 acres after sevenyear tenancies.
17. The charter was surrendered in 1752 when the colony became a royal
province.