M R S . C H E N ’ S 8 T H G RA D E H I S T O RY

THE ENGLISH 13 COLONIES (1585-1732)

DO NOW

• The year is 1607. You have just sailed across the ocean and arrived in a strange land. Your family has traveled to the eastern coast of North America in search of freedom and prosperity. Your first task in the new land is to decide what you need to do to survive.

1. What dangers would you face as a settler?2. What do you need to survive in the wilderness?3. Why were some settlements built as forts?4. What kind of settlement would you build?

ENGLAND’S COLONIAL BEGINNINGS

• Religious and political rivalries increased between England and Spain in the late 1500s.• Spain had many colonies in the Americas and

England had none.• England began directing its resources toward

establishing colonies after its defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588

BENEFITS OF COLONIES

For England, colonies would provide…

• sources of raw materials• markets for English

exports• increase in trade and

gold supply• a place to spread the

Protestant Christian faith

Reasons for the English to go to America

• lack of economic opportunity in England• stories of gold mines• escape religious

persecution• chance to own land

EARLY COLONIES

• Financed by joint-stock companies backed by investors(people who put money into a project to earn projects)

• Charters were written contracts by the government giving the holder the right to establish a colony.

• In 1607, Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in present day Virginia• The colonists endured many hardships, climate, tensions with Native

Americans, conflict amongst each other

• Due to need of labor, some settlers became indentured servants and in 1619 the first African American slaves were brought to Jamestown

GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

• Draw a three column chart below comparing the three regional colonies and fill in the chart as we continue with the lesson.

New EnglandColonies

Middle Colonies Southern Colonies

NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

• The Pilgrims were a separatist group in England who wanted the Church of England to break completely away from the Catholic Church. King James attacked them for rejected the official Church of England so they asked the Virginia Company to settle in America

• In 1620, the Pilgrims, in a ship called the Mayflower, landed on a site called Plymouth in New England.

• The Pilgrim settlers signed an agreement called the Mayflower Compact, which helped to establish the idea of self-government and majority rule.

• The Puritans were a religious groups who wanted to “purify” or reform the Church of England. They also wanted to settle in the Americas to escape bad treatment by King James.

• In 1630 the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by 11 ships carrying about 1000 Puritans.

• The Puritan settlers were better prepared and established a commonwealth, a community in which people work together for the good of the whole.

• In 1675-1676, The Puritan colonies fought a brutal war with the Native Americans

PILGRIMS SIGNING THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT

PURITANS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY

NEW ENGLAND COLONIES CONT…

• Settlers mainly from England.• Long winters and rocky soil made farming difficult.

Most farmers practiced subsistence farming, growing enough food for themselves with a little extra to trade in town.

• Larger plots of land were sold to groups of people, usually Puritans, causing more towns to develop.

• The Atlantic Ocean provided resources, such as seafood; the forests provided lumber. As a result wealth came from shipbuilding, fishing, and trade.

• There were few slaves, mainly as house servants.• England passed the Navigation Acts in 1651 to

obtain profits from colonial trade.

MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN COLONIES

• The Middle Colonies were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

• People who settled these colonies included Swedes, Dutch, English, Germans, and Africans

• The Dutch were the first to establish the colony New Netherlands, but later on England’s King Charles II decided his brother, the Duke of York, should conquer that area and it became New York

• The Southern Colonies were Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia.

• The soil and climate were suitable for warm-weather crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo, leading to plantation society.

• Native Americans and Africans slaves were used for labor.

• Maryland was established by Lord Baltimore for Roman Catholics fleeing persecution in England

THE MIDDLE COLONIES

• Rich soil and longer growing seasons allowed for cash crops, crops grown to sell, mainly grain.• Immigrants from all over Europe made a diverse

society that became religiously tolerant• By 1750 about 7% of the population were

enslaved, including Africans.

THE SOUTHERN COLONIES

• Rich soil and almost year-round growing season were ideal for plantation crops like tobacco.• These type of crops required much labor to

produce, so planters used enslaved Africans.• By 1750, there were over 235,000 enslaved

Africans in America, about 85% lived in the southern colonies• These large plantations were so self-sufficient,

large cities and towns were rare.• Elite planter class developed and soon took

control of political and economic power in the south.

CRITICAL THINKING: USE YOUR NOTES TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING

QUESTIONS

1. How was the Middle Colonies’ climate different from the New England Colonies?

2. How did the South’s labor system differ from the North? Why?

3. How did the resources of New England affect its economy?

4. Review your “Do Now” response. How would your response be different now that you have learned about the 13 colonies?