English Settlements in Colonial America

Posted on Feb 22, 2025 in Modern Languages and Translation

The Colonial Period

Why Did the English Settle in North America?

  1. To establish a source of commercial gain.
  2. To discover a Northwest Passage to the Orient.
  3. To limit Spanish expansion.
  4. To seek religious freedom.
  5. The lower and middle classes sought increased economic opportunity (finding free or inexpensive land).

How did the English establish settlements? Although the English were anxious to duplicate the Spanish and Portuguese successes, and they had a theoretical claim to North America (John Cabot’s voyage in 1497), they lacked the means to explore and settle. Therefore, they relied on private trading companies, which were interested in commercial rather than territorial expansion.

The First English Settlements

  • 1585: Sir Walter Raleigh established Roanoke Island, which disappeared by 1587.
  • 1607: The Virginia Company founded Jamestown, Virginia.
  • 1620: The Pilgrims established Plymouth, Massachusetts.
  • 1629: The Puritans founded Massachusetts Bay.
  • 1632: George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) founded Maryland.
  • 1635: Rev. Thomas Hooker and his followers established Connecticut.
  • 1637: Roger Williams and his followers founded Rhode Island.
  • 1663: Eight wealthy and powerful men established the Carolinas.
  • 1663: James Oglethorpe brought impoverished debtors to Georgia.
  • 1664: The English captured New Netherlands (established in 1624) from the Dutch and renamed it New York.
  • 1681: William Penn founded Pennsylvania.

The First 13 English Colonies

  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Delaware
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina

Colonial Life and Hardships

  • Clearing land
  • Building homes
  • Planting and cultivating crops
  • Protecting themselves from Indian attacks

How Did Colonists Make a Living?

  • Farming
  • Lumbering
  • Fishing
  • Shipbuilding
  • Trading
  • Craftsmanship

Differences Between Northern and Southern Colonies

  • In New England, the soil was not fertile, leading to lumbering, shipbuilding, and fishing.
  • In the South, the soil was fertile, supporting farming (tobacco, rice, cotton, with large plantations relying on slaves).
  • The Middle Colonies focused on grain and livestock.

Trade and Commerce

The colonists traded with each other, the West Indies, England, and European countries. They developed centers of commerce in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

Governance

  • In the North, villages and towns had local governments.
  • In the South, with large farms and plantations, the county was the basis for local government.

Importance of Education

  • 1647: Massachusetts law required every town of 50 families or more to provide schooling.
  • 1636: Harvard College in Massachusetts was founded.
  • 1693: The College of William & Mary in Virginia was founded.
  • 1701: Yale College in Connecticut was founded.

Who Were the Colonists?

First Founders (1607-1680):

  • Founders in Massachusetts: English
  • Founders in the Middle Colonies (NY, NJ, & PA): Dutch, Swedish
  • Founders in the South: English

Colonial Immigrants (1680-1776):

  • 1662: King Charles II licensed the Royal African Slave Co. (Over one century, 140,000 Africans were brought to the colonies).
  • Scots-Irish
  • Germans

By 1750, there were 1,200,000 colonists.