English Colonies in North America

Big Picture• Spanish colonies came

first: 1500s

• Spanish colonies were organized by Spanish government and church

• English colonies started in early 1600s– Created by individuals, not

government

– 1607: In Virginia, people wanted wealth and opportunity

– 1620s: In Massachusetts, people wanted religious freedom (and wealth)

Early Virginia• 1607: Jamestown, Virginia,

colony was 1st successful English colony

• Almost failed at first: – Colonists expected to find gold

and return to England– The “Starving Time”

• Virginia was founded for economic profit and opportunity

• Discovery of tobacco changed Virginia into a wealthy colony

Society in Virginia• Wealthy men bought large

plantations and needed labor

• Poor men came as “indentured servants” – 7 years of labor to pay for passage

to America

– “Headright System:” wealthy were given land if they paid for laborers to travel

• English could not use Native Americans as slaves

– Malaria and small pox– Native Americans escaped to their

tribes

• Later, Black African slaves were purchased for labor instead– First justified by economic profits

– Later accepted due to racism

• Few women came in first years

Protestant Reformation• Today, Christian churches groups:

– Catholic Church (worldwide)– Orthodox Church (eastern Europe)– Protestant Church (worldwide)

• All believe in same central ideas: Bible, Jesus as son of God, sin, salvation

• Catholics’ believe salvation comes from Jesus’ crucifixion, faith, and good works

• Protestants broke from the Catholic church, starting with Luther in 1517

• Protestants typically believe salvation comes entirely from Jesus’ crucifixion and faith alone

• Protestants split from each other– Lutherans– Calvinists (Puritans in

Massachusetts)– Anabaptists (Quakers in

Pennsylvania)

Northern English Colonies• New England: Protestant

colonists came to escape oppression in England

• “Pilgrims” sailed on Mayflower in 1620 and came to Cape Cod– “Mayflower Compact” on

arrival: first agreement for self-government in America

• Thousands of “Puritans” followed after 1630 in “Great Migration”– Puritans demanded radical

reforms in Church of England

– Wanted Bible-focused faith without ceremony

– Puritans founded Massachusetts Bay Colony around Boston

Signing of the Mayflower Compact

A City on a Hill• Gospel of Matthew: “You are the light

of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

• Religious idealism to create new moral society

• Based on family unit for permanent settlement

• New England Way: religion and profit would jump together

– Congregationalism

– Elders to run church

– Church attendance mandatory

– Tithes to support church

– Believed in the “elect” and the “damned”

– Required soul-baring testimony to join the “saints” of the church

John Winthrop, first governor of MBC