Native Americans:

America before 11the century was anonymous to the rest of the world, yet, it was already

occupied by Native Americans who were called Indians or Amerindians. They lived in

America before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15 century.

Origins:

Scientists believe that the distant ancestors of Native Americans came from Asia during

the earth’s last ice age. At that time a bridge of ice joined Asia and America .Hunters from

Siberia crossed this bridge into Alaska and from Alaska they moved south and east across

America. They followed herds of buffalo as the animals went from one feeding place to the

next. For many centuries they lived only as wandering hunters and gatherers of food. Then a

more settled way of life began.

There were many different groups of Amerindians. They were separated into groups

called “tribes”. These tribes followed very different ways of life. Some were hunters. Some

were farmers. Some were peaceful, others warlike. They spoke over three hundred separate

languages. Some of which were as different from one another as English is from Chinese.

European Explorations:

On 1492, Christopher Columbus was sure that the islands he had reached were the Indies,

a group of islands close to the mainland of India. In fact it was not India, but islands off the

shores of a new continent that Europeans soon named America after the Italian explorer

Amerigo Vespucci who was the first to say its new continent.

Christopher Columbus: was an Italian explorer who worked under the service of the

Spanish. He had 4 voyages to the Newfoundland between 1492 -1502 in wish he explored

several parts of North America. He was not the first European to land America but History
focuses on his voyages because they mark the beginning of continuous European efforts to

explore and colonize the Americas.

Erik the red was actually the first European “Norse” to explore and settle in the north east

of America by setting up the Vikings colonies (c.1000) B.C in Greenland ,later on, his son

Leif Ericsson travelled through the land and discovered the Newfoundland islands named it

Vinland.

When Columbus returned to Spain he took back with him some gold that he had obtained

in America. In the next fifty years thousands of Spanish adventurers crossed the Atlantic

Ocean to search for more gold.

The growing wealth of Spain made other European nations explore the new lands. In 1497

King Henry VII hired an Italian seaman named John Cabot to look for a passage to Asia. He

reached the rocky coast of Newfoundland and sailed along the coast of North America, later

years English governments used his voyages to support their claims to own most of the east

coast of North America.

Francis I, king of France sent many navigators to the New World like Jacques Cartier who

reached the site of the present-day city of Montreal. He failed to find the way to Asia that but

he gave France a claim to what would later become Canada. The French contented themselves

with developing commercial interests, especially fur trading and fishing.

Jamestown:

In 1606, King James I of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company. The
company hoped to found a colony along the eastern shores of North America in territory
explored earlier by Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh had named the territory Virginia after
Elizabeth I (1533–1603), “the virgin queen.” The Virginia Company had lured financial
supporters by asking for a relatively small investment. Stockholders would be entitled to
receive four-fifths of all gold and silver found by the colonists. The king would receive the
remaining fifth. The Virginia Company’s three ships—Susan Constant, Discovery, and
Godspeed—with nearly 150 passengers and crew members aboard, reached the shores of
Virginia in April of 1607. They slipped into a broad coastal river and sailed inland until they
reached a small peninsula. There, the colonists claimed the land as theirs. They named the
settlement Jamestown and the river the James, in honor of their king.

A Disastrous Start: Serious problems soon emerged in the small English colony; Relations
with the Powhatan Indians who lived near the colony were tenuous, although trading
opportunities were established.  An unfamiliar climate, as well as lack of water and food
supply, bad living conditions that led to diseases and death. Also many of the original
colonists were upper-class Englishmen, and the colony lacked sufficient workers and skilled
farmers.

Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader in September 1608. He established a “no
work, no food” policy.  Smith had been good at trading with the Powhatan Indians for food. 
However, in the fall of 1609 he was injured and left for England. 

Starving time: The Powhatan, alarmed at the growing number of settlers, began to kill the
colonists’ livestock and destroy their farms. By the following winter, conditions in Jamestown
had deteriorated to the point of famine. In what became known as the “starving time,” the
colonists ate roots, rats, snakes, and even boiled shoe leather. Of those 600 new colonists,
only about 60 survived. Just when the colonists decided to abandon Jamestown in spring
1610, settlers with supplies arrived from England, eager to find wealth in Virginia.  This
group of new settlers arrived under the second charter issued by King James I.

Virginia’s growth:

In order to make a profit for the Virginia Company, settlers tried a number of small
industries.  However, until the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop about 1613 by colonist
John Rolfe, who later married Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas, none of the colonists’ efforts
to establish profitable enterprises were successful.  Tobacco cultivation required large
amounts of land and labor and stimulated the rapid growth of the Virginia colony.  Settlers
moved onto the lands occupied by the Powhatan Indians, and increased numbers of
indentured servants came to Virginia.

Indentured servants:
Workers on the early plantations came from England. They promised to work for an
agreed number of years ‘about seven was average’ in exchange for food and clothes an d
shelter At end they became free to work for themselves. Luckier ones were given a small
piece of land.
Women in early Virginia:
Very few women arrived in early Virginia. In1619 the Virginia Company shipped over a
group of ninety young women as “brides for sale”. To obtain a bride the husbands had to pay
the Company “120 pounds weight of best tobacco leaf”. The price must have seemed
reasonable; in a short time all the young women were married.
Black Africans:
The first documented African arrived in Virginia aboard a Dutch merchant ship in 1619.  
The Jamestown colonists treated the group of about 20 Africans as indentured servants. Other
Africans continued to arrive in the colony in small numbers, but it would be several decades
before the English colonists in North America began the systematic use of Africans as slave
labor.
House of Burgesses:
Settlers in the English colonies in North America believed in self-government. In 1619, the
Virginia colonists formed the first representative government in North America. Virginians
elected representatives to the House of Burgesses. In a representative government, voters elect
people to make laws.
The Pilgrims: The Pilgrims were a group of English settlers who left Europe in search of

religious freedom in the Americas. They were part of a religious group called Separatists

because they wanted to "separate" from the Church of England and worship God in their own

way. They were not allowed to do this in England where they were persecuted and sometimes

put in jail for their beliefs.

Mayflower Compact: The Pilgrims set sail aboard a ship called the Mayflower; when they

arrived in New England ‘John Smith named the region New England’; they decided they

needed to make an agreement on how the colony would be run. They signed a document that

is today called the Mayflower Compact. The compact declared that the colonists were loyal to

the King of England, that they were Christians who served God, that they would make fair

and just laws, and that they would each work for the good of the colony.
Plymouth Colony: After arriving in America, the Pilgrims searched the coast of New

England for a good place to build a settlement. They eventually found a location called

Plymouth. It had a calm harbor for their ship, a river for fresh water, and flat lands where they

could plant crops. It was here that they built their village and established the Plymouth

Colony.

Thanksgiving: Many Pilgrims got sick and died over the first winter in Plymouth, The

Native Americans that lived in the same area made contact with them. They established a

peace treaty and agreed to trade for animal furs. One Wampanoag man, Squanto, had traveled

to Europe and could speak some English. He agreed to stay with the Pilgrims and teach them

how to survive. He taught them how to plant corn, where to hunt and fish, and how to survive

through the winter. The Pilgrims held a feast after their first harvest in 1621. They invited

some of the local people to join them. This feast is called the first Thanksgiving.

The thirteen colonies:

By the year 1733 the English owned thirteen colonies along the Atlantic coast of North

America. The colonies stretched from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south.

Most people divided them into three main groups. Each group had its own way of life and

character.

The New England Colonies: The four original New England Colonies were: New

Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The people who settled and lived

in the New England Colonies were only from England.

 New Hampshire: Colony was founded in 1623 by Captain John Mason. It was a
planned colony. The land was granted to Mason who lived in Hampshire County,
England. He sent settlers to the new land to establish It as a fishing colony.
 Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1620 by Separatists-
Puritans
  Connecticut: was founded in 1635/1636 by Thomas Hooker and a group of
Massachusetts colonists who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 looking for
more religious and economic freedoms.
 Rhode Island: was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams. Williams was banished to
England by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his beliefs in separation of church and
state and freedom of religion. He fled and lived with the Narragansett Indians and
formed Rhode Island Providence

The Middle Colonies: The Middle Colonies consisted of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, and New York. They were the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen
original colonies because of the influence of their Polish, English, Dutch, French and German
origins.
 Delaware: was founded in 1638 by Peter Minuit and the New Sweden Company.
 Pennsylvania: was founded in 1681 by William Penn. The land was granted to Penn by the
British Crown to pay off debt owed to Penn’s father. It was a safe haven for Quakers (another
religious group) who were persecuted in England.
 New Jersey: was founded in 1664 by Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Land was given
to the two men by their friend, James Duke of York
 New York: was founded in 1664 by the Duke of York. New York was first called New
Amsterdam, settled by refugees from France and Holland; hen Charles II, King of England
took it and gave it to his brother Duke of York. The name was changed to New York to honor
the Duke.

The Southern Colonies: In contrast to the New England and middle colonies were the
rural southern colonies of Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. The
populations in the southern colonies were also diverse and consisted of many European
nationalities.
 Jamestown: the first English Colony in the New World was founded in 1607 by John
Smith.
 Maryland: founded in 1632 by George Calvert who wanted a settlement that would
generate profit but would also offer refuge for Roman Catholics who were being
persecuted in England.
 North Carolina: established in 1653 by eight English proprietors ‘investors’’ for
economical profit.
 South Carolina: founded in 1663 was originally part of the Carolina Colony.
  Georgia: established in 1732 by James Oglethorpe as a garrison province that would
defend the southern part of British colonies form Spanish Florida.
Economies of the Colonies:
•New England’s economy centered on manufacturing. Agriculture was difficult and
unprofitable in the north due to poor soils, cold temperatures, and the short growing season.
Manufacturing in New England focused on shipbuilding due to the abundance of lumber.
Trade in New England was mainly exporting the goods that they produced.

•Agriculture had a large role in the economies of the Middle Colonies. The middle region had
better soils, warmer temperatures, and a longer growing season. The Middle Colonies
agriculture produced corn, vegetables, grain, fruit, and livestock. Manufacturing in the middle
region was focused on iron ore products. The Middle Colonies both exported agricultural
products and natural resources and imported manufactured goods.

•The Southern Colony’s economy was based solely on agriculture. The south has exceptional
farming soil, warm climates and a long growing season. The agriculture practiced in the
region was Plantation Agriculture, focusing on one or two cash crops. The southern region
had no manufacturing so all goods needed were imported or bought from traders.

Religion in the Colonies:

•In New England Territories there was no religious freedom. The Puritans were very strict
moralists and did not tolerate others who believed differently.
•In the Middle Colonies there was more religious freedom and tolerance. Many who had
established colonies in the middle region were fleeing persecution in Europe or the strict New
England Colonies.
•Religion had a very insignificant role in the Southern Colonies. Colonies in the south were
established for profit rather than for religious freedom, therefore religion played a small role
in the lives and policies of the Southern Colonies.

French and Indian War

As the population of the colonies grew, people began to expand their settlements

westward. This brought them into conflict with the Native Americans already living in the

territory. The colonists and the Native Americans often fought for control of the land. In
nearly every struggle the outcome was the same: the Europeans pushed the Native Americans

farther and farther from their homelands.

The expansion of the colonies also heightened tensions between the English and the

French. French people had settled in the Saint Lawrence Valley, the Great Lakes region, and

the Mississippi Valley. The English and French soon came into conflict over fishing rights,

the fur trade, and Native American alliances. There was also bitter hostility between France

and England in Europe. Between 1689 and 1748 the two countries fought three separate wars,

both in Europe and in America. In 1754 French and British forces began another conflict,

which came to be called the French and Indian War. The war ended in 1763 with the defeat of

France and its Native American allies. The victory gave Great Britain control over all French

lands in Canada and between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Britain

had become the supreme power in North America.

The American Revolution:

After the French and Indian War, relations between the British government and the

American colonies began to break down. For more than 150 years the colonies had been

developing their own society, economy, and some self-government. The British had governed

them only lightly. But in 1763 this began to change. The British decided that the colonies

should help pay for the cost of the war just ended and for their future defense

Events Leading to the Revolution:

The British Parliament passed a series of acts (laws) calling for taxes on colonial trade.

The colonists argued that because the colonies did not have representatives in the English

Parliament, it was wrong for the British to tax them. Many colonists refused to pay the taxes

and organized protests. Sometimes they clashed with British forces. In 1770 British soldiers

fired into an angry mob in Boston. Five Americans were killed in the incident, which became
known as the Boston Massacre. In 1773, in response to a tax on tea, colonists disguised as

Native Americans dumped tea from British ships into Boston Harbor. This event was later

called the Boston Tea Party

First and Second Continental Congresses Meet:

The British government responded to the Tea Party by passing restrictive laws that angered

the colonists even more. In 1774 representatives from all 13 colonies except Georgia met in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to discuss their complaints against the British government. This

meeting was called the First Continental Congress. A few representatives from New

England and Virginia talked about gaining independence from Britain. Most of the

representatives, however, favored putting pressure on Parliament by refusing to trade with

Britain. This approach failed, and in April 1775 fighting broke out in Concord and Lexington,

Massachusetts, between colonists and British troops. The colonists were known as minutemen

because they could be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. These battles began the American

Revolution.

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in May 1775. The representatives

chose George Washington to command the colonial troops. In 1776 Thomas Jefferson and

other representatives drafted a statement calling for separation from Britain. This document,

called the Declaration of Independence, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress

on July 4, 1776.

Independence:

The war for independence did not go well for the colonists at first. General Washington

barely managed to keep his small army together because of defeats and lack of supplies.

Finally the tide turned in the colonists’ favor in 1777, when the British were defeated at the
battle of Saratoga in New York. After that victory, France joined the colonies in their war

against Britain. The fighting ended in 1781 with the surrender of the British at Yorktown,

Virginia. By the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Britain recognized the independence of the

American colonies. The new nation extended from Canada on the north to Florida on the

south and westward to the Mississippi River

The Constitution:

Before the war ended, the Second Continental Congress drafted a plan of government

called the Articles of Confederation. The Articles, adopted in 1781, provided for a loose

union of states and kept most of the powers of government for the individual states. It soon

became clear that the Articles were not adequate for governing the growing nation.

In 1787 a convention was held in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation.

Soon the representatives decided to draft an entirely new constitution. The new document was

approved by the states in 1788 and took effect in 1789. The Constitution provided for a

federal type of government: a union of states under a strong central government. The first ten

amendments to the Constitution—known as the Bill of Rights—were adopted in 1791.

The first elections under the new Constitution were held in 1789. George Washington

became the first president. Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, and others who

believed in a strong central government came to be called Federalists. Thomas Jefferson and

his followers, who feared that the national government might exercise too much power, were

called Anti-Federalists, or Republicans. These groups marked the beginning of political

parties in the United States.