Chapter 1 - New World Beginnings

I. The Shaping of North America

o 225 million years ago the planet consisted as one super continent. America was sculpted
nearly 10 million years ago.
o The Great Ice Age came about 2 million years ago they finally retreated about ten
thousand years ago.
o The gigantic glaciers from the Ice Age formed what are now the Great Lakes.
o Most of the lakes and rivers formed drained out in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
II. People of Americas
o A. It is said the first people came over to the Americas over the land bridge between the
Bering Sea. Over 250 centuries the populated most of the Americas.
o B. By the time the Europeans reached the Americas about 54 million people had
inhabited the land.
o They even reached the tip of South America.
1. Some great civilizations were the Incas in Peru, Mayans in Central America,
and Aztecs in Mexico.
They based their economy on Maize.
III. The Earliest Americans
o A. Corn was the major stable crop which transformed nomadic tribes into agricultural
villages.
Corn reached the American Southwest by 1200 B.C. but it reached the rest of
the Americas much later.
o B. Most of North America did not have dense organized populations like the Aztecs this
is why they were so easily subdued by the Europeans.
o C. Bean, Squash and maize became the "three sisters".
o The Iroquois of North America were the closest to reaching the greatness of the Mexican
and Peruvian empires.
o They developed organizational and political skills in their confederacy.
o But for the most part the North Americans lived in small villages and scattered
developments.
o The natives unlike the Europeans had no desire to manipulate the land. Their were no
more than 4 million roaming across North America
IV. Indirect Discoverers of The New World
o A. Vikings landed in present day Newfoundland since no large nation supported them
their voyage was soon forgotten except in saga and song.
o B. Due to the Crusades a taste for exotic goods were developed which inadvertently led
to the discovery of the Americas.
Spices, draperies, perfumes and silk were discovered.
V. Europeans Enter Africa
o A. Marco Polo was an indirect discoverer of the New World, because he enticed the
people with tales of his trips to China.
The Portuguese were the first to figure out how to sail back from China up
Africa. They created the ship called a caravel which could sailed better into the
wind.
o B. The Portuguese set up trading posts allowing Europeans to reach places such as
Timbuktu. The Portuguese were extravagant slave traders.
o C. Vasco De Gamma finally reached India and returned home with cargo. After this the
Spanish soon became unified and hoped to strip the Portuguese of their supremacy of the
sea.
VI. Columbus Comes upon a New World
o A. Columbus was one of the most successful failures in history. He was searching for the
Indies and instead found the Americas.
VII. When Worlds Collide
o A. The two ecosystems had been kept apart for thousands of years. Now three-fifths of
the crops of the world originated in the Americas.
 The Europeans in exchange gave old world animals and crops. Some things they
also brought were smallpox, yellow fever and malaria.
VIII. The Spanish Conquistadors
o A. Europeans finally realized that the Americas held great riches. Spain and Portugal
took the majority of the lands.
o Spanish conquistadors were the major force searching for gold and glory. Magellan and
Balboa were among the most famous explorers.
o The northern Americas were explored by Ponce de Leon and Coronado.
o While the southern Americas were explored by Pizzaro who conquered the Incas.
o Encomienda let the government give Indians to certain colonists. Las Casas a missionary
was appalled by this.
IX. The Conquest of Mexico
o A. Hernan Cortez set sail from Cuba and defeated Montezuma at Tenochtitlan.
o Cortez brought more than conquest he brought his crops and animals, his language, laws
and his customs.
o This created the culture of the mestizos.
X. The Spread of Spanish America
o A. Within about half century hundreds of Spanish cities came about all over the
Americas.
o The English were beginning to want more power from Spain. At the Battle of Acoma in
1599, the established the capital of New Mexico Sante Fe.
o For the next years Spain had to worry about protecting their lands from foreign invasion.
 Chapter 2 – The Plantings of English America

Introduction
o After Columbus’s discovery, New World began to change significantly
o European crops and livestock had begun to alter the very landscape
o From Florida and New Mexico southward, most of the New World lay
firmly within the grip of imperial Spain
o Still, North America remained largely unexplored and unclaimed
o Europeans began to plant 3 main outposts
Santa Fe 1610
Quebec 1608
Jamestown 1607
England’s Imperial Stirrings
o As Spain’s alley in the first half of the century, England took little interest
in establishing its own overseas colonies
o King Henry VIII, however, breaks away from Roman Catholic Church
Launches Protestant Reformation
o Ireland became scene of Protestant and Catholic rivalry
o English crown, Elizabeth, took out Irish Catholic leaders and replaced
them with Protestants
Elizabeth Energizes England
o Encouraged by Queen Elizabeth, English buccaneers now swarmed out
upon the shipping lanes
Most famous of these “Sea Dogs” was Francis Drake
o English first attempt at colonization off the coast of Newfoundland
Failed with the death of promoter Sir Humphrey Gilbert
o Led half brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, to attempt colonization on North
Carolina’s Roanoke Island
Colony eventually mysteriously vanished
o In contrast, Philip II of Spain, used part of imperial gains to amass an
“Invincible Armada” of ships for an invasion of England
England resisted and won
Marked end of Spain’s New World empire
Marked England’s naval dominance and started England on its
way to becoming a master of world oceans
Win energized English people with self confidence
England on the Eve of Empire
o Population during the 17th century England was mushrooming
3 million to 4 million in 50 years
Believed to have “surplus population”
o When economic depression hit woolen states of England, thousands of
footloose farmers took to the streets
These people eventually became migrants to the New World
o Laws decreed only eldest sons were eligible o inherit landed estates
o Landholders ambitious younger sons forced to seek fortune elsewhere
Raleigh, Gilbert, Drake
 o Joint Stock company created
Allowed investors to pool capital
o Stage now set for English expansion
England Plants the Jamestown Seeding
o Joint Stock company, known as Virginia Company of London, received
charter from King James I for settlement in New World
Promised gold, along with passage to Indies
Only intended for a few years
Charter guaranteed overseas settlers the same rights of Englishmen
• Made colonist still feel connected to England
o Virginia Company set sail in 1606 with 3 ships
Landed in Chesapeake Bay, where Indians attacked
Pushed up James River, decided on mosquito infested Jamestown
Colonization proved disastrous
• 40 colonists perished during initial voyage
• Result of trying to find gold rather than getting provisions
o John Smith ultimately saved Virginia from collapse
Took over in 1608
In 1607, taken hostage in mock execution
• It was there he met Pocahontas
o Out of the 400 settlers to make it to Virginia, only 60 survived starving
time during the winter 1609
o In spring of 1610, colonists traveled back to England
Met by Lord De La Warr, who ordered the colonists back to
Jamestown
Culture Clash in the Chesapeake
o When English landed in 1607, chieftain Powhatan dominated native
peoples
“Powhatan Confederacy”
o Relations between Indians and English remained tense while English
raided tribes for food during winter
o When Lord De La Warr arrived in 1610, relations became even worse
Declared war against surrounding Indians
Used “Irish tactics” against Indians
Raided villages, burned houses, torched cornfields
Peace agreement to 1st Anglo-Powhatan War came with marriage
of Pocahontas and John Wolfe
o Peace lasted 8 years, until Indian attacks left 347 settlers dead
o Set off 2nd Anglo Powhatan War
Indians made one final attempt and were defeated
Peace treaty of 1646 destroyed hopes of coexistence
• Banished all Indians from home lands (Origins of
Reservation system)
o By 1685, English considered Powhatans extinct
Suffered from 3 D’s
• Disease
 o Small pox and malaria
• Disorganization
o Lacked unity and well organized military
• Disposability
o Indians served no economical function to Virginians
The Indian’s New World
o Shock of large scale European colonization disrupted Native American
life on vast scale
o Forced unprecedented demographic and cultural transformations
Horses catalyzed a substantial Indian migration onto the Great
Plains
There they adopted nomadic hunter lifestyle and thrived
Disease biggest disrupter
• Destroyed entire cultures
• Destroyed oral traditions
o Devastated Indian bands then faced the task of reinventing themselves
o Trade also transformed Indian life, as exchange networks gave way to
European commerce
o Desire for firearms intensified competition
o Resulted in escalated Indian on Indian violence
o Ultimately, the most affected were Indian tribes on the coast
Father in, native peoples had space and numbers to adapt to
European incursion
Virginia: Child of Tobacco
o John Rolfe, husband to Pocahontas, became father of tobacco industry
o By 1612, he perfected cultivation methods for tobacco
o A tobacco rush swept over Virginia as a result of popularity in England
o Colonist who once hungered for food now hungered for land to plant
tobacco
o Tobacco started the broad-acred plantation system
o 1619, Dutch warship appeared off Jamestown and sold 20 Africans
Planted seed for North American slave system
In the beginning, slaves to expensive
Yet after 50 years, slaves accounted for 14% of population
o Representative Self Government
London Company authorized the settlers to summon an assembly
First of many mini-parliaments
o Over time, James I became disgusted with Virginia
Revoked charter in 1624, and made colony royal under his control
Maryland: Catholic Heaven
o Second plantation colony by fourth English colony
o Founded 1634 by Lord Baltimore
He embarked on venture to reap financial profits and secure a
refuge for Catholics
o 200 settlers founded Maryland at St. Mary’s
o Huge estates awarded to largely Catholic relatives
 o Colonists proved willing to come only if offered the opportunity to acquire
land
o Tensions arose between protestant backcountry farmers and Catholic land
owners
o Virginia and Maryland both prospered from Tobacco
o Lord Baltimore permitted unusual freedom of worship at outset
Passed Act of Toleration
Eventually guaranteed toleration to all Christians
Also decreed death for atheists
The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America
o By mid seventeenth century, England had secured its claim to several
West Indian islands
o Sugar formed the foundation of West Indian economy
o Sugar can was rich man’s crop
o The need for land and for labor to run mills made sugar cultivation a
capital intensive business
o To work their plantations, owners imported large numbers of African
slaves
By 1700, black slaves outnumbered white settlers in West Indies
Owners defined formal slave codes to decide slave legal status and
master rule
Barbados slave code of 1661 denied all rights for slaves
o The West Indies increasingly depended on North America for food and
basic supplies
o Settlers took with them model of slavery to New World
Colonizing the Carolinas
o Civil War in England disrupted colonization during 1640s
o Carolina, named for Charles II, was founded in 1670
o Carolina prospered by developing close economic ties with flourishing
sugar islands of West Indies
o Most Carolina settlers had immigrated from Barbados
Brought slave trade with them
o Indians now became the source of slave trading, and soon became top
Carolina export
o Indians attempted to go to Pennsylvania = slaughter
o Rice emerged as principle crop
Allowed for flourishing of West African slaves
o Charlestown quickly became South’s biggest seaport
Emergence of North Carolina
o From the older colony there drifted a rag tag group of poverty stricken
outcasts
o Many repelled by atmosphere of Virginia
o The newcomers were essentially squatters, as the raised tobacco on small
farms without legal right
o Inhabitants earned reputation for being irreligious and hospitable to pirates
 o North Carolina officially separated in 1712, and both became royal
colonies
o North Carolina and Rhode Island were most democratic, independent
minded, and least aristocratic of original colonies
o Over time, North Carolina became increasingly involved in slave trade as
well
o With the conquests of the Yamasees, all coastal Indian tribes in southern
colonies had been destroyed by 1720
Late Coming Georgia: The Buffer Colony
o Georgia founded in 1733
o Last of the 13 colonies to be planted
o English crown intended Georgia to be a buffer between Spanish Florida
and Louisiana French
o Only colony to receive monetary subsidies from British government at the
outset
o Georgia was launched by a high-minded group of philanthropists
Hoped to keep slavery out
Most prominent founder was James Oglethorpe
• Repelled Spanish attacks
• Also saved colony with his energetic leadership and
mortgaging his own personal fortune
o Savannah was melting pot community
All Christian worshippers except Catholics enjoyed religious
toleration
The Plantation Colonies
o Broad acred, these colonies provided outposts of empire
o All promoted commercial agricultural products
o Slavery was found in all of the colonies
o The wide scattering of plantations hurt the establishment of churches and
schools
o The tax supported Church of England became dominant faith
The Iroquois
o Emerged in Mohawk Valley (New York)
o Iroquois confederacy formed in 1500s
o Building block of society was longhouse
o All families residing in longhouse related, all through maternal line
o Men dominated Iroquois society, but they owed their positions of
prominence to their mother’s families
o The 5 nations of Iroquois Confederacy joined by kept separate lives
o Reservation life provided unbearable for the tribes
Moral failed and fighting increased
o However, customs of Iroquois religion still survive to this day
 Chapter 3: Settling The Northern Colonies (1619 – 1700)

I. 1517: Martin Luther begins Protestant reformation

a. Martin Luther – German friar. Nailed protests against Catholic Church
to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. Started Lutheranism.

II. 1536: John Calvin publishes Institutes of Christian Religion

a. John Calvin: Elaborated on Luther’s ideas. Started Calvinism
i. Calvinism: became dominant religion in New England Puritans
and other American settlers
b. Institutes of Christian Religion: contained basic doctrine of Calvinism

III. 1620: Mayflower reaches Plymouth Bay

a. Separatists set sail for Holland in 1608
b. Dislike the “Dutchification” of their children
c. Sail for America in 1620
d. Mayflower Compact: basic agreement to form government in the new
colony. Served as predecessor to Constitution.
i. Signed before they got off the ship
e. 44 out of 102 pilgrims survive the first winter
f. William Bradford: Governor of the Plymouth colony

IV. 1624: New Netherlands founded by Dutch

a. Established by Butch West India Company on Hudson River for easy fur-
trade
b. Used patroonships, vast feudal estates, by granting the land to anyone
who could settle at least 50 people on it

V. 1629: Charles I dismisses Parliament

a. Sanctioned persecution of Puritans
i. Led by Archbishop William Laud

VI. 1630: Massachusetts Bay Colony founded by Puritans

a. Established in infertile Massachusetts area
b. “Great Migration”: around 70,000 refugees flee England from
persecution
i. 20,000 land in Massachusetts
c. John Winthrop: served as Massachusetts Bay Colony’s first governor.
Said of the city, “We shall be as a city upon a hill”
i. Gave large amount of power to the church
ii. Only property-owning, Puritan men (about 2/5 of the men) were
allowed to vote

VII. 1635 – 1636: Roger Williams convicted of heresy.

a. Salem Minister
b. Urged complete separation from Church of England
 c. Later founds Rhode Island colony
i. Built first Baptist church
ii. Created safe haven for Quakers

VIII. 1635 – 1638: Connecticut and New Haven colonies founded

IX. 1637: Pequot War

a. English militiamen allied with Narragansett tribe against the Pequot tribe
i. Set fire to Indian wigwams and won war after bloody massacre

X. 1638: Anne Hutchinson banished from Massachusetts Bay colony

a. Believed in antinomianism
i. The truly “saved” people did not need to follow the laws of God or
man
ii. Said her beliefs came directly for God
b. Moved to New York and all but one of her family were killed by Indians

XI. 1639: Connecticut’s Fundamental Orders drafted

a. Served as modern Constitution
b. Established Democratic regime
c. Inspired eventual State Constitution

XII. 1642 – 1648: English Civil War

a. Stopped the English from paying much attention to the colonies
b. After it ended, Charles II attempted to gain strict control over colonies

XIII. 1643: New England Confederation formed

a. Included Massachusetts Bay colony, Plymouth, and the two Connecticut
colonies
b. First step to colonial unity

XIV. 1664: New Netherlands conquers New Sweden

a. Swedish tried to trespass on Dutch land
b. Dutch sent Peter Stuvesant to fight Swedes
c. Ended Swedish rule in America

XV. 1664: England seizes New Netherland from Dutch. East/West Jersey colonies
founded
a. Charles II had granted the land to his brother, but never claimed it
b. Sent a squadron to New Amsterdam and Dutch were forced to surrender
c. Renamed New Netherland New York

XVI. 1675-1676: King Philip’s War

a. King Philip: Indian named Metacom created pan-Indian alliance to attack
English. Called King Philip by English
b. King Philip’s alliance attacked 52 Puritan settlements and destroyed 12
 c. Later Metacom was captured and killed. His wife and children were sold
into slavery

XVII. 1681: Pennsylvania colony founded by William Penn

a. William Penn became attracted to Quaker faith
b. Quakers: refused to support either religious or civil authorities or take
oaths
c. Pennsylvania served as safe haven for Quakers

XVIII. 1686: Dominion of New England created

a. Created by Royal authority
b. Included all of New England, then later added New York and East/West
Jersey
c. Designed to help colonies fight against Indians and to enforce Navigation
Laws
i. Navigation Laws: outlawed American trade with countries not
ruled by England
1. Instead of being effective, it promoted smuggling
d. Headed by Sir Edmund Andros

XIX. 1688 – 1689: Glorious Revolution

a. Puritans removed James II (Catholic) from power and replaced him with
William III and Mary, daughter of James II (both Protestant)
b. Caused collapse of the Dominion of New England

XX. 1691: Massachusetts Bay Colony merges with Plymouth colony

 Chapter 4 - American Life in the Seventeenth Century

XXI. 1619: First Africans arrive in Virginia

a. Taken from West African shores the first generation of African-American
slaves mixed many different cultures and heritages.
i. The various mixed African traditions were of the Guinean, Ibo,
Yoruba, and Angolan peoples.
ii. By 1740 the amount of American-born slaves was more than the
amount of African-born ones, and importation of slaves decreased.

XXII. 1636: Harvard College founded

a. Massachusetts Puritans established Harvard just eight years after the
founding of the colony.
b. Made to train boys to become Ministers.

XXIII. 1662: Half-Way Covenant for Congressional Church membership established.

a. The Half Way covenant was a way for people to admit to baptism but not
"full communion".
i. This limited the distinction between the "elect" and helped in
diluting the spiritual purity of the original settler's godly
community.
ii. Soon the Puritan Churches had swung their doors open to all
basically eliminating the idea of the "elect".

XXIV. 1670: Virginia assembly disfranchises landless freeman

a. Virginia Governor William Berkley publicly mocked the people of his
colony and disfranchised them accusing them of "Having little interest in
the country" and "causing tumults at the election to the disturbance of his
majesty's peace."

XXV. 1676: Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia

a. Nathaniel Bacon- was a 29 year old planter who led about a thousand
Virginians in a massive riot that ended in the torching of the Capital, and
the Governor William Berkley leaving.
i. This riot was in response to Indian attacks occurring along the
frontier. William Berkley didn’t do anything to the Indians in
retaliation because he had a monopoly on Indian fur trade; the
people took matters into their own hands.

XXVI. 1680: Mass expansion of slavery in colonies

a. The African-American slave population began to grow not only through
import but natural fertility as well.
b. The farming of tobacco made for closer plantations and less demanding
work than other crops which also helped in the rise of the slave
population.
XXVII. 1689-1691: Leisler's Rebellion in New York
a. Fueled by animosity between Lordly land holders and aspiring merchants.
b. It was an Ill starred and bloody insurgence lasting two years.
c. Those in power would pass laws to keep the others in their place.

XXVIII. 1692: Salem witch trials in Massachusetts

a. Some girls in Salem accused older women of bewitching them; these
accusations lead to massive witch hunts.
i. In the end 19 women were hung, one was pressed to death, and
two dogs were killed.
b. The Witchcraft commotion died down around 1693.

XXIX. 1693: College of William and Mary founded

a. William and Mary was founded in Virginia, as its first college, 86 years
after the staking of Jamestown.

XXX. 1698: Royal African Company slave trade monopoly ended

a. Before 1698 The Royal African Company was the only one carrying
slaves to the colonies; after the monopoly Enterprising Americans and
Rhode Islanders went to make money of the slave trade.
i. By 1750 Blacks accounted for nearly half the population of
Virginia.

XXXI. 1712: New York City slave revolt

a. A revolt of slaves that killed 12 whites, and lead to the execution of 21
blacks, some burned at the stake over a slow fire.

XXXII. 1739: South Carolina slave revolt

a. A revolt of more than fifty resentful blacks along the Stono River where
these slaves tried to march into Spanish, Florida.
i. The South Carolina local militia was called in and put down the
uprising, proving that black uprisings were easier to handle than
white indentured servant uprisings.