2. American Colonies 7-
Chesapeake Colonies
• The first colonists were primarily planters- former indentured servants,
who cherished their new independence and land ownership.
• Their political hierarchy consisted of:
– The king/parliament
– The provincial government in the colony
– The county court and parish
– The family unit- “little commonwealth”
• Due to a lack of colonists to share the
work force, many suffered from too
much labor.
• Eventually, the poverty of England and
the hope of opportunity drew
more colonists.
3. American Colonies 7-
Chesapeake Colonies
• At first, the colonists fared well, because land and servants
were easily obtained.
• By 1665, Chesapeake’s age of opportunity dwindled down
and the establishment of prosperous lands turned into a
wealthy plantation society, and poverty increased.
• The colonists began to suffer a shorter life expectancy,
poor prospects of marriage and offspring, intense labor,
and insufficient shelter against harsh climates.
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4. American Colonies 7-
Chesapeake Colonies
• Governor Berkeley was appointed, which further worsened
the political state.
• Unhappy with Berkeley, the people found relief in
Nathaniel Bacon who defeated the Indians, and led
Bacon’s rebellion against Berkeley.
• The crown intervened and sent a new governor, who soon
died from disease, along with most of his troops.
• These incidents led to the English power subsiding, and
led the colonists to boast of representing all freed Virginian
colonists from intrusion of crown power.
5. American Colonies 9- Puritans
and Indians
• The the Puritans perceived the pre-
colonial landscape as “a hideous and
desolate wilderness full of wild beasts
and wild men.”
• They feared that their people would
succumb to the Indian lifestyle, so they
labored hard in an effort to preserve their
identity as civilized Christians.
• The Puritans cultivated crops and
constructed buildings in an English
fashion, trying their hardest to duplicate
the English landscape and lifestyle.
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6. American Colonies 9- Puritans
and Indians
• The Indian and Puritan lifestyle
differed significantly:
– The Indians lived a mobile lifestyle, while
the English preferred fixed settlements.
– The Indians thought the English were
stingy with their land and “enslaved” to
their properties and belongings.
– The Indians demanded less from nature.
They put less labor into it and extracted
less, while the English relied heavily on
cultivating.
– For the Indians, the land was not
something to claim, until the buying and
selling of land began.
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7. American Colonies 9- Puritans
and Indians
• The first uprising between the New
Englanders and the Indians initiated the
Pequot war in 1636.
– The Connecticut, Plymouth, Massachusetts, and
allied Indians went up against the Pequot in an
effort to extend the colonists’ territory.
• The Indians shrunk to a minority, and by 1670
the 52,000 English colonists outnumbered the
surrounding Indians by three to one.
• At first, the Puritans did little to evangelize to
the Indians, but when they received criticism
from their comrades in England, they began to
take on more of a missionary role.
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8. American Colonies 11-Carolina
• Carolina was established in the 1670’s
between Florida and Chesapeake.
• It started out with 200 colonists and grew
to 6,600 by 1670.
• The rulers attracted colonists with the
promise of “religious toleration, political
representation…a long exemption from
quitrents, and large grants of land.”
• It was ruled by the Lords Proprietor, 8
political favorites of the king who remained
in England and let Sir John Yeamans
oversee everything.
• The colonists feared that the Indians would
unite with the slaves and revolt, so they
appeased the Indians by trading and selling
them guns.
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9. American Colonies 11-Carolina
• The wealthiest colonists, the Goose Creek Men, ignored the
Lords Proprietor
• They sent an agent to England, requesting that the crown
replace them with a provisional government.
• The Lords proprietor were bought out and the “great planter
elite” solidified their power.
• The leaders secured the Carolina frontier and gained
mastery over the natives by:
– Pushing the gun trade among the Indians
– Recruiting slave catchers from the Indians
– Forming alliances with the Iroquois and Cherokee, so when the
Spanish attacked they were able to save the colony.
10. American Colonies 11-
Carolina
• In the 1720’s, Carolina and British
imperialists strengthened the southern
frontier by creating the colony of Georgia.
• It was controlled by the Georgia Trustees,
a group of wealthy merchants and
Anglican ministers.
• They ruled from oversees and elected a
court of four officials to govern the
Georgia colony.
• Slavery was thought to corrode the labor
discipline among white men, so they
wanted more farms worked by free
families.
• The Georgia trustees also prohibited rum-
drinking and banned lawyers from
practicing.
• In 1751 the trustees surrendered the
colony to the crown, and it was turned into
a virtual replica of South Carolina
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