Colonial America

First Settlement, 1607

• Jamestown, Virginia• 104 citizens from England settled• Most died within the first 5 years (They didn’t know how

to farm and weren’t listening to the Native Americans that were trying to teach them.)

1620

• Europeans from Plymouth, England board The Mayflower to travel to the New World

• The dangerous journey will take 2 months• No hot water• Eat salt horse (salted beef, pork, or fish)• Travelers are looking for freedom or seek adventure/to

start a new life• Laws of the ship were from the Mayflower Compact

(they set up their own government)

The Mayflower, 1620

Pilgrims

• Pilgrim means someone who goes on a long journey• December 11, 1620: They landed in what is now

Plymouth, Massachusetts• 101 passengers when they left England• 102 when they arrived. Two babies were born and one

passenger died en route• They met 2 Wampanoag Native Americans, Squanto and

Samoset• They taught the Pilgrims to hunt and fish and how to plant

corn.

New England Colonies

• Connecticut (1636): Thomas Hooker and his followers leave Massachusetts. Allowed non-church member MEN vote

• Rhode Island (1636): Roger Williams takes his followers to Providence. Separated church and state. Practiced religious toleration.

• New Hampshire (1680): separated from Massachusetts

New England Economy

• Few farms with cash crops, bad soil, no need for slaves• Merchants traded with all others and became leaders of

the community• Fishing• Shipbuilding• Skilled craftspeople (Apprentices: young boys who

learned a trade. They lived with the master craftsman.)

Middle Colonies

• New York and New Jersey: Founded by the Dutch in 1613. New Netherland became New York.

• Penn’s Colony: Quakers-believe in equality of men and women. Supported non-violence and religious toleration. Most hated group in England and the colonies. William Penn – Founder of Pennsylvania (1681)

Middle Economy

• Staple crops: wheat, barley, and oats• 135,000 indentured servants • Trade was important. Slaves were important.• Women ran farms, businesses. Nurses and midwives.

Managed the household.

Southern Colonies

• Virginia: John Smith takes control in 1608. Rewards systems for hard workers.

• Colony struggles until they learn to grow tobacco• African slaves arrive in 1619• Maryland: Charter granted to Lord Baltimore in 1632. A

place for Catholics to have religious freedom. • Georgia: founded by James Oglethorpe in 1733. A place

for debtors.

Southern Economy

• Agriculture• Warm climate = long growing season• Cash crops (crops grown for profit): rice, indigo, tobacco• Slavery was the main labor force

13 Colonies

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Think About It…

• If you chose to leave your home country to set up a new life, would you want to be controlled by your home country??

• What would you bring on your journey?• What colony would you prefer?