8th Grade Social Studies

Colonization

The first colonies in North America were along the eastern coast. Settlers from Spain, France, Sweden, Holland, and England claimed land beginning in the 17th century. The struggle for control of this land would continue for more than a hundred years.

The first permanent settlement in North America was the English colony atJamestown, in 1607, in what is now Virginia. John Smith and company had come to stay. The Pilgrims followed, in 1620, and set up a colony at Plymouth, in what is now Massachusetts.

Other English colonies sprang up all along the Atlantic coast, from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. Swedish and Dutch colonies took shape in and around what is now New York.

JAMESTOWN VIRGINIA 1607

On May 14, 1607, a group of roughly 100 members of a joint venture called the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English settlement in North America on the banks of the James River. Famine, disease and conflict with local Native American tribes in the first two years brought Jamestown to the brink of failure before the arrival of a new group of settlers and supplies in 1610. Tobacco became Virginia’s first profitable export.

Pocahontas. Founding of Jamestown.mp4

THE PURITANS

Mayflower Compact, document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21 [November 11, Old Style], 1620, prior to its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States of America. This was an early example of self-government.

PURITANS BANISH MEMBERS

Roger Williams was one of these unlucky Puritans. He didn't agree with the practice of legally punishing citizens for breaking religious rules, and as a preacher, he taught that the land of New England rightfully belonged to the Natives, not the King or colony. In 1635, Roger Williams was convicted of teaching diverse, new and dangerous opinions. He was ordered to leave Massachusetts before the spring.

Two years later, a Massachusetts woman named Anne Hutchinson got in trouble with the church in Boston. Unusually well-educated by her father, who was a minister, Hutchinson started hosting a discussion group for women in her home to talk about the sermons they had heard in church on Sunday. But because she sometimes criticized the preachers and sometimes taught men, she came under scrutiny. At her trial and sentencing, officials told her, 'You have stepped out of your place, you have rather been a husband than a wife, a preacher than a hearer … you are banished from out of our jurisdiction as being a woman not fit for our society.'

Thomas Hooker was in conflict with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He disagreed with Gov. Winthrop over who could take part in the civil government. Winthrop held that only admitted members of the Puritan church could vote and hold office. Hooker maintained that any adult male property owner could vote and participate in the government, regardless of church membership. This conflict for Hooker was unresolvable.

Original Thirteen Colonies - The reasons people journeyed to North America

During the period of time covered in the 13 Colonies Timeline the colonists and settlers arrived from Europe looking for religious freedom, land and the opportunity for prosperity and wealth. The decision to undertake the journey from Europe to the New World of America was not for the feint hearted. The voyages were long and arduous - 66 long days at sea, poor conditions, sea sickness and boredom. People were motivated by many reasons, the rich for the prospect of more wealth through the acquisition of lands and and new trading opportunities, the members of religious sects were searching for a land where they could practise their chosen religion without fear of prosecution and finally the poor who were desperate for jobs. Refer to Religion in the Colonies. At the time the 13 colonies started to be established the population in England was exploding and there were not enough jobs refer to Colonial Times.

Report abuse