1. Colonial America 1. Spanish America 2. French and Dutch America
Early Chesapeake Region
Early New England
Other Middle and Southern Colonies
The Quaker Experiment
Unrest in British America in the late 1600s

2. European colonies in North America, 1700

3. Spanish America Basics
No non-Spanish migration allowed
Governed by royal viceroys and governors
No elected assemblies
Policy of assimilation toward Indians
Class structure based on race (but some race-mixing)
peninsulares
American-born Spanish
Mestizos
Mulattoes

4. Reasons for Spanish Colonization
Money/gold
Missionary motive
Convert Indians to Catholic Christianity
“If we who are Christians cause so much harm and violence, why should they become Christians?”
-- a Spanish Franciscan Friar

5. Treatment of Native Americans
Murder and enslavement common
Encomiendas system and haciendas (Spanish use of Indian slave labor to work estates)
Massacre at Acoma Pueblo killed 800+ Indians in (courtesy of Gov. Onate)
Controversy
Bartolome de Las Casas’ A Very Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1552)
New Mexico Gov. Onate removed by Spanish government for mistreatment of New Mexico Indians, 1606 (put on trial)

6. The Pueblo Revolt/Pope’s Revolt
Pope` led Native American revolt in Spanish New Mexico in 1680
Indians angered by forced conversion and abandonment of their religious practices
400 colonists killed
NM capital of Santa Fe abandoned after siege
Spanish didn’t return to NM until 1692!
Most successful Native American revolt against European conquerors
A Native American Kiva

7. More on Pueblo Revolt
“The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was the greatest setback that natives ever inflicted on European expansion in North America.”
Historian Alan Taylor
17,000 Pueblo people form more than a dozen towns involved
Pope’, hoping to restore traditional Indian polygamy, promised warriors a wife for every Spaniard they killed.
Rebels destroyed/desecrated Christian churches
200 of 1000 Spanish colonists killed
After Spanish government was restored, encomienda system abolished and kivas and traditional practices tolerated

8. New France
Quebec, 1608
19,000 colonists from Quebec through interior N. America to New Orleans by 1700
Catholics only
Lack of French need/desire for land and fur trade led to good relations with Indians
That didn’t mean everything was great for the Indians, of course . . .

9. French and the Indians
Indians NOT initially regarded as inherently inferior – thought of more like stupid peasants who had a lot to learn
French Jesuit missionaries converted large numbers of Huron Indians
French fur trade introduced guns, alcohol, and disease, all of which led to chaos and decline in native population (Huron – and Jesuits – eventually obliterated by gun-toting Iroquois)
Who was more dependant on whom for survival in French North America?

10. New Netherland Dutch West India Company settled Manhattan in 1626
The Dutch were expert sailors and capitalists (and the premier world power in the mid-1600s).
They invented the joint-stock company.
Religiously tolerant
Not particularly democratic
Many immigrants worked for wealthy landlords on large estates along the Hudson River.
Significant trade with Indians, but also significant conflict
In 1670, the Dutch were responsible for more shipping than France, England and Spain combined!

11. New Netherland: A Diverse Society
New Netherland was more diverse ethnically and religiously than any other part of North America (the Dutch quickly became a minority in their own colony)
Absorbed, by force, New Sweden (modern-day Delaware and New Jersey) in 1655
Bitter commercial and military rivalry with English resulted in English conquest of New Netherland in 1667
Can you guess what celebrated “American” architectural form was actually brought to America by the Swedes?

12. The Dutch and Native Americans
Dutch gradually replaced French as major trading partners with Iroquois
Fort Nassau/Orange trade post est. on Hudson River at modern- day Albany in 1614
Mohawk Iroquois called Dutch Kristoni (or “metal- making people”)
1643 massacre of 500+ Indians fleeing burning village on Manhattan Island
Captain John Underhill, who led the Mystic Massacre during the Pequot War, was hired by the Dutch to lead the Manhattan Massacre.

13. COLONIAL POPULATIONS, 1660 New Netherland: 5000 New France: 4000
Spanish North America: maybe 2000
English Chesapeake Colonies: 25,000
English New England Colonies: 33,000

14. The English in North America
Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke Island colony was the first English settlement in North America.
How did it go?

15. Why did the English colonize North America?
AS A NATION . . .
Money/Gold
National Prestige/Power
Spread Protestant Christianity
Rivalry with Spain
Rid England of “surplus population”
AS INDIVIDUALS . . .
Opportunity for self- advancement
Freedom from oppressive English government/society
Missionary work – converting Indians

16. Where did English colonists settle?

17. Images of Native Americans
After the early English expeditions to the Virginia/Carolinas region in the 1580s, images of American Indians were circulated in Europe.

18. What do these engravings tell us about the Indians and the Europeans?

19. Jamestown, 1607
Captain John Smith’s 1612 map of the colony (modified)

20. The Jamestown Fort
Unearthed recently by archaeologists, the “fort” is believed to be the site of the original Jamestown settlement.

21. Jamestown Housing

22. Tough Times in Jamestown

23. What could save the colony?
John Rolfe

24. Tobacco: Friend or Foe?
Sure, we now know that tobacco use results in a horrible death, but the deadly little plant did save the first permanent English settlement in the new world. Doesn’t that count for something?
Referred to alternately as the “sot weed,” the “stinking weed”, and the “jovial weed,” it caught on quickly in Europe despite King James I’s prophetic disapproval.
Early English clay pipes from Jamestown (They copied the Indians’ pipes.)
Dutch pipe

25. Tobacco Production in Colonial VA

26. Indentured Servitude
For a source of labor, the English gentlemen of Virginia (who didn’t believe in manual labor – at least not for themselves) turned to poor Englishmen, whose trips to America they financed in exchange for a service contract (or indenture).
A typical indenture lasted 7 years.
In early colonial VA, more than half of indentured servants died before the end of their term of indenture. Still, some of the dregs of English society saw indentured servitude as a good opportunity to pursue a new life in the New World.

27. Jamestown Settlement
Early Virginia colonists settled on large plantations that were miles apart.
What social, political, or economic issues might arise from this settlement pattern?

28. Indians in Virginia
The Powhatan Confederacy (named for its most prominent leader) dominated eastern Virginia.

29. White-Indian Relations in Colonial VA were poor.
Shockingly, the Disney film “Pocahontas” was not entirely accurate.
Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas (pictured at right), did enter into an arranged marriage with John Rolfe.
Disney left out the near destruction of the colony at the hands of Powhatan’s son, Opechancanough, in 1622, which bankrupted the Virginia Company.
Virginia became a royal colony under the direction of King James in 1624.

30. Maryland: the Other Chesapeake Colony
Who founded Maryland in 1632?
For what purpose was it founded?
How well did it serve its original purpose?
Why?

31. Colonial New England

32. Motives/Demographics
Early New England colonists migrated to North America primarily for religious reasons.
Therefore, they often came with families and were skilled, making for a much more diverse population than that of the Chesapeake Region.

33. Plymouth Colony
“Plimoth Plantation” today
The Mayflower II

34. The “Pilgrims” “Pilgrims” were Calvinist separatists
They were actually outnumbered by non-Pilgrims from the start.
Mayflower Compact was first document outlining self- government in New World
Poor relations with Wampanoag Indians became an issue.
The small Plymouth Colony was eventually absorbed by Massachusetts (1691).

35. Massachusetts Bay Colony
Established in 1630, when John Winthrop and the first wave of the Great Puritan Migration arrived from England
Bay Colony seal

36. The Puritan Mission
The Puritan “City Upon a Hill” was to be a Calvinist utopia in the uncorrupted New World. They were on a mission from God to purify English society and had to succeed.
John Winthrop

37. Puritan Freedom Ordered/Moral Liberty
The right to be a good Calvinist Christian, basically
The freedom to do God’s will
The liberty of an individual to do as he/she wished was not considered important or desirable.

38. Dissenters in the Mass. Bay Colony
Unfortunately for the Puritan hierarchy, not everyone in their “utopia” was on the same page. Persecution and oppression were “necessary.”

39. Roger Williams Believed in freedom of religion for all
Therefore, separation of church and state
Also advocated fairness to Indians
Banished from Mass. Bay Colony in 1630s
Fled to . . .

40. Providence Colony/Rhode Island
Established by Williams and fellow dissenters
No established church
No religious qualifications for voting/office holding

41. Anne Hutchinson: a dual threat to the Puritan hierarchy
Religious
-- Antinomianism, which Hutchinson preached, focused on personal revelation, which eliminated the need for clergy
Social
-- Being an outspoken woman, Hutchinson also threatened male dominance in Puritan Massachusetts

42. Life in Colonial New England
The John Balch House in Beverly, MA, built in 1636

43. Colonial New England Towns
The classic “colonial” New England town common of today is a little bit prettier than the 17th Century reality, but it does capture the spirit of Puritan community.
Grafton Common

44. Early New England settlement patterns

45. Religion and Government
The Puritan “meetinghouse” was the center of activity in a typical Colonial New England Town.
What purposes did these “meetinghouses” serve?
Mendon, MA
Lenox, MA

46. Education
Harvard College, est. 1636
Each Puritan town was required to support a school, and access to education was widespread.
Why was education central to the Puritan mission?

47. Why was education NOT as important in Virginia?
“I thank God that there are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have these for a hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both!”
-- Gov. William Berkeley

48. Vital Statistics, then and now
Life Expectancy (at birth) in the early 17th Century
London, England: 40 yrs.
Virginia: 40 yrs.
New England: Men 65, Women 62
Modern US: Men 73, Women 79
Average Height England American Colonies Modern US
Men 5’ 6” 5’ 7 ½” 5’ 9”
Women 5’ ½” 5’ 2 ½” 5’ 3 ¾”

49. When three Wampanoags were executed for the murder of Christian Indian John Sassamon, Wampanoag chief Metacom(et) put together an Indian alliance and began attacking English settlements in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

50. King Philip’s War

51. King Philip’s War
Mary Rowlandson was captured by Indian warriors in a raid on Lancaster, MA.
Her narrative of her captivity fascinated White Americans and became the best-selling book in the colonies.

52. Mary Rowlandson, King Philip’s War, and the Puritan Mind
Rowlandson’s “captivity narrative,” like the war itself, fit nicely into the Puritan world view/midset:
Evil conspired against the Puritan experiment.
Wisdom/inspiration was gained through trials and tribulations.
Ultimately, faith and perseverance brought victory.

53. Comparing Colonial Lifestyles: Massachusetts v. Virginia
Social Class
Clothing
Marriage
Families/Children
Sport and Leisure
Religion and Morality
Freedom

54. Wealth and Social Class
Massachusetts dominated by middle class
Duty of all to care for poor
Capitalist profit frowned upon
Work a calling from God
Age respected more than wealth or social status
Education available to all
Virginia dominated by an aristocratic elite (Cavaliers)
Major class distinctions
Aristocrats liked to display wealth but carefully avoided the appearance of working hard. Hard work a sign of low social status.
Literacy dependant on social status

55. Clothing Massachusetts Virginia
The Cavalier Elite dressed elaborately to show wealth and status.
Gentlemen often had pierced ears
“Sad colors” (earth tones) and plain attire
Black reserved for most important Puritans
Massachusetts
Virginia

56. Marriage in Puritan MA A civil ceremony – NOT religious
Love before marriage
Bundling
Courting stick
Divorce allowed for adultery, cruelty

57. Marriage in Colonial VA
Religious and non-religious ceremonies
Broomstick jumping
Love after marriage
Parents heavily involved in choice of spouse
“complex families”
People often married more than once
Significant age differentials common
No divorce

58. Children in Colonial VA
Autonomy encouraged (within proper social bounds)
Boys expected to be strong-willed and unruly
Learning one’s place in the social hierarchy critical

59. Children in Puritan MA EVIL! Will-breaking the goal of child-rearing
Introduced early to death and life’s difficulties
It wasn’t that Puritans hated children; they just liked order and feared chaos, and children are often better at chaos than order.

60. Virginia Sport and Leisure
Leisure or “killing time” was a treasured privilege of the VA elite.
Gambling was the favorite pastime of Virginia adults.
Horse racing was favored by gentleman and was Virginia’s biggest spectator sport.
Violence was also common entertainment, especially for boys.
Games that involved the torture or mutilation of animals were particular favorites.
Cockshailing, muzzling the sparrow

61. MA Sport and Leisure Town Ball (or the “Boston Game”)
The “New England Game”
Note that the Puritans liked team sports.

62. Religion and Morality in Virginia
Anglican Church dominant and established by law
Church membership required for voting and office- holding
This is not to say that all Virginians were devout Anglicans.

63. Religion and Morality in MA
No separation of church and state
Only church members could vote
Long Sunday services
Strict moral code
Evil believed to be active in the world

64. Punishment in Colonial MA
Humiliation was most commonly used.
Pillories and stocks were also possible
Harsher, physical punishments were reserved for severe offenses
Being a Quaker was pretty severe.

65. Punishment in Colonial VA
Humiliation was also used, but physical punishments were more common
Particularly for those of lower social rank, since punishment was dependant on rank

66. Freedom in Colonial MA Ordered/Moral Liberty More communitarian
Responsibility to look after fellow colonists
Common good first
Individual gain secondary

67. Freedom in Colonial VA Individual Liberty Independence
Power over inferior people