10th Grade U.S. History

Unit 2: European Colonization of the

Americas

Note Packet 2-4Coach Styles

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

• In 1619, three events occurred which would shape the future of Virginia and the colonies as a whole:

1. English women arrived at Jamestown, changing it from a simple trading outpost to a genuinely self-sustaining community.

2. Twenty black Africans arrived in a Dutch vessel to begin their people’s long years of oppression in America.

3. On instructions from the Virginia Company in London, the colonists elected representatives for the first colonial assembly in America, the House of Burgesses.

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

• As a representative government, the House of Burgesses was the colonists first experience in self-government.

• The 22 members had been elected by all of the free male colonists aged 17 and older.

• For its time, this was an extremely democratic procedure.

• From this point on, Virginians would be governed under English common law largely by lawmakers of their own choosing.

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

• The settlement of Virginia was motivated by a combination of commercial enthusiasm and the intense social and economic pressures of an England that had outgrown its ancient feudal system.

• A diverse set of motives resulted in the colonization of America by the English.

• Two major motives of the English to leave their homeland and attempt colonization of America:

1. Economic Conditions in England• Enclosure (def): The process that ended the ancient

system of farming on unfenced, common lands—marking the move from an agricultural to industrial economy in England.

• Many move to London in search of work.• City overcrowded and crime rates skyrocketed.

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

1. Economic Conditions (continued)• Mercantilism (def): Political/economic system that sought

to enrich the country by achieving a favorable balance of trade in which exports outweigh imports and as much bullion (gold and silver) is gained and kept as possible.

• Under this system, Great Britain needed the American colonies as a source of wealth—both in gold and silver and a market to sell its goods.

• Inflation (def): A rise in price levels resulting in a decrease in purchasing power.

• Because of the large amounts of gold and silver coming into Europe from the New World, price levels rise.

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

2. Religious Motives: The English government was deeply involved in religious matters.

• Catholics vs. Protestants• Beginning with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, certain

members of the Church of England (Anglican Church—which the queen’s father, Henry VIII, had severed from the Roman Catholic Church during 1536-1540) believed that the Anglican church had not gone far enough in reforming and purging itself of Catholic influence.

• When King James I came to the throne, he attempted to bring all Protestants under the “big tent” of the Anglican church and threatened those who dissented.

• James I contribution to Protestants?

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

• 54 men were chosen to translate the King James Bible, which was governed by very strict rules of translation. The translators were scholarly men who were experts in the biblical languages, and they were convinced of the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. Dr. Henry M. Morris, President of the Institute for Creation Research, said of these men, "It is almost certain that no group of Bible scholars before or since has ever been as thoroughly fit for their task as was the King James Translation Team."

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

• Three main Protestant groups persecuted by King James I:

1. Puritans: Members of the Anglican Church who sought to remain within the state church while “purifying” it of the corruptions of lingering Catholicism.

• The Puritans were viewed as a threat by the English monarchy and were persecuted.

2. Separatists: Anti-Catholic Protestants who withdrew completely from the Anglican Church.

• They saw the Church of England as hopelessly corrupt and viewed the whole structure of bishops and archbishops controlled by the king with deep suspicion.

3. Quakers: a.k.a.: “Religious Society of Friends”—Opposed the authority of the government-controlled Anglican Church.

• Quakers were even more anti-Catholic and more against government-controlled religion than the Puritans and Separatists.

Unit 2: European Colonization of the Americas, N.P. 2-4

• So much like the Conquistadors of Spain, “God, Gold, and Glory” played a very instrumental role in the English colonization of North America.

• Each English colony began with one of four types of original governments:

1. Joint stock: Funded and run by a group of investors who shared the company’s profits and losses.

2. Proprietary: Colony granted by a king or queen to an individual with full governing rights.

3. Compacts: First colonial agreement that formed a government by the consent of the governed.

4. Royal: Colony ruled by a governor appointed by a king.• Virginia—joint-stock—annulled charter—royal colony, but

also governed by an elected legislature