LESSON 2 .2 : JAMESTOWN, PLYMOUTH, AND MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONIES

UNIT 2: FACTORS THAT LED TO EXPANSION

WARM UP

Turn your textbook to page 25 and closely analyze “The Causes of English Settlement in America”

How did England’s rivalry with Spain drive the nation to establish new colonies in North America?

Why did religious groups found colonies?

Jamestown

Jamestown paves the way

The founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony, in Virginia in 1607 – 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts – sparked a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. 

Jamestown-Early Troubles

Serious problems soon emerged in the small English outpost, which was located in the midst of a chiefdom of about 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Indians ruled by the powerful leader Powhatan.  Relations with the Powhatan Indians were tenuous.  An unfamiliar climate, as well as brackish water supply and lack of food, led to disease and death.  Many of the original colonists were upper-class Englishmen, and refused to work!

Jamestown-Captain Smith to the Rescue

Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader in September 1608 and established a “no work, no food” policy.   Smith’s departure in 1609 was followed by the “starving time,” a period of warfare between the colonists and Indians and the deaths of many from starvation and disease.  Just when the colonists decided to abandon Jamestown in Spring 1610, settlers with supplies arrived from England, eager to find wealth in Virginia.   

Jamestown-Tobacco Saves the Day

Until the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop about 1613 by colonist John Rolfe, who later married Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas, none of the colonists’ efforts to establish profitable enterprises were successful.  Tobacco cultivation required large amounts of land and labor and stimulated the rapid growth of the Virginia colony. 

Jamestown-The Origins of Slavery in the Americas

The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived in 1619.  While these first Africans may have been treated as indentured servants, the customary practice of owning Africans as slaves for life appeared by mid-century.

Jamestown- The Seeds of Democracy

The first representative government in British America began at Jamestown in 1619 with the convening of a general assembly, at the request of settlers who wanted input in the laws governing them. 

Pilgrims and a Puritans

Puritans wanted to “purify” the Anglican Church.

Pilgrims, believing the Anglican Church had become too corrupt, wanted to leave the church completely.

Plymouth Colony

On Septmeber 16, 1620, 102 Pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower for Virginia. As soon as they arrived at Plymouth, they began to build their modest homes. Soon, however, a plague swept through the colony, sparing only 50.

Pilgrims and Thanksgiving

Even the surviving Pilgrims may have perished if it weren’t for the Wampanoag, who taught the Pilgrims how to grow food in the sandy soil. The following Autumn, the Pilgrims joined the Wampanoag in a three day festival to celebrate the harvest and give thanks to God.

Massachusetts Bay Colony “The City Upon a Hill”

Beginning in 1630, John Winthrop guided the arrival of nearly 1000 colonists to the New World. The initial parties established a permanent settlement on the Peninsula of Massachusetts Bay

Puritans- No Footloose

The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay were Calvinists, but with their own points of emphasis. They held the traditional belief that all mankind merited eternal damnation, but a merciful God had graciously granted salvation to a few, the Elect. However, they believed that salvation came at a price — God’s chosen people were bound by a contract to see to the enforcement of God’s laws in society. For Example; gambling, blasphemy, adultery, dancing and drunkenness were all illegal and punished severely.

Puritans- Giving meaning to the term “NOSEY”

Good behavior would not win salvation for the Massachusetts Puritans, but it would help them in their current lives to avoid wars, famines, and other forms of divine wrath. This concern about proper behavior resulted in an abiding interest in the activities of one's neighbors

Puritans- A Problem of Proof

Religious orthodoxy was challenged from time to time by various members of the community. Most notably Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson.

As time passed, church membership declined as fewer people were able to offer proof of a conversion experience, which would convince themselves and others of their inclusion among the elect.

Puritan Intolerance

Puritans efforts to suppress other religious beliefs inevitably sparked conflict. Eventually, Puritan intolerance led to the founding of other colonies in New England

Primary Source Document on Anne Hutchison.

Write a one page response to the following prompt:

“Should Anne Hutcheson have been banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony?

Activity

reflection

In your journal, summarize what you have learned today about the colonies of Jamestown, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay.