Why did Europeans colonize North America?
Motives varied by empire and colony: strategic rivalry, new trade routes and commodities, land, and religious motives (e.g., Puritans seeking to reform their church, Quakers seeking toleration). Mercantilism framed most imperial policy.
What were the three main English colonial regions and their economies?
New England (mixed economy of small farms, timber, fish, shipbuilding); Middle Colonies (fertile for grain; diverse peoples and faiths); Chesapeake & Lower South (cash crops—tobacco, rice, indigo—relying on enslaved labor).
What made Jamestown (1607) important?
First permanent English settlement; tobacco made it economically viable; the House of Burgesses (1619) became a precedent for representative self-government.
What was the Plymouth colony’s key political idea?
The Mayflower Compact (1620): a simple agreement for self‑government by the adult male colonists—often cited as a founding example of consensual government among English colonists.
What did the Massachusetts Bay Puritans mean by a ‘city upon a hill’?
John Winthrop’s phrase (1630) cast the colony as a moral example for the world—strict moral codes, communal responsibility, and covenant theology shaped law and culture.
How did labor systems evolve—indentured servitude vs. chattel slavery?
Early Chesapeake labor relied heavily on indentured servants from Europe. By the late 1600s, colonial laws increasingly codified race‑based, hereditary chattel slavery.
Did Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) change labor practices?
It exposed tensions among planters, servants, and frontier settlers, accelerating elites’ shift toward more enslaved African labor.
When did Africans first arrive in English Virginia and what was their status?
1619 marks a documented arrival of Africans at Point Comfort. Their legal status varied at first; over the 1600s, colonies enacted laws that hardened race‑based, hereditary slavery.
How did colonists and Native peoples interact?
Relationships ranged from trade and alliances to devastating wars, including the Powhatan conflicts and King Philip’s War (1675–1676). Epidemic diseases severely reduced Indigenous populations.
What was mercantilism and how did it shape law?
Mercantilism viewed colonies as sources of raw materials and captive markets. Navigation Acts (beginning 1651) aimed to channel colonial trade through England.
What was ‘salutary neglect’?
For long stretches, London loosely enforced trade laws, allowing local elites and assemblies to manage many affairs, nurturing a political habit of self‑government.
What was the Zenger trial (1735) and why does it matter?
Printer John Peter Zenger’s acquittal for seditious libel is often cited as an early milestone for a freer press and the idea that truthful criticism of officials should not be criminal.
Who migrated to the colonies in large numbers in the 1700s?
Besides English migrants, many Scots‑Irish and Germans settled especially in the Middle Colonies and the backcountry.
What was the First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s)?
A wave of Protestant revivals led by figures like George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards—stressing personal conversion and challenging religious establishments.
Which colonies were comparatively tolerant in religion?
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and—within limits—Maryland’s Act of Toleration (1649) for Trinitarian Christians.
How central was slavery to the colonial economy?
Enslaved labor became foundational in the Chesapeake and Lower South. Northern ports profited from the Atlantic economy linked to slavery.
What were colonial assemblies and why do they matter?
Elected bodies (e.g., Virginia House of Burgesses) that controlled local taxation and spending, nurturing ideas about the ‘rights of Englishmen.’
What started the French & Indian War (1754–1763) and what changed after it?
Rival claims in the Ohio Valley sparked war between Britain and France. Britain won North America east of the Mississippi, leading to new taxes and stricter imperial control.
Why did taxes like the Stamp Act (1765) cause such anger?
Colonists argued ‘no taxation without representation,’ seeing internal taxes levied by Parliament as violating their rights.
What were the Townshend Duties and Tea Act controversies?
Parliament taxed imports like glass, paper, tea (1767), leading to protests. The Tea Act (1773) aimed to rescue the East India Company, triggering the Boston Tea Party.
What were the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774)?
Punitive laws after the Tea Party: Boston Port Act, altered Massachusetts governance, and expanded quartering. Colonists formed the First Continental Congress.
What ideas fueled colonial resistance?
The English common-law tradition, Enlightenment thought, civic republicanism, and colonial political experience with self-rule.
Were all colonists Patriots?
No. Substantial minorities were Loyalists or neutral, with opinions varying by region, class, and circumstances.
What sparked fighting in 1775?
British attempts to seize colonial munitions led to armed clashes at Lexington and Concord. The Second Continental Congress named George Washington commander of the Continental Army.
