HIST 1311 1st Edition Lecture 4 Current Lecture Lecture 3 Colonial Experiments in the Seventeenth Century I England and New World Colonization Religious and Political Tensions in Seventeenth Century England Between 1603 and 1688 the English people lived through intense religious conflict economic upheavals and dislocations civil war and the removal of two kings from their thrones While Elizabeth I had ignored the Puritans James I and Charles I harassed them and actively squelched demands for religious reform Believing in absolutism the Stuart kings underestimated the determination of Parliamentary leaders to have a commanding voice in matters of finance religious reform and foreign policy James is a Protestant he wants to keep the Church Things King James is known for King James bible English bisexual strongly in favor of church and persecuting Puritans James I ruled from 1601 1625 His son Charles I took over in 1625 and constantly quarreled with parliament there too catholic In 1640 civil war erupted pitting Stuart loyalists against political and religious dissenters represented in the House of Commons In 1649 the parliament succeeded in beheading Charles I Down with monarchy king rules King ruled by divine right he wants higher taxes war and they want money Conflict between the King and the Parliament For almost a dozen years the nation was a commonwealth where Oliver Cromwell ruled for almost a decade as Lord Protector leads a people army against King s army he will be successful and take over King James I By 1660 after Cromwell s death the Stuart kings were invited to retake the throne ushering in the Restoration Era monarchy is restored The 1688 Glorious Revolution ushered in the Protestant rule of William III and Mary II Colonizer and Colonies In the midst of these dramatic events wealthy men found ways to finance risky colonizing ventures members of religious sects established communities in America and impoverished men and women decided to seek their fortunes in the New World Entrepreneurs provided the critical ingredient for empire building Joint stock companies took the lead in planting English colonies in the New World These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Later the monarch granted great tracts of land to establish proprietary colonies Finally the rulers themselves took charge of royal colonies The colonists in these English settlements thought of themselves as residents of four distinct regions The Chesapeake New England The Middle Colonies The Lower South Settling the Chesapeake The planting of Jamestown Under James I the Virginia Company established Jamestown named in honor of the king in 1607 The colony s first several years were marked by severe problems Jamestown became a quagmire of bad fortune Captain John Smith took control and imposed military order and forced labor to save Jamestown Tobacco proved to be the colony s salvation Tobacco provided an avenue for money but nothing could help this struggling colony form disaster 1609 1610 was known as starving time where the colonists resorted to cannibalism Later in 1610 martial law was enforced and settlers were forced to work The headright system brought more settlers to Virginia In 1618 the House of Burgesses was created to give the planters an active decision making role in the colony s civil government Expansion led to conflict with Native Americans King James revoked the Company s charter and made Virginia a royal colony partly for this reason 1619 1623 became a dismal and hard times Jamestown was a male laden disease ridden area subject to constant Indian attacks Maryland A Catholic Refuge The Calvert family under Sir George Calvert Lord Baltimore hoped to create a haven for Catholics in Maryland They envisioned a colony for Catholic refuge of large landowners and tenant farmers Charles I granted Baltimore s son Cecilius a charter to establish the colony Baltimore died during the negotiations The colony however only drew mostly Protestants of limited means who persecuted the Catholics The colony quickly came to resemble Virginia A headright system attracted new settlers tobacco became the economic mainstay Virginians reacted with hostility fearing the new colony as a competitor So violence not toleration of religion and competition became the norm in Maryland and Virginia Colonists at War in Maryland Civil war broke out in England in the 1640s and religious warfare also erupted in Maryland Calvert tried to prevent it by issuing a Toleration Act Oliver Cromwell repealed Calvert s Toleration Act and took Maryland away from the Calvert family in 1654 In Maryland violence ensued after the Glorious Revolution John Coode led the Protestants in rebellion against Maryland s proprietor and obtained a royal charter for the colony Troubles on the Chesapeake Conflict between wealthy planters and newcomers and between eastern inhabitants and residents of the backcountry split Virginia Nathaniel Bacon became the leader of those living in the backcountry Bacon s rebellion War between backcountry inhabitants and Indians led to rebellion against the government Governor Berkeley refused to assist the westerners Bacon and his men joined by members of the lower classes marched against the capital Jamestown Bacon s sudden death doomed the rebellion Colonial Chesapeake Life The rhythms of life in the Chesapeake region revolved around tobacco Planters moved frequently and did not create many communal institutions Until the 1680s much of the population consisted of indentured male servants working in the tobacco fields As the English economy improved planters were forced to turn to the purchase of African slaves New England Colonies of Dissenters The Plymouth Colony The Great Migration Unwelcome in England the Pilgrims and other Separatists boarded the Mayflower to head to the New World The Mayflower Compact granted political rights to any man willing to remain and to abide by the laws The settlers received crucial assistance from North American Indians Squanto s assistance was indispensable to the colony s survival Then al the Indians died of disease and those who did not die were pushed into the frontier or killed Plymouth colony grew slowly but steadily Expansion occurred peacefully through land purchases from the local Indians For the price of a few beads wampum