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Roanoke
Colony of about 100 colonists and only lasted about ten months. It was established by Sir Walter Raleigh and is now known as the "lost colony" because when Sir Francis Drake returned from England, he found it to be abandoned with the word "croatan" carved on a nearby tree.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roanoke-colony-deserted -
Jamestown
Established by the Virginia Company along the coast of Virginia, this colony had quite a rough start. The settlement was swampy, the men refused to work, and the winter was harsh. John Smith became a leader and established the rule "those who don't work, don't eat." This helped the settlement greatly.
https://www.livescience.com/38595-jamestown-history.html -
House of Burgesses
First legislative assembly which was made of 22 elected representatives. These representatives were elected by free white men who voted for them to represent them. Sir George Yeardley gained popularity among the colonists from creating the house of burgesses.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-legislative-assembly-in-america -
The Great Migration
20,000 puritans migrated to New England from 1620-1640 to escape from religious persecution. They migrated in packs and families. -
Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact
The Separatists (Pilgrims) settled in the Plymouth Colony. They took a ship called the Mayflower to sail them there. They anchored at Cape Cod after being at sea for 65 days. They decided to stop their journey and settle nearby. They established the Mayflower Compact as a foundation for the colony's government. It was the first self-governing plan in the colonies and stated that decisions would be made by the colony's men.
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New York
Originally called New Netherlands, Henry Hudson explored this area and gave the Netherlands the claim. Dutch landholders were given big amounts of land that they could rent out to tenant farmers. This territory was later renamed for the Duke of York (brother of King Charles II), who received a charter for the territory.
https://www.landofthebrave.info/new-york-colony.htm -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
With a charter from King Charles I, about a thousand Puritans settled in Massachusetts. John Winthrop led them as Governor. The laws of these Puritans were tied to their beliefs. People who did not follow these laws were publicly shamed or banished. This became the largest and most influential New England colony with the help of the English settlers who joined the Puritans.
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Maryland
Southern Colony founded by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic who convinced King Charles I to grant him 100 million acres of land for persecuted Catholics to settle. Baltimore died before he was able to do anything with his land, so his son Cecil took over. He gave every married couple 100 acres of land.
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Rhode Island
Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams (and his supporters). Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for speaking publicly against government authority. He decided that in Rhode Island there would be no religious persecution for Christians. He also believed that he was doing God's work by creating a place with religious freedom.
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Conneticut
"the River Colony" It was located on the Atlantic coast, founded by Thomas Hooker. This was the first settlement by the Europeans that migrated from Massachusetts.
http://thehistoryjunkie.com/connecticut-colony-facts/ -
Maryland Toleration Act
The Toleraction Act allowed Maryland to give Christians religious freedom, unlike many other places of this time. It was the second law requiring religious tolerance in the British North American colonies. This act gave freedom of worship to all Christians, but sentenced death to any who denied Christ. This influenced related laws in several other colonies and portions of it were echoed in the writing of the First Amendment .
www.revolvy.com/topic/Maryland%20Toleration%20Act&item_type=topic -
Carolina
Carolina was settled by supporters of King Charles II. The King granted eight supporters land. With easy access to the trade in the West Indies, people settled in the Carolinas to grow cash crops (rice, indigo, and tobacco). These crops required a huge labor force, which led to the introduction of slavery. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Virginia settlers began an armed rebellion in 1676 which was led by Nathaniel Bacon against William Berkeley. This was the first rebellion in the American colonies when Indians attacked the colonists because of trading issues. Bacon defeated the natives and as a result, the colony set up a militia, changed laws, and allowed people the right to vote.
https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h521.html -
Pennsylvania
This colony was founded by William Penn and was dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II. Penn established it as a "holy experiment", a place without land owning aristocracy where each male settler received 50 acres of land and also the right to vote. In the 1660s, Peen became a Quaker and Pennsylvania soon became a haven for all Quakers.
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Salem witch trials
Several girls in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed that they were possessed by Satan and accused women in the village of witchcraft. 150 people were eventually imprisoned for witchcraft and seven of them died in jail. 19 villagers were hanged and another was crushed to death because he refused to testify. This craze fizzled out by mid 1692.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials -
Great Awakening/Enlightenment
The Great Awakening was a religious revival in the colonies. This movement was lead by John Wesley in England, and greatly affected the colonies. It was rooted in spiritual growth and brought a national identity to Colonial America. The Enlightenment included illuminating human intellect and culture after the dark ages. The rise of the Catholic church was a big part of this movement also.
https://www.livescience.com/55327-the-enlightenment.html -
French-Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years war, was a conflict between the American colonists and the French over control of the Ohio Valley and the rights to two rivers in modern day Pittsburgh. -
Albany Plan
Representatives of both the colonies and the Iroquois met in Albany, New York to organize a common defense against the French and their Indian allies prior to the French and Indian war.
https://historyscoop.com/2013/09/03/the-albany-plan-of-union/ -
Proclamation of 1763
This proclamation was issued in response to a revolt of Native Americans on October 7, 1763, by King George III. It closed colonial expansion westward, or buy/take land from Natives. Only licensed traders would be allowed to travel west or deal with Indians.
https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/1763-proclamation-of -
Salutary Neglect
Initiated by British prime minister Robert Walpole, to relax the enforcement of strict laws and regulations imposed on the American colonies.
https://www.americanhistoryusa.com/topic/salutary-neglect/
