Growth of Colonies | Atlantic World
Growth of ColoniesIn 1606, the English king, James I, issued charters to the London and Plymouth Companies. The London Company launched its first colonization effort only a few months later, eager to begin profiting from its New World lands. Their first settlement, Jamestown, proved a costly failure both in treasure and human lives. It survived, however, and eventually other English settlements took root throughout the Chesapeake region. To the north, economic ambition and religious dissent help shape the population growth and geographic expansion of European settlement in New England. In the 1630s, colonists settled in the fertile Connecticut River valley, extending English settlement to the west and south of Massachusetts Bay. Some Puritans, distressed by what they saw as religious laxity in Boston, established a more orthodox community in New Haven, while Roger Williams' movement for the separation of church and state led to the founding of Rhode Island. This map illustrates the settlement of the Chesapeake and Massachusetts Bay regions during the seventeenth century by European nations.
Why did the Virginia colony claim land on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay? What consequences did their claim have for the territories further inland such as Maryland and Pennsylvania?
Profit was an overwhelming motivation for Virginia's overseers and colonists. Explain how the search for profit affected the development of the colony. Why was tobacco such an important crop to the emerging market society and mercantile state in England? Who supplied tobacco to the English before Virginia? Why would they prefer to buy it from their own colonies? How did participation in the global market affect Virginia's landscape and society?
Compare and contrast the motives for colonization of the Pilgrims in the Plymouth colony in the Puritans (and their many non-religious fellow colonizers)? How did these motives differ from those who settled Virginia and Maryland? What types of groups settled New England? Contrast those with the experience of the Chesapeake. How did the group structure and motives of the New England settlers affect their pattern of settlement?
Examine the spread of settlement in the Chesapeake and New England. How did Chesapeake settlement differ from that of New England? Why did Europeans press westward during this period, instead of concentrating in the more easily defended coastal towns? How did the Native Americans respond to the expansion of English settlement in each area?
Compare and contrast Native American agricultural practices with those of the early English settlers. What innovations allowed the Europeans to sustain much greater population densities on the land? How did European farming practices change the landscape of the Chesapeake and New England?
Atlantic WorldIn the 14th century, the Atlantic Ocean emerged as the stage for one of the most dramatic series of cross-cultural encounters in human history. This interactive map portrays the dramatic movement of peoples across the ocean as slaves, indentured servants, religious refugees, and adventurers.
Examine the patterns of slave trade. What trends can you discern from the map?
Examine the movement of free, indentured, convicted, and enslaved migrants. What trends are evident?
Examine the trade routes of the various nations. Then examine the Prevailing Winds and Pirate activity. What do these layers reveal about trade in the age of sail when juxtaposed?
Examine the paths of various explorers. Which countries dominated exploration early on? Where did they focus their attention and why?
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