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CHAPTER 2
England and Its American Colonies
1607–1732
During this period, settlers coming to America had to adapt to new environments and respond to
challenges. It was a constant struggle for those who were fortunate enough to make it through the early
years. This chapter discusses the founding of the British colonies, the relationships between the various
native populations and the British, and the general pattern of settlement and government of the British
colonies within North America.
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the economic, political, and religious motivations for the establishment of England’s diverse
American colonies.
2. Describe the political, economic, social, and religious characteristics of English colonies in the
Chesapeake region, New England, the Carolinas, and the middle colonies prior to 1700.
3. Analyze the ways by which English colonists and Native Americans adapted to each other’s presence.
4. Analyze the role of indentured servants and the development of slavery in colonial America.
5. Explain how the English colonies became the most populous, prosperous, and powerful region in
North America by 1700.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The English Background
A. People and Profit
B. Political Traditions
C. Religious Conflict and War
2. Settling the American Colonies
A. The Chesapeake Region
i. Jamestown
ii. Maryland
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B. New England
i. Plymouth
ii. Massachusetts Bay
iii. Rhode Island
iv. Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine
C. The Carolinas
D. The Middle Colonies and Georgia
i. New Netherlands Becomes New York
ii. New Jersey
iii. Pennsylvania
iv. Delaware
v. Georgia
3. Native Peoples and English Settlers
A. Food and Land
B. Bacon’s Rebellion
C. Native Americans and Christianity
D. The Pequot War
E. King Philip’s War
F. Enslaving Indians in Carolina
G. The Iroquois League
4. Slavery and Servitude in the Colonies
A. Indentured Servitude
B. Slavery in North America
C. African Roots
D. Slave Culture
5. Thriving Colonies
LECTURE IDEAS
1. Use the biographical approach to research the founding of Jamestown and Virginia by examining the
incredible life and contributions of Captain John Smith. See Alden Vaughan’s American Genesis:
Captain John Smith and the Founding of Virginia (1975) and David Price’s Love and Hate in
Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation (2003). Terence Malick’s 2005
film The New World is too long to be effective in its entirety for classroom use, but it does have
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2. It would be useful to discuss the various Native American tribes the British encountered in the
American colonies. A discussion of the initial reactions from the tribes, as the British expanded
their colonies, could stimulate great discussion. Assign groups a region, and ask students to examine
3. Students should have a clear understanding of the joint-stock company and mercantilism. An overview
of British economic history would be a good starting point to emphasize both of these topics. The
lecture could then be expanded to show the relationship of these two economic topics and the birth
4. A lecture comparing and contrasting the colonies of New England could be focused on the evolution of
Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine. Describe the
groups and individuals who helped establish each and detail their relationships with one another. See
Doris V. Jackson’s The New England Colonies (1994) and Joseph Conforti’s Imagining New England:
Explorations of Regional Identity from the Pilgrims to the Mid–20th Century (2001).
5. All too often in our treatment of colonial history, the Middle Colonies get glossed over, given that
emphasis is normally placed on New England and Virginia. Write a corrective lecture by focusing on
the beginnings of New York and Pennsylvania, highlighting their remarkable commercial, ethnic, and
religious diversity as characteristic of what the entire country would one day become. Good sources
include:
6. Discuss the colonial practices of the Dutch and the French. You can expand this discussion by
contrasting their colonial practices with those of the Spanish and English empires. Relevant sources
include:
• “French Colonization”: http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/
• “France in America”: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/
france-america/file.html
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7. A lecture on Bacon’s Rebellion will provide a vehicle for examining life and society in colonial
Virginia, as well as an opportunity to explain why the Virginia elite soon shifted from indentured
servants to African slaves as the massive labor force for their tobacco plantations. The classic source is
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / FLIPPED CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS
1. It is no surprise that the first settlement at Jamestown was a painful challenge, but do not underestimate
the lasting impact of that suffering. Identify the sources of difficulty and how those elements remained
present and influential for decades to come. Titles such as Edmund S. Morgan’s American Slavery,
2. Consider this: If someone were asked in 1600 which nation would rise to control North America for
the next two centuries, few would guess England. Why would England be dismissed? Which nations
would be more likely choices? Helpful works include Lyle N. McAlister’s Spain and Portugal in the
New World, 1492–1700 (1984) and Carl Bridenbaugh’s Vexed and Troubled Englishmen, 1590–1642
(1968).
3. Divide your class into groups and have them research the English Civil War, with some focusing on
the Puritans, the Royalists, etc. Have students discuss the impacts of this war on the colonies. Helpful
websites include:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Discuss Native American relations with Virginia, Massachusetts, and Carolina colonists, making sure
to examine European motivations.
2. It is noted that settlers to New England had a greater life expectancy than those to colonies south of the
Chesapeake Bay. Why?
3. Explain the concept of separatism as it related to the Puritans who settled at Plymouth.
4. Georgia’s colonial beginnings are remarkably different than those of other colonies. Discuss how
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promises made to potential settlers attainable?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter details the effort of English Puritans and Pilgrims to establish Christian commonwealths in
New England, which they hoped might serve as model societies. Many historians have argued that the
ongoing tendency of Americans to view the United States as a nation that has a special calling to serve as
an example for the rest of humanity is rooted in the Puritans and this missionary idealism. Organize a
discussion in class and possibly with members of the community, in which you examine whether this