The Southern Colonies In The 17th And 18th Centuries

Submitted By roxyjoan
Words: 4366
Pages: 18
Open Document
The Southern Colonies in the 17th and 18th Centuries
I. Southern Plantation Colonies -- general characteristics
A. Dominated to a degree by a plantation economy: tobacco & rice
B. Slavery in all colonies (even Georgia after 1750); mostly indentured servants for until 1676 in Virginia and Maryland -- increasingly black slavery thereafter.
C. Large land holdings in the hands of the favored few = aristocratic atmosphere (except N.
Carolina and parts of Georgia)
D. Sparsely populated: churches & schools too expensive for very small towns. E. All practiced some form of religious toleration
-- Church of England (Anglican Church) most prominent
F. Expansionary attitudes stimulated in large part due to degradation of soil from tobacco farming. II. The Chesapeake (Virginia & Maryland)
A. Virginia (founded in 1607 by Virginia Company)
1. Jamestown, 1607 -- 1st permanent British colony in New World
a. Founded by Virginia Company that received charter in London from King James I. i. Main goals: Promise of gold, conversion of Indians to Christianity (just like
Spain), and new passage to the Indies.
ii. Consisted largely of well-to-do adventurers
b. Virginia Charter
i. Overseas settlers given same rights of Englishmen in England
ii. Became foundation for American liberties; rights extended to other colonies.
2. Colony wracked by tragedy during early years: famine, disease, war with Indians a. By 1625, only 1200 of the nearly 8000 colonists survived
b. Only 60 out of 400 settlers survived "starving time" of 1610-1611
3.Captain John Smith organized the colony beginning in 1608: "He who will not work shall not eat."
a. Smith kidnapped in Dec. 1607 by Powhatans led by Chief Powhatan who subjected Smith to a what may have been a mock execution.
b. Smith perhaps "saved" by Pocahantas, Powatan's daughter, when she was only 12 years old
4. Pocahantas eventually became a central figure in preserving peace in early Jamestown
Provided foodstuffs to settlers.
Became hostage of colonists in 1613 during military conflicts.
Later married John Rolfe & taught him Indian way of curing tobacco. 
-- Died of small pox at age 22
5. John Rolfe and tobacco crop economy -- "Colony built on smoke"
Rolfe introduced new tough strain of tobacco
Tobacco industry became cornerstone of Virginia's economy.
Plantation system emerged
6. House of Burgesses (an assembly) authorized by London Company in 1619. a. 1st of miniature parliament in the British American colonies.
b. Representative self-government
i. Most representatives were substantial property owners ii.Created as an incentive to attract settlers to the Virginia "Death Trap" 7.Virginia Charter revoked by James I in 1624

a. King believed assembly to seditious but also hated tobacco.
b. Virginia became a royal colony directly under his control B. Maryland
1. 2. 3.
Charles I gave Sir George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, a portion of VA for Catholic haven and profit.
Eventually , growth of Protestants meant Catholics rapidly becoming a minority; Catholics feared loss of religions freedom.
Act of Toleration (1649)
a. Guaranteed toleration to all Christians but instituted death penalty for anyone denying the divinity of Jesus (e.g. Jews & atheists)
b. Motive: Catholics sought to protect their faith by granting certain degree of religious freedom.
c. Maryland became largest haven for Catholics in British American colonies
C. Life in the Chesapeake
Disease took heavy toll early on (10 yrs off life exp.) -- Malaria, dysentery, typhoid 
a. Half of all born in early Virginia and Maryland did not live past age 20. 
b. Less than 25% of men lived to see 50 -- women only 40
Most immigrants were single men in late teens, early 20's; most died soon after arriving 
a. Surviving males competed for extremely scarce women; women thus married early 
b. Most men could not find mates.
Region stabilized eventually due to increased immunities to disease in increased
Show More

Related Documents: The Southern Colonies In The 17th And 18th Centuries

History And Slavery

year now since I first heard it during my junior year in American History class. When my teacher prefaced our learning with this idea, I thought it was a little ridiculous. History, I believed, is set in stone. As the saying goes, the past is in the past. It is, if anything, predictable. But my teacher pushed me even further. He defined the subject with a mathematical expression: change over time. Assuming his definition, history becomes a variable, something that can be manipulated, changed and…

Words 630 - Pages 3

Greek Slavery History

dominance it still holds today. Slavery continued as a widespread practice in America for centuries on, even as egalitarian and humanitarian ideas blossomed during the Enlightenment. Peculiarly, slavery continued on after the American revolution,…

Words 1292 - Pages 6

Slavery In African American History

Slavery in American history is a story that most people fail to acknowledge, out of fear of offending the other races. In fact many Americans are not aware of how much of a horror this moment in history actually was. They picture it as black people kicking cotton, working for free, being uneducated, and being beat. There is much more to slavery than we learn in the school systems. Since we do not have any survivors of slavery alive unlike the holocaust, we are taught to move on and forget. On the…

Words 286 - Pages 2

Slavery In African American History

Slavery Did you know about 100,000,000 people were slaves and 9 or 11million people were taken out of Africa. The first slaves were brought to America in 1619.African American were treated with poorly expectations then American people back then, than now in the future.People bought, traded, bread,and evan broke their legs.African Americans were scared and the Americans didn’t care if they were scared or not. If I was back in time when slavery happened I would go to the president and ask him to…

Words 640 - Pages 3

The Origin Of Slavery In American History

Matthew Jacobs US History 1 Honors November 8, 2015 Kelly Clark History Slavery Paper For many centuries, prominent civilizations and countries frequently used slavery to advance their civilization. The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle said that “a slave is a living possession” whose purpose is to assist their master, showing how slaves were thought of as property that would economically benefit their owner. Many of the largest and most successful empires in history, such as the Greek and Roman…

Words 820 - Pages 4

History Of Abolition And Anti-Slavery

History NOTES Abolition and Anti-Slavery Politics 1748-1848 A trans-Atlantic development I. Ideological Sources of Abolitionism a. Scottish moral philosophers i. Francis Hutcheson 1694-1746 ii. Adam Ferguson (1723-1816) iii. Adam Smith (1723-1790) b. They all said that slavery was bad, inhumane John Wesley (1708-1791) Said human bondage was evil Was a minister and convinced that the scriptures (bible) slavery was evil Traveled to Georgia in the 1730s and saw African Americans in bondage on plantations…

Words 533 - Pages 3

Essay about History of Slavery

Throughout the history of America, we have seen prejudice and discrimination between races time and time again. The problem always starts with one racial culture believing themselves to be superior and more civilized over another. One race in particular has been dealing with this for centuries and is still facing difficulties with complete equality today. In this article we take a closer look at the history of the African American culture. The first Africans that arrived in the United States showed…

Words 1057 - Pages 5

Essay History: Slavery and New England

Molly Burke October 1, 2013 History 135-008RL Objective Paper B The history of slavery is known to have taken place predominantly in the south. However, many don't know the north took part in slavery as well. There are several reasons as to why most people don't acknowledge this fact. For instance, northern slavery was nothing compared to southern slavery and the north had a reputation to withhold. Back when New England was founded, settlers started to discover the new lands, which would…

Words 816 - Pages 4

History: Slavery and African Americans Essay

Throughout history, slavery has occurred through various parts of the world such as India, China, North Korea, and Africa. These countries have rules or laws that made it possible to enslave innocent people. Slavery life cycles through generations, to a seemly never ending cycle. This slavery cycle was commonly known in the United States during the 1600’s. Slavery within the African race began in American in the early 1600’s. For years Africans were enslaved and treated as an object; they didn’t…

Words 1089 - Pages 5

Why Is Slavery Important In American History?

depth about American history is slavery. Slavery is not something that America is exactly proud of and was quite honestly a horrible thing. The fact that people were even enslaved is just stomach churning but what makes that even worse is how many slaves were treated daily and how they were viewed as less than human. In the 19th century in the south, slavery was a common thing and was not really frowned upon by southern people compared to how northerners were appalled by slavery. This may have been…

Words 937 - Pages 4