England sought to tighten control over the profitable trade of the colonies and appointed royal governors. In response, King James II consolidated New England, New York, and New Jersey into the Dominion of New England to more closely govern the region. However, the Glorious Revolution overthrew James II and Parliament disbanded the Dominion, returning the colonies to their previous status. Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion in Virginia against the governor for failing to protect colonists from Native American attacks, gaining more voice for Virginians in their government after the rebellion collapsed.

1. CHAPTER 6
Section 4 Notes

2. Changes in Colonial
Governments
 As the colonies grew, England sought more
control over the COLONISTS and their profitable
TRADE.
 In 1685, King James II united NEW ENGLAND,
NEW YORK, and NEW JERSEY into the
Dominion of New England. He placed tight
restrictions on the region and appointed an
English GOVERNOR to enforce the new laws.
 The English PARLIAMENT overthrew James II in
what became known as the GLORIOUS
REVOLUTION. Parliament disbanded the
Dominion of New England and returned the
colonies to their original status.

3. Bacon’s Rebellion
 In 1676, NATHANIEL BACON, a planter on the Virginia
frontier, led a rebellion against the colony’s GOVERNOR. The
rebels claimed that the governor was not doing enough to
protect them against NATIVE AMERICAN ATTACKS.
 The rebels marched on JAMESTOWN and forced the
governor to flee. However, when BACON suddenly died, the
rebellion collapsed.
 In the wake of the rebellion, the colony’s rulers allowed
VIRGINIANS more voice in their government.
 Other colonists PROTESTED against British authority in other
ways. In 1734, a jury in New York found a newspaper
publisher, JOHN PETER ZENGER, not guilty of LIBEL for his
articles criticizing the governor. ZENGER’S case was the first
one in America to protect FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

4. Nathaniel Bacon

5. Bacon’s Rebellion

6. Controls on Colonial Trade
 Most European countries with colonies followed a
policy called MERCANTILISM. This policy meant
a country had to SELL MORE GOODS THAN IT
BOUGHT in order to gain wealth. Colonies played
an important role in this policy: they provided raw
materials to the home country and they served as
a ready-made market for products from the home
country.
 To make MERCANTILISM work, GREAT BRITAIN
passed a number of laws aimed at controlling
colonial trade. These laws were known as the
NAVIGATION ACTS.

7. Moving Toward Self-
Government
 Despite placing TIGHT CONTROLS on
colonial trade, the British allowed colonists the
freedom to RUN LOCAL AFFAIRS through
their assemblies.
 While British governors ruled most colonies,
the colonial ASSEMBLIES gained the power to
pass TAX BILLS and run the colony’s
MILITARY AFFAIRS.
 Compared with people in Europe, colonists
took an ACTIVE ROLE in their government.
However, only WHITE MEN over the age of 21
who OWNED PROPERTY could VOTE.