1. I. Early English History
A. English conflict with Spain
i. Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
1. Commissioned privateers to attack Spanish galleons
a. Sir Francis Drake was the most famous of the English Privateers.
2. England’s Navy defeated the Spanish Invincible Armada
a. England had faster ships
b. Trapped much of the Spanish fleet in port
c. Hurricane destroyed the remainder of the fleet
B. England looks to America
i. England’s Pioneers
1. Richard Hakluyt: 1st Englishman to propose colonizing America
 Why?
a. Place to send Criminals
b. Overseas bases to attack Spanish ships
c. Get raw materials
d. Bring Protestantism to America
2. Sir Walter Raleigh: first Englishman to establish a colony.
a. Purpose: To create a settlement that could be used as a trade outpost
if they ever discovered the Northwest Passage
b. Roanoke
 1st attempt: 1585 - Military outpost…Failed
 2nd attempt: 1587 – settlement…Failed
 Settlers vanished leaving only the name “CROATOAN” behind.
C. Change of English leadership
i. Queen Elizabeth died in 1603
1. No child heir to the throne
2. Line of succession goes to a distant cousin

2. ii. King James of Scotland
1. Catholic
2. Makes peace with Spain
3. Pirating (privateers) made illegal
4. In return Spain gives up claim to North America north of Florida
II. England’s Permanent Colonies
A. Jamestown
i. Founded 1607
ii. Financed by Virginia Stock Company
1. Promoted propaganda of riches to be made in America
iii. Some sold themselves into slavery in order to get to America – Indentured Servants
iv. First settlers came with unrealistic expectations
1. By 1609 – lack of work and conflict with Indians caused mass starvation
a. Period became known as – the Starving Time.
2. John Smith assumed leadership – “work to eat”
a. saved the colony from starvation
v. John Rolfe perfected growing tobacco - $$
1. Tobacco becomes the first cash crop grown in the New World
a. The demand for tobacco in Europe made it possible to get wealthy in
the New World by growing large farms of tobacco
b. created a need for farm workers ( Natives–Indentured Servants–Slaves)
B. Plymouth Colony
i. Founded by Pilgrims
1. Pilgrims -Christian Separatists
a. Religious group that opposed the Anglican Church for not reforming
Christianity enough.
b. felt that the Reformation in England needed to be more extreme than

3. the Church of England.
c. They wanted the Bible to be strictly followed as God’s true law.
2. 1607 their followers fled from England to Holland because of religious
persecution from King James of England.
3. Requested permission from the colony of Virginia for rights to settle on their
land in the New World.
ii. Landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 and formed their own colony.
iii. Established an agreement of governance known as the Mayflower Compact. The
iv. Commonwealth of Massachusetts was based on religion. The Puritans believed they
a Covenant (contract) with God to create a holy colony.
v. 1630 – Great Migration – English settlers looked to begin a new life in the America’s
vi. John Winthrop – Founder of the colony and later its governor
1. Helped recruit wealthy families to migrate to New England.
“We must knit together in this work, as one man…we must
delight in each other; make other’s condition our own; rejoice
together, mourn together, labor and suffer together.”
vii. Puritan Society
1. Society was based on the New England Way (duty, hard work, moderation,
and godliness)
2. Goals of the Puritans
a. Establish a closely knit well ordered society.
b. Establish a society that represented high morals, proper behavior,
and the avoidance of any excesses
c. Establish a society strongly rooted in the literal Bible & the
integration of church and government.
3. Puritan Towns
a. Towns centered around the church
Towns developed around a central common area.
• The commons – or town square
The Church faced the common.

4. In orderly fashion houses extended out from the common
area in straight lines.
b. Outside of town each family had its own well organized field.
c. Law- everyone had to attend church
d. Education became a very important method of passing on beliefs
Harvard College founded in 1636 as a Minister’s school
4. Puritan Public Life
a. Primarily farmers. Other professions included; ministers, coopers,
surveyors.
b. By law all people must attend church twice a week.
c. No separation of Church and State - Church was conducted in same
building as the government – Meeting House.
d. Only Ministers & chosen people were allowed to speak at meetings.
viii. People who did not agree with the government or did not fit in were termed
Dissenters.
1. Roger Williams – believed in separation of church and state – banished from
Salem, Massachusetts. He later established the colony of Rhode Island.
2. Anne Hutchinson – banished because of her religious views
3. Quakers – Religious group believed in the equality of all people – persecuted
by the Puritans.
ix. Witchcraft
1. Believed witches existed because they are mentioned in the Bible.
2. By law witchcraft was a capital offense – meaning anyone found guilty of
witchcraft would be killed.
3. Any actions that potentially caused a disruption in the well ordered structure
of their society was associated with the devil.
a. Drama, music, most poetry – banned
4. Accusations of witchcraft in 1692 caused a public panic in which citizens
accused each other in a mass hysteria.

5. III. Colonial Governments
A. Early examples of self-government.
i. Mayflower Compact – agreement by the settlers of the Plymouth plantation to run their
own government and establish laws.
ii. Virginia House of Burgesses – based off the English model of government.
BRANCH Colonies England BRANCH
Executive  Governor King  Monarch
Legislative  Upper House House of Lords  Parliament
Lower House House of Commons
B. Establishment of the Colonial Legislative Branch
i. Legislative - makes laws.
ii. Made up of two houses:
1. Upper House – appointed by governor
2. Lower House – elected by colonists (white, landowning males)
a. Held a lot of power at the local level.
iii. Laws were subject to VETO by English Parliament
C. Colonial laws were based on 3 English historical documents:
i. Magna Carta (1215) – established “Trial by Jury of Your Peers.”
ii. Petition of Right (1628) – Established the principle of “No Taxation
Without Representation.”
iii. English Bill of Rights (1689) – Established the principles of citizens “Right
to Bear Arms, Elections, No Cruel & Unusual Punishments.”
D. The establishement of the Colonial Executive Branch

6. i. Executive - enforces the laws.
ii. Position called Governor in the colonies.
1. Chosen in different ways depending on the colony.
a. Charter colonies: based on the wording of the charter.
 EXAMPLES:
• Connecticut
• Rhodes Island
 Governor is elected by the people
b. Proprietary colonies: based on ownership of the colonies.
 EXAMPLES:
• Pennsylvania
• Maryland
• Delaware
 Governor is appointed by owner of colony
c. Royal Colonies: based on the say of the crown
 EXAMPLES: (all 8 others)
• Massachusetts
• Georgia
• Virginia
• The Carolinas
 Governor is appointed by the King

7. IV. Colonial Trade
A. Mercantilism: Belief that colonies exist for the benefit of the parent country
i. England wanted raw materials
1. Examples
a. Tobacco
b.Furs
c. Timber
ii. In return colonies would by English manufactured goods
2. Examples
a. Clothing
b.Weapons
c. Tools
B. Triangle Trade = { American Colonies  England  Africa }
Colonies: (need –slaves to harvest raw materials)  (take slaves send raw materials to England)
England: (need raw materials to produce weapons)  (take raw materials send guns to Africa)
Africa: (need weapons to enslave Africans)  (take guns send African slaves to Colonies)
C. To enforce this trade agreement England passed The Navigation Acts (1651)
i. Required colonies to sell items to England
ii. All goods had to be brought on English ships
D. Throughout most of Colonial history England ignored the laws they passed regarding
limiting trade in the American colonies.
i. The British disregard for colonial business practices during most of the
Colonial Period is known as Salutary Neglect.
1. By 1750 the American colonies had more freedom than most
countries in the world.

8. V. Colonial Society
i. Gender, race, and land ownership determined place in society
ii. Wealth was determined by land ownership
1. Wealthy individuals were called gentry
a. Members of the Gentry bought mansions, fine clothes, and other goods to
impress their peers.
iii. Gentlemen followed a code of behavior and studied academic subjects
iv. Trades and Occupations
1. Many colonists worked as artisans, printers, farmers and fishermen.
2. Indentured servants agreed to work for a set amount of time in exchange for the cost
of travel to the new colonies.
3. Later when the number of people willing to indenture themselves dropped the
demand for African slaves increased.
v. Colonial Women
1. Colonial women had few legal rights after marriage
2. Most women worked very hard in the household and in the community
VI. Colonial Conflicts
i. War became a means for expanding colonial boundaries
ii. In the 1660’s the British defeated the Dutch and took the colony of New York
iii. Indian Conflicts
1. Virginia 1622 & 1644 Powhatan Wars – Virginia colonists waged war against local
Native American tribes over land claims.
2. New England 1675-66 King Philips War – New England colonists waged war against
Metacom (known as King Philip) and the Wampanoag Confederacy over colonial
territorial expansion.
iv. Wars against the French
1. History
a. Two competing groups
 Catholic New France (Canada)
 Protestant English America (13 Colonies)
b. The Issues
 Fishing Rights in New Foundland

9.  Competing claims in the Caribbean
 Competition for fur trade in North America
2. The Conflicts
a. King William’s War (1689-1697)
 Began as a European War between France and England
 King Loius XIV’s attempt at increasing the size of France
 Fighting expanded into the America’s
b. Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713)
 Spain’s King Charles II died without an heir to the throne
 England declared war on France to make sure they did not inherit the
throne.
c. King George’s War (1744-1748)
 Fought mainly in the colonies between the British and the Spanish.
 The colonists from Georgia invaded Spanish Florida
3. The French & Indian War
a. The last and largest of the 4 French & English conflicts
b. The war was fought all over the world
 North American Colonies
 Caribbean Islands
 Far East Asia
 India
 Europe
c. Beginning of the war was a disaster for England.
 British are defeated trying to remove the French from Western
Pennsylvania. (Ft. Duquesne)
d. British are eventually successful
 British General John Forbes takes Ft. Duquesne (1758) renamed it
Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh)
 British General James Wolfe defeats French commander Marquis de
Montcalm allowing British forces to take Quebec and eventually
Montreal.
• Wolfe and Montcalm are killed during the battle.
• Battle destroys France’s ability to wage war in America.
 Treaty of Paris ended the war. British gains after the war:
• Canada

10. • Land from the Appalachian Mountains west to the
Mississippi river.
• Florida
e. War proves costly
 war cost – over 100 million pounds (currency)
 relations between Britain & the colonies became strained
• English views: “colonists were poor allies”
i. Colonial troops were unreliable and lacked
discipline.
ii. Colonial merchants violated laws and traded with
the French and Spanish even though they were at
war with them.
1. Colonial merchants violated the “Rule of
1756” which made it illegal to trade with
French and Spanish traders
2. Britain had to pass a “writs of assistance”
order that allowed British ships to inspect
Colonial cargos.
a. Colonial Merchants protested
against British interference in their
trade
b. Boston lawyer James Otis was
hired to contest the “writs.” He
gave an impassioned speech against
the British which John Adams later
described as “the first scene of the
first act of opposition.”
iii. Colonies could not organize and agree on a plan to
deal with Indians in a fair manner in order to solicit
the help of the Indians during the war.
1. only the Iroquois Nation fought with the
British and that is because the French allied
themselves with the Hurons, an arch enemy
of the Iroquois.
2. The Albany Plan attempted to unite the
colonies in 1754 but failed
a. Benjamin Franklin, a delegate
from PA advised the colonists to
join together in a unified
government.
b. “Join or Die”
• Colonial views:
i. British military power was not that intimidating and
could be defeated.
ii. British had different values than the colonists and
did not treat the colonists with respect.
 Indian issues at the war’s end became costly
• Without French forts protecting against colonial intrusion
colonists migrated in large numbers over the Appalachian
Mountains into lands inhabited by Indians.

11. • Colonists and British leaders in the frontier lands had little
respect for the Indians.
i. Colonists forced Indians off of their lands in order to
build farms
ii. British frontier commander Lord Jeffery Amherst
advocated spreading smallpox among the tribes.
iii. 1762 Amherst cut off food and supplies that were
traditionally traded to the Indians during the winter.