Bauserman & Willmore 1

David Willmore

AP US - Period 05

20 September 2010

The English Transplantations and Borderlands

Chapter Two

Chapter Summary:
During the seventeenth century, many separate colonies were established in British North
America. Before 1660 most of these colonies were private ventures chartered by the crown.
These colonies were peopled largely by English Europeans, many of whom migrated across the
Atlantic Ocean in search of greater opportunity, be it economic, religious, or social. After 1660,
what were called proprietary colonies became the norm. Charters granted by the crown
indicated a closer tie between the “owners” of the colony and the reigning monarch. By the
1680s, England had established an unbroken string of colonies stretching from Canada to the
Savannah River and extending into the West Indies. Colonial expansion intensified the contact
and conflict with natives. Despite a considerable and mutual exchange of information and
goods, the colonists’ ceaseless desire for land led to a deterioration in relations with natives.
Gradually, time and distance influenced the attitudes of colonists who began to perceive
themselves as a hybrid breed of both Old World English and New World Americans. As the
colonies matured, the inhabitants began to exhibit a desire to control their own local affairs and
interests that eventually would come to trouble the British Empire. It would also contribute to
decisions by officials in London to tighten control over their increasingly independent-minded,
not to mention increasingly valuable, possessions in the New World.

Points for Discussion:

1. How did the evolution of the Virginia colony between 1607 and 1625 reveal the
impact of New World conditions on English aims and expectations? How did the
Virginia colonists adapt to American circumstances, and what sort of society
emerged as a result?
2. What do the causes of Bacon's Rebellion suggest about the sociopolitical system of
Virginia in the 1670s? Why was Bacon considered a hero by some and a traitor by
others? What impact did the outcome of the "rebellion" have on Virginia politics?
3. How did the goals of the colonists settling in Massachusetts Bay differ from those of
the Virginia colonists? How and why did these goals change in the first fifty years of
the colony? How did opponents of these changes respond?
4. How did England apply the principles of mercantilism to its North American and
West Indian colonies, and how did the various colonial interests respond? What part
did Spain’s American colonies play in English efforts?
5. By 1660, it was evident that England had become concerned about Massachusetts'
lack of cooperation with the mother country’s policies. Why did England view
Massachusetts as a "troublemaker" (if not an outright enemy), and why, in turn, did
the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony have the same opinion of England?
6. Having assessed the reasons behind England's attitude toward Massachusetts (and
vice versa), explain England's policy toward the Bay colony and how the Puritans
reacted to the various attempts to control them.
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7. Between 1660 and 1700, the American colonies were shaken by a series of "revolts,"
of which Bacon's Rebellion was only one. Compare and contrast the protests that
took place in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, paying special
attention to the internal divisions that helped spark the outbursts. What evidence do
you find to suggest that what occurred was the result of tensions in colonial society?
8. What factors caused friction between English colonists and Native Americans? Could
these problems have been avoided? Explain why or why not, incorporating examples
and results of such friction in the various colonies.
9. Identify the "utopian" schemes that motivated many colonists. Compare and
contrast the colonies that were founded by these idealists, paying special attention to
which plans were successful, which succeeded after modification, and which failed.
Explain the reasons behind these results.
10. What European nations competed for control of the Southwest and Southeast
borderlands? Explain how this competition shaped settlement in these regions.

Main Themes:
The origins and objectives of England’s first settlements in the New World.
How and why English colonies differed from one another in purpose and
administration.
The problems that arose as colonies matured and expanded, and how colonists
attempted to solve them.
How the Spanish colonial system functioned and its impact on the British colonies.
The impact that events in England had on the development of colonies in British
America.

Key Terms & Concepts: Be able to identify and know the significance of the following:
1. London Company
2. Jamestown
3. Plymouth Colony
4. Mayflower Compact
5. Massachusetts Bay Colony
6. “City Upon a Hill”
7. “the Elect”
8. New Amsterdam
9. House of Burgesses
10. Maryland Toleration Act (Concerning Religion
11. Headright system
12. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
13. Quakers
14. “Inner light”
15. Freemen
16. Powhatan Indians
17. Pequot War
18. King Philip’s War
19. Bacon’s Rebellion
20.Indentured servant
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21. Patroon system

22. Glorious Revolution
23. Dominion of New England
24. Leisler’s Revolt
25. Mercantilism
26. Navigation Act(s)

Important People:
1. John Smith
2. John Rolfe
3. Pocahontas
4. William Bradford
5. Squanto
6. John Winthrop
7. Roger Williams
8. Anne Hutchinson
9. Thomas Hooker
10. John Cotton
11. Lord Baltimore
12. William Penn
13. Sir William Berkeley
14. Nathaniel Bacon
15. Sir Edmond Andros
16. Jacob Leisler
17. James Oglethorpe

For Internet quizzes, resources, references to additional books and films, and more,
consult the text’s Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/brinkley11.
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Responses:
1. Between 1607 and 1625 the evolution of Virginia changed the English expectations of
building a colony were not going to be as easy as they thought they would be. The
conditions in the new world were much harsher than expected. Many of the settlers
in Virginia were adventurers who thought that they would be able to land and
immediately find gold and make a profit. When the settlers got to America, the
found swampy malaria prone land, trouble getting enough food, harsh winters and
Indian resistance. The English realized that there was no gold to be found so they
had to move their aim to finding other means of making a profit. They found this
when John Rolfe developed a strain of tobacco that would be successful in Virginia.
One way the colonists adapted to the American circumstances was by using some of
the Indians’ agriculture techniques which worked better in the new world than their
old methods. Another way was that the leaders created different incentivized labor
systems to get people to work harder which was necessary for them to be able to
survive and pay off the debts that the company had. One of these incentives was the
headright system in which families got a plot of land for every person. This system
created a society of farmers and plantation owners and more family systems than
were originally in Virginia.
2. Bacon’s Rebellion speaks multitudes about the condition of the social and political
environment of 1670s Virginia. Nathaniel Bacon - a recent privileged graduate of
Cambridge University - purchased a substantial track of land in rural Virginia, also
being awarded a seat on the governor’s council. He effectively created a position for
himself in the “backcountry gentry” - an influential, property-holding landowner
who were pushing the colony westward. Bacon and his equivalents disagreed with
their fellow legislators about how to treat the Native Americans. As the frontiers
were in contact (often hostile) with the natives, they were regarded as a threat; the
politicians in the tidewater region did not see the natives as hostile. Disagreements
over, and violations, the Governor’s colonization limits led to further hostility
between the groups. When Bacon led his rebellion, he was supported and well
regarded by the multitudes of free, landless men living on the frontiers of Virginia.
At the same time, the rebellion also exposed for the first time the possibility of
insurrection in the colonies. Conversely, many regarded Bacon’s near-takeover of
the colonial government as treasonous and despicable. The result of the rebellion
forced peopled in both the tidewater and frontier regions of Virginia to join together
to prevent any further attempts at social or political insurrection in the colony.
3. The goals of the colonists in Virginia was to make a profit in the new world. The
goals of the Massachusetts Bay colonists were originally also going to be to make a
profit but they changed into religious goals to make a place for puritans in the new
world, as they were being discriminated against in England. The colony was
originally going to be run like a corporation by the stock holders but in the first 50
years it turned into a theocracy completely dominated by the Church. Anyone who
did not like the system or disagreed with the Church was forced to either conform to
the colony or leave. This caused many people coming to the colony to move away
and spread out over New England.
4. Mercantilism was one of the fundamentals of England’s push to colonize the
Americas: by creating a bi-lateral trade, both sides (especially Britain’s industry)
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profit. Richard Hakluyt (mentioned in Chapter 1) argued that colonies would

provide a new and exclusive market for British goods, increasing sales, as well as
siphoning off surplus population from Britain. Additionally, new raw materials
(such as lumber, naval stores, silver, gold) would be available to Britain from one of
its own colonies for the first time, decreasing prices in material. In their formative
years, the colonies welcomed the exclusive trade, as it offered a desirable way to
market the raw materials the new world had to offer. After an economic foothold
had been established, however, the colonists began to resent the restrictions placed
upon them by mercantilism, namely the exclusivity granted to Britain, and the
higher prices set by the mother country. In addition to being an obvious way to
capitalize on the advantages offered by the extensive resources and market offered
by the new colonies, the British approach to the colonies was an obvious attempt to
mimic the Spanish success with their colonies in South America. The Spanish
extraction of surface metals (ex. Gold, silver) brought [temporary] prosperity to the
empire, and the British were hopeful of mimicking the success.
5. England viewed Massachusetts as a troublemaker because they believed that the
people of Massachusetts were governing themselves as if they were independent of
England. They were governing themselves in their own theocracy which was based
on a different church than the official Church of England. Also, later on the
government of Massachusetts refused to enforce the Navigation Acts. This caused
the King to repeal Massachusetts’ charter and make it a royally chartered colony.
The people of Massachusetts already did not have high opinions of England because
of the lack of religious freedom which is why they came to America to begin with.
They were angered even more when the king made them a royal colony and therefore
took more control over them and limited their ability to govern themselves.
7. The revolts in Virginia were caused by the underrepresentation of the people in
western Virginia who were dealing with Indian attacks. Due to a rising population,
Virginia expanded west into lands that were supposed to be Indian territory. This
caused there to be Indian raids on the colonists’ plantations. The Virginia
government was not doing enough to respond to the problem because the people in
the west were underrepresented in the government. The westerners attacked the
Indians on their own and this was taken by the government to be an act of rebellion.
These revolts were caused by an unequal balance in the social structure and
government. In Maryland there were results over religion. Maryland started as a
Catholic colony but had to encourage Protestants to come over later on. This caused
there to be a majority of Protestants and the minority was Catholic but the Catholics
controlled the government. This caused unrest in the colony with fights between the
Catholics and Protestants which resulted in the Protestants overthrowing the
Catholic government. This revolt was caused by religious disputes and the minority
governing the majority which is similar to the government matters in Virginia. In
Massachusetts there were revolts related to Indian conflicts. The settlers were
moving into Indian territories, over hunted the native animals and allowed their
livestock to roam the Indian land and destroy their crops. As they expanded further
into Indian territory, they met more hostile resistance. This caused violent conflicts
between the settlers and Indians including the Pequot War. These uprisings were
caused by Indian conflicts like those in Virginia, however were not related to
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problems with the government. In New York, the revolt was caused because the
government only supported the wealthy colonists (English and Dutch large land
owners and fur traders) and did not listen to the grievances of the other citizens.
This caused unrest leading to a revolt overthrowing the government. This was
similar to the political causes of the problems in Virginia and Maryland.
8. Tension between the English colonists and the Native Americans were principally
based upon the colonists’ continued drive inland and into the heartland of the
Indians. Time after time, the natives were forced to agree to contracts limiting their
movement and stripping them of their territorial land. Not only was this an unjust
arrangement on the colonist’s part (as was killing off most of their population
through exposure to disease), but it also disrupted the traditional Native American
society, by moving the society away from their food sources and forcing them to
learn the new land in order to simply survive. While the problems could have been
lessened by a more existent form of diplomacy, the problems would have existed
nonetheless, as the colonists were forcefully taking land from the Amerindians.
Instances such as Bacon’s rebellion proved to be valuable evidence for the colonists
that the natives were dangerous and needed to be driven back and conquered. The
rebellion, caused by aggression by the Indians, is a Catch-22 for the natives,
however. Although the spark was provided by aggression by the Indians, no
aggression would have allowed for the colonists to continue to pave their way inland
in disregard to the Native Americans.
9. One colony which was founded on a utopian ideal was the Plymouth colony which
was founded by the Puritan separatists to be an example for the world of the perfect
society achieved by the Puritans. This colony was successful in their goal of a colony
of well mannered religious people but as a colony they were never that successful
and were for the most part a very poor community. The Massachusetts Bay colony
was another colony created to be a utopia for Puritans. Their goal was to create a
haven for Puritans. They were a successful colony economically, however they
eventually lost their values of being a Puritan utopia. In Maryland, the colony was
founded partially to be a place for Catholics who were discriminated against in
England. This utopia ida was unsuccessful because the colony had to get Protestants
to move there to keep the colony alive. The Protestants overthrew the Catholics
defeating the dream of a utopia for Catholics in Maryland. Another utopia idea was
the Quakers in Pennsylvania, who had similar motives wit all the other religious
groups only with their religious. This colony was successful.
10. As the Spanish empire had only a small established presence in the Southwest and -
east, concentrating more on Mexico and the southern regions, other empires such as
France and Britain began to probe the region. France was one of the first countries
to capitalize on Spain’s inactivity throughout much of the region, through their
growing empirical ambitions. In 1682, French explorers navigated and claimed the
Mississippi River valley on behalf of King Louis XIV. Later, James Oglethorpe was
granted a charter by King George in 1732 to explore and colonize the land between
the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers: what later became Georgia. Georgia was seen as
a protective barrier against foreign attack by the rest of the colonies. Additionally,
England also colonized various islands in the Caribbean in conflict with the heavy
Spanish presence in the region.