Terms
Bacon’s Rebellion
This was a basic rebellion, led by Nathaniel Bacon. In a rage for better conditions, angered colonists burnt down Jamestown, Virginia.
The Mayflower Compact
This was a simple deal made between the colonists and England. Its basic purpose was to prevent and eventually eliminate anarchy.
The Trade and Navigation Acts
The first acts, implemented in 1651, restricted trade by the American colonists to only with Britain. The second set kept American colonists from exporting tobacco, rice, furs, indigo, and naval stored to countries other than Britain. The third set provided that Americans who made silk, iron, dyes, hemp, and lumber would be rewarded. The fourth and final set had no effect on the colonists; they stated that Americans could not mass produce. Overall, these acts actually helped the colonies. They diversified the economy and provided for a larger fleet.
The Half-Way Covenant
This was a clause that stated that the children of those who had been baptized were allowed to be baptized also.
The Maryland Act of Toleration
This act stated that most members of other religions (not Protestant) would not be persecuted. Of course, there were still many hate crimes against other religions for a long time in the state of Maryland. This act had virtually no effect.
The Great Awakening
Characterized by great speeches by preachers such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, William Tennant, and Theodore Freylinghuysen. The followers of the Great Awakening believed that predestination, a Protestant belief, was false. This religious revival can be considered a major shift in religious beliefs.
"Salutary Neglect"
This was the policy of loose control over the colonies by England.
The Triangular Trade; the Middle Passage
This was a very profitable trade route between Africa, the colonies, and the West Indies. Items characteristic of the areas, for example, slaves, manufactured goods, and rum, respectively, were traded between the three areas. Henry Hudson found the Middle Passage, which was the middle leg between Africa and the Western Hemisphere.
Pilgrims and Puritans
Both of these groups had very strong work ethics and very moral communities. The main difference between the two was that the Pilgrims were Separatists; they wanted to abandon the Anglican Church. On the other hand, the Puritans were strong Protestants and were non-Separatists.
Mercantilism
This was the policy of exporting more than importing. This would help an economy greatly; spending less on imports and gaining more on exports would yield a higher profit.
The Dominion of New England; Edmund Andros
The Dominion was a military republic which was very unsuccessful. Andros was a brutal leader who suppressed the legislature, gave towns only one meeting annually, and jailed prominent citizens to stop protesting. The Dominion was very unsuccessful.
The Quakers; William Penn
The Quakers were a persecuted group of English people who founded Pennsylvania as a safe haven for people of their kind. Penn was the leader of the Quakers and helped the most to form Pennsylvania.
Primogeniture
This was the policy of granting the first son of a landowner the entire property of his father after his death.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials
This was a wild hysteria about witched in Salem, Massachusetts. Many people were accused of witchcraft and hanged during this time for silly crimes and for silly reasons.
The Headright System
This was a deal granting 50 acres of land to any white male over the age of 18.
Slave Codes
These were the laws that made slavery legal.
The Albany Congress; the Albany Plan of Union; Ben Franklin
This was a deal with the Iroquois Indians, and the Albany Plan of Union was proposed by Ben Franklin. This was a proposal that the American colonists and the Indians unite their governments under one government for protection. Both were proposed by Benjamin Franklin.
The Treaty of Paris of 1763
This treaty, in short, ended the French and Indian War.
William Bradford
He was the governor of the Plymouth colony.
John Winthrop
He was the governor of Massachusetts Bay.
Roger Williams
He established Rhode Island as a community united against the working of the church and government closely together. He believed that the Church and the government should work separately.
Anne Hutchinson
She was against the beliefs of Puritans, and was eventually hanged for her radical beliefs.
James Oglethorpe
He was the governor of Georgia, which became a haven for debtors under his leadership.
John Peter Zenger
He was the man who helped establish the right of freedom of press.
John Smith
He was the leader of the colony of Jamestown in Virginia.
Richard Hakluyt
He wrote a pamphlet to the Queen of England entitled "Discourse Concerning Western Planting." It explained that England should colonize for many economic reasons.
William Pitt
He was a general for the Americans during the French and Indian War. He helped lead the Americans to victory.
George Washington
He was another general for the Americans during the French and Indian War. He later became the first president of the United States of America.
Other important facts:
Reasons for colonizing included power, raw materials, overpopulation, criminals, unemployed, spread culture, trade markets, religious freedom, gold, land, new trading opportunities, ethnic prejudice, escape poverty
The Treaty of Paris gave England most of eastern Canada, gave Spain the western half of what would later become the United States, and Spain lost Florida.