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The Salem Witch Trials were a series of  prosecutions of people accused of being witches and practicing witchcraft in the colony of Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. Five others (including two infant children) died in prison. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake.

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In the colonies, there was a lot of self-government. This means the settlers would govern themselves and make their own laws. For example, in Virginia they had an elected assembly called the House of Burgesses. They would make and pass the laws.

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When the Pilgrims were sailing for America on the Mayflower, they signed an agreement called the Mayflower Compact. They Mayflower Compact described how they would govern themselves in America. They did this so they could have their own rules and no one could tell them how to govern.

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Reasons for Colonial Settlement in the English Colonies

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Reasons for Colonial Settlement in the English Colonies

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There were many reasons for colonial settlement in the English colonies. One reason is money. The settlement of Jamestown was created to start a moneymaking colony in Virginia. They wanted to find gold, and they became more focused on it than providing for themselves. The settlement of Plymouth was created because the settlers wanted religious freedom. The king of England ruled the Church of England, or Anglican Church. No one was allowed to have any other religion. The Pilgrims and the Puritans sailed to Plymouth so they could practice their religions freely.

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During the age of European Exploration, many Europeans sailed to the New World. One reason why they did this is so they could get more land for their own countries. They wanted more property and territories. Another reason for European Exploration is that they wanted new things, like silk and spices. Once they got them they could trade with other countries and make a lot of money. The last reason is because of their religion. They wanted to convert Natives to Christianity because their religion was so important to them.

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The voyages of Columbus caused a big transfer of people, plants, animals, and diseases back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. This transfer was called the Columbian Exchange. This exchange brought new crops like corn, potatoes, and squash to Europe. Europeans crossed the Atlantic and settled in the Americas. They introduced their crops, like wheat and rice to the people there, along with domesticated animals. However, the exchange wasn't so good for the American Indians. The Europeans who came to America brought germs with them that caused diseases like smallpox to be deadly to the Indians. In some areas, European diseases wiped out about 90 percent of the native population. It also brought slavery to Europe. A video for this is The Columbian Exchange: Crash Course World History #23. (The link doesn't work.)

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Beringia was a land bridge caused by the Ice Age that was used by the first Americans to migrate from Asia to North America. Hunters were following the mammoths for food when they reached North America by crossing Beringia. When the Earth got warmer, the glaciers melted and Beringia disappeared. This link will take you to a video about Beringia:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-was-beringia-theory-definition-quiz.html