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Jamestown, Virginia, established the first permanent English colony

Causes and effects: The reason Jamestown was founded is because settlers wanted to gain more wealth and profit from gold mining as well as wanting to experience religious freedom and to evade from the taxes being imposed to them in England.

During what was known as "The Starving Time," (where there was famine, disease, contaminated water, etc.) colonists resorted to cannibalism as a way to survive through the harsh winters. During the first 2 years 100 colonists had died.

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Jamestown Colony - Facts, Founding, Pocahontas

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The Jamestown Colony was the first permanent English settlement in North America. It was founded on the banks of Virginia’s James River in 1607.

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Founding of Quebec (based on the primary source journals of some of our biggest historical figures)

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The Start of New France - Champlain Chooses Quebec - Canada A People's History

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Samuel de Champlain found Quebec
- he was the key to French expansion in the New World
- he mapped out the St. Lawrence River
- known as the "Father of New France"

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Samuel de Champlain

Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635), most likely styled after a portrait by Moncornet, 19th century.
Source: A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Vol. 6, Chapter 53, p. 190. {{PD-Art}

Introduction Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer famous for his journeys in modern day Canada. During his travels, he mapped the Atlantic coast of Canada, parts of the St. Lawrence River, and parts of the Great Lakes. He is best known for establishing the first French settlement in the Canadian territory, and founding the city of Quebec. Because of this, Champlain became known as the "Father of New France."
¹

Biography Samuel de Champlain was born in the French village Brouage in the Province of Saintonge. Historians do not know his exact date of birth, but most agree it was between 1567 and 1570.
Early Life
² His father was Antoine Champlain and his mother was Marguerite Le Roy. Brouage was a seaport town where Antoine Champlain was a sea captain in the merchant marine. ³ Samuel de Champlain probably would have had a modest education where he learned to read and write. But his real skill was navigation. He went to sea at a young age, and learned to navigate, draw, and make nautical charts. During this time period, the French were at war against the Spanish. In 1593, Champlain served in the army of Henry of Navarre - also known as King Henry IV of France. He served in the army for 5 years, until King Henry's and France's victory in 1598. When the war ended, Champlain joined his uncle, Captain Provençal, on a mission from the King to return any captured Spanish soldiers to Spain.

Champlain and Provençal, along with their crew and captured Spanish soldiers, left France aboard the St. Julien September 9, 1598. They delivered the soldiers to Spain, but did not return back to France. Instead, the Spanish government hired Provençal and Champlain for a trip to its colonies in the West Indies (the Caribbean region). They accepted, and between 1599 and 1601, Champlain made three voyages for Spain to her American colonies. During these years, he visited several places, including the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Panama. Along the way he recorded much of his journey. In 1601, he wrote a detailed report to King Henry about his trip, which included maps, and drawings of plants and animals. He even mentioned the idea of a canal that should cut through Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. ⁴ 300 years later, this would be seen in the creation of the Panama canal. The King was impressed with Champlain's descriptions. King Henry IV wanted to the French to begin settling in the New World in hopes that wealth could be brought back to France. So he sent an expedition to locate a place in the New World to establish a French colony and fur trade settlement. Samuel de Champlain would be among the men who would take part in this venture.

Voyages Samuel de Champlain would take his second New World voyage under the expedition of François Gravé Du Pont. The fleet set sail from France on March 15, 1603. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in North America. They continued past Newfoundland, entered the St. Lawrence River. They anchored in the harbor of Tadoussac near the mouth of the Saguenay River on May 26, 1603.
Principal Voyage
⁵ While here, the French interacted with some of the natives, and Champlain recorded the customs and interactions of these people. The expedition soon continued up the St. Lawrence River, and made it as far as present day Montréal. The native guides that had helped the Frenchmen spoke of a great sea to the west. Champlain hoped this sea to be the Pacific Ocean and the Northwest Passage to Asia. However, due to the strong rapids, the French were unable to explore much further. It would later be known that the "sea" the natives referred to were the Great Lakes. ⁶ Champlain continued to explore and interactive with the different native tribes, which included the Algonquin, Montagnais, and Hurons. The expedition ended when they returned to France in September 1603.

In France, Champlain reported the details of his trip to the King. By 1604, Champlain was once more heading to the New World. This time the expedition was led by Pierre du Gua de Monts. De Monts had been granted monopoly - exclusive possession - of the fur trade. They would spend the next three years exploring and mapping parts of North America. The expedition set sail on three ships, including La Bonne Renommée and Don de Dieu which Champlain sailed on. The goal was to once again try to find a good place for a French settlement. They landed on the coast of Nova Scotia, sailed around to the Bay of Fundy. ⁷ The expedition focused much its efforts on areas south of the St. Lawrence River. After a few months, they settled for winter at Saint Croix Island in the St. Croix River. After enduring a harsh winter, they began exploring the eastern coastline as far down as Cape Cod. In 1605, they established their first successful settlement - Port Royal (now known as Annapolis Royal) in Nova Scotia. In 1606, this site would become the capital of the area known as Acadia. Du Gua had to return to France in September 1605. His company was having financial hardship. Champlain and the expedition continued exploring these areas for the next few years. In July 1607, du Gua's fur trade monopoly ended. Port Royal was forced to end, and Champlain and the settlers returned to France. ⁸

Subsequent Voyages In 1608, Champlain was chosen as du Gua's lieutenant on another expedition across the Atlantic. Champlain left France on April 13, 1608 and headed for the St. Lawrence river. Once again, the goal was to start a new French colony. Champlain found an area on the shores of the St. Lawrence river and began constructing a fort and other buildings. In July 1608, Samuel de Champlain and his men created the first successful French colony in New France. The site of the colony was at a place the native Indians called kebec which means " the narrowing of the waters."
⁹ Champlain and the French spelled it Quebec. During the very harsh winter here, several of the men died of scurvy. In the summer of 1609, Champlain planned to head west further inland to explore and map the land. Before he could go, the Algonquins and Huron natives asked Champlain to help them attack the powerful Iroquois tribe. He joined them, and on July 29, they all defeated the Iroquois army. This expedition also enabled Champlain to explore the Richelieu River and to become the first European to map Lake Champlain. This battle would lead to several years of hostility between the French and Iroquois natives. With the death of King Henry, however, Champlain returned to France to discuss his political future.

Champlain returned to France and reported the success of creating the settlement of Quebec. It was decided that it would be the center for the French fur trade. Champlain returned to New France and Quebec many times over the next several years where he went on to explore and map much of the land. In 1610, he fought against the Iroquois once again. In spring 1611, he sailed up the St. Lawrence river and made it as far as present day Montreal. When he returned to France, the King chose Champlain to be his lieutenant in New France. ¹⁰ He was back in Quebec by March 1613. This time he went as far as the Ottawa River and explored areas connected to the Great Lakes. In 1615, he traveled up the Ottawa River to Lake Nipissing and the French River. He saw the Great Lakes for the first time when he arrived at Georgian Bay on the east side of Lake Huron. ¹¹ When he returned to France, Champlain's position as lieutenant in New France was taken away. This discovery would be his last great voyage of exploration. He would spend the next years of his life trying to re-establish and maintain his authority in New France.

Later Years and Death
Samuel de Champlain returned to France in July 1616 where he learned his title of lieutenant had been taken away. He suggested to the French King that they begin growing the colony of Quebec. The King agreed, and Champlain returned to New France again in 1620. He spent the rest of his life focusing on governing and growing the territory rather than exploration. In 1628, Champlain became the deputy of the "Company One Hundred Associates" organized by Cardinal Richelieu to colonize New France. The company was given all the lands between Florida and the Arctic Circle, with a monopoly of trade with the exception of cod and whale fisheries. The Quebec colony had continued problems from the natives. In 1629 Champlain was forced to surrender Quebec to the English until 1632 when the colony was returned to France. In 1633, Champlain returned to Quebec where he continued to serve as governor. As he grew older, he became ill in late 1635. Champlain died in Quebec on Christmas Day - December 25, 1635.

Samuel de Champlain is remembered as one of the greatest pioneers of French expansion in the 17th century. He formed several settlements, including Acadia and Quebec City. He also mapped and explored much of the region. His travels enabled France to gain control on the North American continent and form the country of Canada. Champlain wrote down and left behind his writings related to his voyages. His accounts described many areas he explored, indigenous peoples, local plants and animals, and numerous maps. Champlain is honored throughout Canada. Many places bear his name, including Lake Champlain. But his legacy is best seen in the city of Quebec. By the time of Champlain's death, there were almost 300 French pioneers living in New France.
¹² Now, they have a population of over 7 million people. ¹³ Quebec City continues to be a thriving area and is the capital of the Quebec Province in Canada still today.

1. Adrianna Morganelli, Samuel de Champlain: From New France to Cape Cod (New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2006), 4.

2. Josepha Sherman, Samuel de Champlain, Explorer of the Great Lakes Region and Founder of Quebec (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003), 7.

3. Sherman, Samuel de Champlain, 7.

4. Harold Faber, Samuel de Champlain, Explorer of Canada (New York: Benchmark Books, 2005), 10.

5. Daniel B. Baker, ed., Explorers and Discoverers of the World (Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1993), 131.

6. Morganelli, Samuel de Champlain, 10.

7. Baker, Explorers and Discoverers of the World, 131.

8. Raymonde Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America (Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004), 146.

9. Richard E. Bohlander, ed., World Explorers and Discoverers (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1992), 106.

10. Baker, Explorers and Discoverers of the World, 132.

11. Bohlander, World Explorers and Discoverers, 108.

12. Francois Remillard and Ulysses Travel Guides, Quebec (Montreal: Hunter Publishing, Inc., 2003), 13.

13. Remillard and Ulysses Travel Guides, Quebec, 25.

Bibliography

Baker, Daniel B., ed. Explorers and Discoverers of the World. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1993.

Bohlander, Richard E., ed. World Explorers and Discoverers. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1992.

Faber, Harold. Samuel de Champlain, Explorer of Canada. New York: Benchmark Books, 2005.

Litalien, Raymonde, and Denis Vaugeois, eds. Champlain: The Birth of French America. Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004.

Morganelli, Adrianna. Samuel de Champlain: From New France to Cape Cod. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2006

Remillard, Francois, and Ulysses Travel Guides. Quebec. Montreal: Hunter Publishing, Inc., 2003.

Sherman, Josepha. Samuel de Champlain, Explorer of the Great Lakes Region and Founder of Quebec. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003.

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Samuel de Champlain discovered and charted the Ottawa River, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, and founded Quebec; the first French colony in Canada

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In September of 1609, Henry Hudson explored the Hudson River along with the Delaware Bay in order to the help the Dutch
- The Hudson River also became a strategic waterway during the American Revolution and was the scene for later battles.

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Henry Hudson made his first voyage west from England in 1607, when he was hired to find a shorter route to Asia from Europe through the Arctic Ocean. After twice being turned back by ice, Hudson embarked on a third voyage in 1609. This time, he chose a southern route, drawn by reports of a channel across the North American continent to the Pacific. After navigating the Atlantic coast, Hudson's ships sailed up a great river (today's Hudson River) but turned back when they determined it was not the channel they sought. On a fourth and final voyage in 1610-11, Hudson spent months in the vast Hudson Bay before he fell victim to a mutiny by his crew. Hudson's discoveries laid the groundwork for Dutch colonization of the Hudson River Valley, as well as English land claims in Canada.

Birth and Early Life

Though little is known about Hudson's early life, most historians agree that he was born around 1565 in England, and later lived in London. It's known that he received a better education than many, because he could read, write, and do mathematics. He also studied navigation and earned widespread renown for his skills, as well as his knowledge of Arctic geography.

Hudson married a woman named Katherine, and together they had three sons: Oliver, John and Richard. John would later accompany his father on his expeditions.

In 1607, the Muscovy Company of London provided Hudson financial backing based on his claims that he could find an ice-free passage past the North Pole that would provide a shorter route to the rich markets and resources of Asia. Hudson sailed that spring with his son John and 10 companions. They traveled east along the edge of the polar ice pack until they reached the Svalbard archipelago, well north of the Arctic Circle, before hitting ice and being forced to turn back.

Did you know? Knowledge gained during Henry Hudson's four voyages significantly expanded on that from previous explorations made in the 16th century by Giovanni da Verrazano of Italy, John Davis of England and Willem Barents of Holland.

The following year, Hudson made a second Muscovy-funded voyage between Svalbard and the islands of Novaya Zemlya, to the east of the Barents Sea, but again found his way blocked by ice fields. Though English companies were reluctant to back him after two failed voyages, Hudson was able to gain a commission from the Dutch East India Company to lead a third expedition in 1609.

The Half Moon

While in Amsterdam gathering supplies, Hudson heard reports of two possible channels running across North America to the Pacific. One was located around latitude 62° N (based on English explorer Captain George Weymouth's 1602 voyage); the second, around latitude 40° N, had been recently reported by Captain John Smith.

Hudson departed from Holland on the ship Halve Maen ( Half Moon) in April 1609, but when adverse conditions again blocked his route northeast, he ignored his agreement with his employers to return directly and decided to sail to the New World in search of the so-called "northwest passage."

After landing in Newfoundland, Canada, Hudson's expedition traveled south along the Atlantic coast and put into the great river discovered by Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524. They traveled up the river about 150 miles, to what is now Albany, before deciding that it would not lead all the way to the Pacific and turning back. From that time on, the river would be known as the Hudson River.

On the return voyage, Hudson docked at Dartmouth, England, where English authorities acted to prevent him and his other English crew members from making voyages on behalf of other nations. The ship's log and records were sent to Holland, where news of Hudson's discoveries spread quickly.

Hudson's Final Voyage

The British East India Company and the Muscovy Company, along with private sponsors, jointly funded Hudson's fourth voyage, on which he sought the possible Pacific-bound channel identified by Weymouth. Hudson sailed from London in April 1610 in the 55-ton ship Discovery, stopped briefly in Iceland, then continued west.

After traversing the coast again, he passed through the inlet Weymouth had described as a potential entry point to a northwest passage. (Now called Hudson Strait, it runs between Baffin Island and northern Quebec.) When the coastline suddenly opened up towards the south, Hudson believed he might have found the Pacific, but he soon realized he had sailed into a gigantic bay, now known as Hudson Bay.

Hudson continued sailing southward along the bay's eastern coast until he reached its southernmost extremity at James Bay, between northern Ontario and Quebec. While enduring harsh winter conditions with no outlet to the Pacific in sight, some crew members grew restless and hostile, suspecting Hudson of hoarding rations to give to his favorites.

Last Days of Henry Hudson

In June 1611, as the expedition began heading back to England, sailors Henry Green and Robert Juet (who had been demoted as mate) led a mutiny. Seizing Hudson and his son, they cast them adrift on Hudson Bay with a few supplies in a small open lifeboat, along with seven other men who were suffering from scurvy.

Hudson, his 17-year-old son John, and his men were never heard from again. After further troubles on their return trip to England, by the time Discovery encountered a fleet of fishermen off the coast of Ireland in September 1611, the original crew of 23 was down to just eight survivors. They were arrested for mutiny, but never punished.

Sources

Henry Hudson. The Mariner's Museum and Park.
Henry Hudson. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Henry Hudson. PBS.
Strangers In A New Land. American Heritage.

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Henry Hudson: Definition & Discoveries - HISTORY

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Henry Hudson was an English navigator and explorer who made four trips to North America, encountering the Hudson River, Hudson Bay and other important landmarks.

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John Rolfe started farming and harvesting tobacco in 1614, which quickly became a popular cash crop in Jamestown. It helped with the colonies success.
- John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers to arrive in Jamestown
- trade between English and Spain was effected by the production of tobacco
- John Rolfe grew this crop in order to undercut the Spanish tobacco trade
- John Rolfe also met and married Pocahontas
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August 20th of 1619, the first Africans arrive at Jamestown with the House of Burgesses, which was known as the first democratically elected body in English North America.

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Mayflower Compact/Founding of Plymouth Colony (Massachusetts)

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THE FIRST THANKSGIVING (SOMETIME B/T SEP. and NOV. 1621)

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THE FIRST THANKSGIVING (SOMETIME B/T SEP. and NOV. 1621)

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The 53 pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving were the only colonists to survive the long journey on the Mayflower and the first winter in the New World.

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Almost four hundred years ago my great, great+ grandpa, William Bradford, sailed on the Mayflower into Cape Cod into what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. He later became the mayor of Plymouth Plantation and played a significant role in its history. Even though I have lived in this state for a few years, it is only within the past few months that I have visited the sites and tried to learn more about my grandfather and the history of the Pilgrims in the area. Given that it is Thanksgiving, I thought I would share some of what I am learning and a few pictures from my trips.

First, the Pilgrims did not land in Plymouth first. They had a late start and ended up way off course from their initial charter. They pulled into the Provincetown Harbor and signed the Mayflower Compact, only to find insufficient amounts of water and sandy ground which would not support farming. They spent several miserable weeks in Provincetown. My grandpa's first wife, Dorothy, "fell" overboard to her death. Most believe she committed suicide due to the hopeless conditions (though there are some rumors of murder). Only when they gave up on the area did they move on to Plymouth. One thing that is undeniable: they would have been toast without the Native Americans.

In Bradford's account called Of Plymouth Plantation, he wrote a section called the "First Thanksgiving." He said the following:

"They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took great store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And beside waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports."

We got the turkey and heaps of leftovers thing right, though I doubt I'll see any fish on the table today. When Bradford says they "set apart a day of thanksgiving" later in his history, it is clear this is not the feast we ritualize. On the contrary, this was celebrated in July, and was meant "to command solemn days of humiliation by fasting, etc., and also for thanksgiving as occasion shall be offered." We have drifted far from the fasting tradition, it seems. No complaints here.

I admire my grandfather's bravery and commitment to freedom and I am enjoying reading his history. There are many things I cannot respect given modern sensibilities and more education. I don't believe it "pleased God" to "smite" an unbeliever on the ship "with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner."

I am also saddened by how they treated the Native Americans given how much their survival depended on them. But this year I have found myself thinking about Bradford's legacy and all I have to be grateful for because he risked it all to create a better life with religious freedom. Today I am also remembering the Native Americans and their sacrifice to save the lives of the desolate Pilgrims, even when it was not reciprocated in later years to our collective shame. I hope we are aware enough to realize what we have while being brave enough to help others achieve the same. My personal goal is to channel more gratitude into more generosity this year.

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The First Thanksgiving with My Pilgrim Ancestor, William Bradford

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Almost four hundred years ago my great, great+ grandpa, William Bradford, sailed on the Mayflower into Cape Cod into what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. He later became the mayor of Plymouth Plantation and played a significant role in its history.

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The Mayflower Compact was what laid the foundation for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
- It was the first signed document
- It was an agreement to bind colonists together by law
- a religious document, in that it held that the people derived their right of self-government from God

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On the morning of November 11, 1620, when the Mayflowerdropped its anchor off the coast of Cape Cod, the group of English Separatists later known as the Pilgrims fell to their knees and blessed God for bringing them safely across the "vast and furious ocean" to a new life in the New World.

Before they could begin this new life, however, they had to solve some very practical problems. Their solution was to draft an agreement, later known as the Mayflower Compact, that became a first in consensual government and ensured everyone in the new colony would abide by the same laws.

The Mayflower Compact Was an Agreement to Bind Colonists Together

Back in England, the Separatists had signed a contract with the Virginia Company to establish a colony near the Hudson River, which at the time was part of Virginia. By its terms, the stockholders who financed the journey would share in the new colony's profits.

In order to increase the voyage's chance of success, the Pilgrims recruited a number of other people-ordinary merchants, craftsmen and workers, along with their families and indentured servants-to come along with them. These "strangers," as the Pilgrims called them, had their own reasons for joining the journey, and didn't share the goal of separating from the Church of England.

Universal History Archive/Getty Images

After bad weather during the Atlantic crossing pushed the Mayflowerhundreds of miles further north, to Cape Cod, the "strangers" didn't think they should be subject to the contract's provisions anymore. As William Bradford later wrote in his famous History of Plymouth Plantation, some of them made "discontented and mutinous speeches" claiming that since they were not in Virginia, "none had power to command them."

Before departing the ship, then, the Pilgrims decided to draw up an agreement to bind them and the "strangers" together, and ensure that everyone in the new colony would abide by the same laws. The result, a document drafted and signed aboard the ship by nearly all of the adult male passengers, would become known as the Mayflower Compact.

The Rules of the Mayflower Compact

While they intended to form a government for their new colony, the Pilgrims and others aboard the Mayflower were not declaring their independence: The Mayflower Compact (though the Pilgrims never called it that) began with a clear statement of loyalty to King James of England, along with a commitment to God and to Christianity.

In settling the first colony in the "Northern parts of Virginia," the document continued, the Pilgrims and the other Mayflower passengers would "covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politick." As part of this united body, they pledged to make and abide by the same "laws, ordinances, Acts, constitutions, and offices" in order to further "the general good of the Colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience."

In its form and content, the Mayflower Compact echoed that of earlier covenants that Separatist Christian groups had drawn up when they established their churches in England and Holland, to bind them to each other as well as to God.

The agreement also drew on the secular tradition of the social contract, the idea of covenants between men themselves, which went back to ancient times, but would later be made more famous by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

According to a list printed by Bradford's nephew, Nathaniel Morton, in his 1669 pamphlet New England's Memorial, 41 of the adult male passengers on the Mayflowersigned the agreement, including two of the indentured servants aboard. Soon after signing it, they elected John Carver as the first governor of the new colony, which they called Plymouth Plantation.

Impact and Lasting Influence of the Mayflower Compact

While 400 years earlier, the Magna Carta had established the idea of the rule of law, this had previously meant the king's law. In the Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrims and strangers were pledging their loyalty to laws they would make themselves. As historian Rebecca Fraser wrote in her book The Mayflower: The Families, the Voyage and the Founding of America: " Plymouth Colony was the first experiment in consensual government in Western history between individuals with one another, and not with a monarch."

Three Lions/Getty Images

The Mayflower Compact was clearly a religious document, in that it held that the people derived their right of self-government from God. But it did not mention a specific church, or method of worship, leaving it open for acceptance by both the Separatist Pilgrims, and the "strangers," many of whom remained loyal to the Church of England.

Finally, as the first written constitution in the New World, the Mayflower Compact laid the foundations for two other revolutionary documents: the Declaration of Independence, which stated that governments derive their powers "from the consent of the governed," and the Constitution.

In 1802, speaking at Plymouth, the future president John Quincy Adams underscored the lasting importance of the agreement signed aboard the Mayflower more than 180 years earlier, calling it "perhaps the only instance, in human history, of that positive, original social compact, which speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source of government."
READ MORE: Colonial America: New World Settlements

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How the Mayflower Compact Laid a Foundation for American Democracy

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On the morning of November 11, 1620, when the Mayflowerdropped its anchor off the coast of Cape Cod, the group of English Separatists later known as the Pilgrims fell to their knees and blessed God for bringing them safely across the "vast and furious ocean" to a new life in the New World.

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The Pilgrims needed something to occupy their kids time after the feast so they came up with a game called Hubbub. This was used as a way for them to trade with each other.

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NativeTech: Native American Indian Games & Toys ~ Bowl & Dice Game

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Elements of reciprocal exchange is
demonstrated in traditional gaming of Native Americans in southern
New England. Money in this dice game was gambled away, but was
probably won back again, in subsequent games. The dice game provoked
great celebration and shouthing… with cheering ‘hub hub hub’…
he…

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Struggle between the Powhatan Indian confederacy and early English settlers in the tidewater section of Virginia and southern Maryland.

The end of the last Powhatan war ended with the chief's death.

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Later we see that the Powhatan Wars in some way led to the Rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon.
- These wars led to the destruction of the Indian power

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Explore the timline of Anglo-Powhatan Wars.

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The founding of Massachusetts Bay, Boston, Maryland, New Haven colony, and Connecticut

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King Charles I was executed and there was an establishment of the Commonwealth in England

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In London, King Charles I is beheaded for treason on January 30, 1649.

Charles ascended to the English throne in 1625 following the death of his father, King James I. In the first year of his reign, Charles offended his Protestant subjects by marrying Henrietta Maria, a Catholic French princess. He later responded to political opposition to his rule by dissolving Parliament on several occasions and in 1629 decided to rule entirely without Parliament. In 1642, the bitter struggle between king and Parliament for supremacy led to the outbreak of the first English civil war.

The Parliamentarians were led by Oliver Cromwell, whose formidable Ironsides force won an important victory against the king's Royalist forces at Marston Moor in 1644 and at Naseby in 1645. As a leader of the New Model Army in the second English civil war, Cromwell helped repel the Royalist invasion of Scotland, and in 1646 Charles surrendered to a Scottish army. In 1648, Charles was forced to appear before a high court controlled by his enemies, where he was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Early in the next year, he was beheaded.

The monarchy was abolished, and Cromwell assumed control of the new English Commonwealth. In 1658, Cromwell died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard, who was forced to flee to France in the next year with the restoration of the monarchy and the crowning of Charles II, the son of Charles I. Oliver Cromwell was posthumously convicted of treason, and his body was disinterred from its tomb in Westminster Abbey and hanged from the gallows at Tyburn.

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In London, King Charles I is beheaded for treason on January 30, 1649. Charles ascended to the English throne in 1625 following the death of his father, King James I. In the first year of his reign, Charles offended his Protestant subjects by marrying Henrietta Maria, a Catholic French princess.

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here.

Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

Learn more about Google Earth.

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

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On October 27, 1656, Ann Austin and Mary Fisher (two Englishwomen) became the first Quakers to immigrate to the American colonies when the ship that was carrying them lands at Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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Are Quakers Amish? This week's Quaker video: "You're a Quaker? You mean, like, Amish?" It's something all Quakers have heard. Max Carter, professor of Quaker religion studies at Guilford College, tells us about the differences between Quakers and the Amish. Quakers in North America constitute approximately 32% of Quakers worldwide, according to the online Quaker Information Center.

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The reason for the end of the Great Plague of London was the Great Fire of London

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Great Plague of London | Bubonic, Mortality, Quarantine

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Great Plague of London, epidemic of plague that ravaged London, England, from 1665 to 1666. City records indicate that some 68,596 people died during the epidemic, though the actual number of deaths is suspected to have exceeded 100,000 out of a total population estimated at 460,000. The outbreak

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September 19th of 1676, Bacon writes the "Declaration of the People of Virginia.

POWER STRUGGLE BETEWEEN TWO VERY STRONG PERSONALATIES

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An economic depression, increasing conflicts with the natives, and discontent over the governor’s policies were but a few among several other likely causes.

Primary Source: “We accuse Sir William Berkeley as guilty of each and every one of the same, and as one who has traitorously attempted, violated, and injured his Majesty’s interest here by a loss of a great part of this his colony and many of his faithful loyal subjects by him betrayed and in a barbarous and shameful manner exposed to the incursions and murder of the heathen" An excerpt from Bacon's Declaration

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Because of the rebellion people did not want anyone to get together and rebel against anyone
- The way they did this was increasing slavery
- During Bacon's Rebellion, poor whites, indentured servants, etc. came together with one common goal of getting rid of Berkeley
- Because of this, in 1705 chattel slavery became legalized
- Chattel slavery is owning enslaved people and their families as property to be bought and sold for labor

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In the late 1600s and early 1700s in the American Colonies, the prospect of owning land lured settlers to the country. Three-quarters of the settlers by 1700 were young men, moving out of England due to enclosures on their village lands.

However, a combination of the rapidly growing population of landowners and an unpredictable tobacco economy sowed the seeds for conflict between poor farmers and the established wealthy elite-Bacon's Rebellion. What does "bacon" have to do with class conflict? Read on to find out all about this important rebellion.

Bacon's Rebellion definition and summary

Bacon's Rebellion was a violent political, social, and economic protest by poor tenant farmers of Virginia from 1675 to 1676 in response to growing tensions with the wealthy elite of the colony, lack of expansion into Indigenous lands, corruption in the government, increased taxes, and removal of voting rights.

It was called Bacon's rebellion after its leader Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon died in October 1576, which contributed to the defeat of the rebellion. It still had important impacts, however, which we will explore further. First, let's look at the causes and the course of the rebellion.

Bacon's Rebellion causes

In the late 1600s, long-standing social conflicts flared into political turmoil as the tobacco economy, on which the colonies depended, fluctuated. Falling tobacco prices signalled an imbalanced market. Though tobacco exports doubled between 1670 and 1700, outpacing European demand, this expansion coincided with the Navigation Acts, which restricted colonial trade to England.

These Acts removed other possible buyers of American tobacco who may have paid higher prices than the British. In addition, the Navigation Acts made the colonists' shipments of tobacco, sugar, and other essential goods through England subject to an import tax, which stifled market demand.

The growing class of poor tenant farmers and indentured servants

Even with low tobacco prices, Virginians still planted tobacco because no other cash crop grew well in the region. Many families adopted crop rotations over 20-year cycles to preserve soil fertility, which produced a better crop but not as much yield. Many earned just enough to scrape by.

Worse off were newly freed indentured servants, who could not earn enough to buy tools and seed or pay the fees required to claim their own fifty acres of land. Many former indentured servants had to sell their labor again, either signing back into the indenture contract or becoming wage farmers or tenant farmers on wealthier estates.

Indentured servants were those whose passage to the colonies from Europe was paid for by someone else in exchange for four to seven years of work.

Conflict with the wealthy elite of the colony

A consequence of low tobacco prices, struggling family farms, and the growing amount of poor farmers in need of work is that after 1670, an elite of planter-merchants came to dominate the Virginia and Maryland colonies.

Like their English counterparts back across the Atlantic, they prospered from owning large estates that they leased to the growing population of former servants. Many well-to-do planters also became commercial intermediaries and moneylenders. They set up retail stores and charged commissions for shipping tobacco produced by the smaller family-owned farms.

This elite class accumulated nearly half the land in Virginia by securing land grants from royal governors.

In Maryland, by 1720, one of these wealthy landowners was Charles Carroll. He owned 47,000 acres of land, farmed by hundreds of tenants, indentured servants, and enslaved people.

Government corruption and loss of voting rights

William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, gave large land grants to loyal council members. These councillors then exempted their land from taxation and established their friends as local judges and justices of the peace.

To win cooperation from the elected legislative government of Virginia - the House of Burgesses, Berkeley bought off legislators with land grants and high-paying appointments as sheriffs and tax collectors.

However, social unrest unraveled when the corrupt Burgesses changed the voting system to exclude landless freemen, who now constituted half of all white men in the colony. Property-owning men retained the right to vote, but they were upset by the falling tobacco prices, corruption, and burdensome taxes.

Lack of expansion into Indigenous lands

When the English landed in Virginia in 1607, 30,000 Indigenous people lived there; by 1675, their population had declined to 3,500. By comparison, the number of English had boomed to 38,000 along with close to 2,500 enslaved Africans.

Most Indigenous Peoples lived on treaty-granted territory along the frontier of English settlement. Now poor and landless former servants demanded that the natives be expelled or killed.

Opposition to western expansion came from wealthy river-valley planters, who wanted a ready supply of tenant farmers and wage laborers. Berkeley resisted the urge to expand west as he and other planter-merchants traded with the Indigenous people for good furs.

The course of Bacon's Rebellion

As these aggressive planter-merchants confronted a multitude of free, young, and landless laborers, armed political conflict erupted in Virginia in the 1670s. This violent struggle left a mixed legacy: a decrease in class conflict among whites and increasing racial divisions because of the massive importation of enslaved Africans.

Bacon's Rebellion: Fighting Erupts

Fighting broke out between English and the Indigenous Peoples of the area in late 1675. A vigilante group of Virginia men murdered thirty Indigenous people. A greater force of 1,000 militiamen surrounded a Susquehannock native village, ignoring Governor Berkeley's orders. This force killed five chiefs who came out to negotiate.

The Susquehannocks, who had recently migrated from the north, retaliated and killed 300 white settlers on outlying plantations. Berkeley proposed a defensive strategy to avoid all-out war: a series of frontier forts to deter the Indigenous Peoples. The settlers detested this plan as a scheme for the wealthy elite to grant themselves more land and raise taxes on the poorer farmers.

Bacon's Rebellion: Nathaniel Bacon

Nathaniel Bacon emerged as a leader of these rebellious poor tenant farmers. A young, well-connected migrant from England, Bacon held a position on the Governor's council, but residing on a frontier estate, he differed with Berkeley on Indigenous policy.

When the Governor refused Bacon a military commission to attack the nearby natives, he used his commanding personal presence to mobilize his neighbors and attack the peaceful Doeg people. Berkeley condemned the frontiersmen as rebels, expelled Bacon from the council, and arrested him.

Bacon's armed men forced the Governor to release him and hold new legislative elections. The newly elected House of Burgesses enacted far-reaching reforms that limited the power of the Governor and the council and restored voting rights to landless free white men.

Bacon's Rebellion: Too little, too late

These much-needed reforms came too late. Bacon remained angered and upset toward Berkeley, and poor farmers and indentured servants resented years of exploitation by the wealthy planters. Backed by 400 armed men, Bacon issued a "Manifesto and Declaration of the People" and demanded the extermination or removal of all Indigenous people in Virginia and an end to the rule of wealthy landowners.

Bacon led his army to plunder plantations of those allied with Berkeley and eventually burn Jamestown to the ground. When Bacon died unexpectedly in 1676 of dysentery, Berkeley took revenge. He dispersed the rebel army, seizing the estates of well-to-do rebels and hanging twenty-three men

The following are excerpts from Nathaniel Bacon's "Declaration of the People". Note the specific grievances he lists against Governor Berkeley and how he addresses himself and his constituents as Englishmen under the Crown of the King as a means of emphasizing the infringements against landless white men.
"For having, upon specious pretenses of public works, raised great"For having protected, favored, and emboldened the Indians against his Majesty's loyal subjects, never contriving, requiring, or appointing any due"For having, when the army of English was just upon the track of those Indians, who now in all places burn, spoil, murder and when we might with ease have destroyed them who then were in open hostility, for then having expressly countermanded and sent back our army by passing his word for the peaceable demeanor of the said Indians, who immediately prosecuted their evil intentions, committing horrid murders and robberies in all places, being protected by the said engagement and word past of him the said Sir William Berkeley..." or proper means of satisfaction for their many invasions, robberies, and murders committed upon us." unjust taxes upon the commonalty for the advancement of private favorites and other sinister ends, but no visible effects in any measure adequate; for not having, during this long time of his government, in any easure advanced this hopeful colony either by fortifications, towns, or trade."
"We accuse Sir William Berkeley as guilty of each and every one of the same, and as one who has traitorously attempted, violated, and injured his Majesty's interest here by a loss of a great part of this his colony and many of his faithful loyal subjects by him betrayed and in a barbarous and shameful manner exposed to the incursions and murder of the heathen." ¹

The Effects and Significance of Bacon's Rebellion

Bacon's Rebellion was a pivotal event in the history of the Virginia and Chesapeake colonies.

After the rebellion, planters who owned land retained their dominance by curbing corruption and appointing tenant farmers to public office. They appeased the wage and tenant farmers by cutting taxes and supporting expansion into Indigenous lands.

Social unrest in the Virginia Colony was due to the social and economic imbalance between the wealthy plantation owners and the former servants, tenant farmers, and wage laborers.

A key issue was that the poor members of society wanted to expand into Indigenous land. By the 1670s, these social tensions came to violent conflict as white settlers attacked Indigenous villages on the frontier - the conflict led to the death of 300 white settlers.

In response, Berkeley restricted any incursion into Indigenous territory but Nathaniel Bacon rallied his neighbors to attack the Doeg people.

Bacon was arrested but his militia attacked the properties of the wealthy landowners, demanding his release and new elections to the House of Burgesses.

Bacon was released, and new officials were elected - they lowered taxes, reestablished the right of landless white men to vote, and ended much of the political corruption.

These reforms were too late for many of the unruly farmers, who burnt Jamestown to the ground. The rebellion ended shortly after Bacon died in 1676.

Bacon's rebellion ended political corruption in the Virginia government by the appointment of tenant farmers to political positions, solidified the voting rights of landless white men, and decreased the use of indentured servants. However, this caused the high demand for enslaved African labor in the Chesapeake colonies.

Most importantly, planters sought to hinder any future rebellion by poor whites by drastically reducing the use of indentured servants. Instead, planters imported thousands of enslaved Africans.

In 1705, the Burgesses explicitly legalized chattel slavery - owning enslaved people and their families as property to be bought and sold for labor. Those fateful decisions committed generations of Americans and Africans to a social system based on racial exploitation.

Bacon's Rebellion - Key takeaways

1. Bacon's Rebellion: The Declaration (1676). (n.d.). History Matters. Retrieved February 8, 2022, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5800

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In the late 1600s and early 1700s in the American Colonies, the prospect of owning land lured settlers to the country. Three-quarters of the settlers by 1700 were young men, moving out of England due to enclosures on their village lands.

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Thomas Jefferson - "the greatest lawgiver the world has produced"

- William Penn founded Pennsylvania
- He first called it Sylvania because when he came upon it, it was just a bunch of trees in a forest
- He then named Pennsylvania after his father
- Penn wanted to come to the New World for more religious freedom for the Quakers
- He wrote a letter to his friend in America that stated, "there may be room there, though not here."
- He also named Philadelphia as the city of brotherly love

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This is when the new government that came to fruition under the Powhatan tribe made the decision to form a surprise attack on 31 colonies. The colonies were forewarned by a young Indian boy and they attacked the tribe and their villages under the the disguise of a peace treaty.