CHAPTER 2



Chapter 2

Transplantations and borderlands

Chapter Summary

During the seventeenth century two colonial systems existed in North America and in the Caribbean. Island and Southwest borderland provinces governed by Spain continued to flourish and provide an interesting counterpoint to colonies established by the British. Before 1660, most British provinces began as private ventures (with charters from the king), but the motives that brought them into being were as varied as the sociopolitical systems they developed. After 1660, proprietary colonies became the norm, and charters indicated a closer tie between the “owners” of the colony and the king, who granted them. As a result of this colonization effort, by the 1680s England had an unbroken string of provinces stretching from Canada to the Savannah River and holdings in the West Indies. As the colonies matured, their inhabitants began to exhibit a concern for control of local affairs and an independence of interests that eventually came to trouble the British Empire. It was a time when colonists began to sense that they were both English and American, a dual personality that was to lead to trouble and confusion on both sides of the Atlantic. The problem was that at the time, the American colonists were developing attitudes and institutions distinctly, England, fully aware of the potential of its colonies, began to tighten its control of its possessions.

Objectives

A thorough study of Chapter 2 should enable the student to understand

1. The differences between the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies in terms of objectives, types of settlers, early problems, and reasons for success.

2. How the lives of the colonists and Indians were shaped and transformed through biological and cultural exchange.

3. How the lives of colonists were shaped by contact with Native Americans and how the Indians’ world was also transformed.

4. The causes and significance of Bacon’s Rebellion.

5. The background of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and its founders, the Puritans.

6. The conditions in Puritan Massachusetts Bay that spawned such dissenters as Robert Williams and Anne Hutchinson.

7. The expansion of the original settlements and the influence of the New World frontier on the colonists.

8. The significance of the Caribbean colonies in the British-American colonial system.

9. How the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and in North America continued to flourish and the impact this had on the British-American colonial system.

10. The efforts made by the Dutch to establish a colony, and the reasons for their failure.

11. The reasons for the founding of each of the original thirteen colonies.

12. The early economic, religious, and political factors in the colonies that tended to produce sectional differences.

13. The effect of the Glorious Revolution on the development of the American colonies.

Main Themes

1. The origins and objectives of England’s first settlements in the New World.

2. How and why English colonies – mainland and Caribbean—differed from one another in purpose and administration.

3. The problems that arose as colonies matured and expanded, and how colonists attempted to solve them.

4. How the Spanish colonial system functioned and thrived, and its impact on the British colonies.

5. The impact that events in England had on the development of colonies in British America.

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? (A comparison of Document numbers 1 and 2 in the Study Guide will provide a contemporary account of the changes that took place.)

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? (Document number 3 in the Study Guide will help guide the discussion of the evolution of Massachusetts Bay.)

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.

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. How did nineteenth-century historians portray Native Americans in their chronicles of the New World and in what ways do the interpretations of modern-day historians differ?

10. 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.

11. What European nations competed for control of the Southwest and Southeast borderlands? Explain how this competition shaped settlement in these regions.

Interpretive Questions Based on Maps and Text

1. Note the pattern of settlement in the Chesapeake region and in New England. What geographic features contributed to the placement of these settlements? Why did these geographic features make a difference to early settlers?

2. Become familiar with the terms coastal plain, fall line, and piedmont. Looking at the topographical map of the United States in the Appendix of the text, determine which of the settlements were in the coastal plain, which were in the piedmont, and which were along the fall line. How did the location of these settlements influence their economic growth? How did this shape the sort of societies that developed there?

3. Note the dates these settlements were established. What conclusions about the evolution of the settlements can you draw from these dates (consider political events as well as geographic conditions)?

4. Many of the settlements on the Chesapeake map are forts. What geographic features helped determine where forts were placed? To answer this, the student might need to consult the physical map in the Appendix.

5. Examine the chart of The Non-Indian Population of the Chesapeake, 1607(1700 in the text. Compare the dates of settlements with the growth of the population. Where were most colonists settling? What does this indicate about the population density of the Chesapeake region?

6. Examine the chart of The White Population of New England, 1620(1700 in the text. Compare the dates of settlements with the growth of the population. Where were most colonists settling? What does this indicate about the population density of New England?

7. Note the location of Jamestown and St. Mary’s. Judging from the map, what geographic features helped determine their locations? How did these locations differ, and which seemed to be the best for settlement?

8. Note the location of Boston, Providence, Hartford, and New Haven. What geographic features helped determine their locations? How did these features help shape the local economy of these settlements?

9. Massachusetts Bay was, or at least attempted to be, the dominant force in New England. How did that colony’s land claims and expansion contribute to this? How did the location of new colonies check the influence of Massachusetts Bay?

10. Note that Virginia claimed land on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. Apart from additional territory, what advantage was this to Virginia? What disadvantage might this be to Maryland and even to Pennsylvania?

Library Exercises

The following exercises will require students to consult a historical atlas and other sources found in most college libraries. Using these library resources and the text, they should be able to answer the following:

1. During the period being studied, the Chesapeake region developed no major towns, while New England did. What geographic factors contributed to this? Where were the major trading centers of the Chesapeake? What factors, geographic and otherwise, caused them to develop?

2. One of the most striking features of the map of colonial Virginia in the text is the Fairfax Proprietary(a grant of some 5 million acres held by Lord Thomas Fairfax. Note the absence of settlements in this area. Research the origins of this grant and speculate on how a proprietary government might have discouraged settlement, or at least might have made settlement outside the proprietary grant more appealing.

3. After the Stuart Restoration, Charles II issued charters for four new colonies(all were proprietary. What impact did this have on the settlement pattern of British North America? Note where these colonies were located and explain how their settlement made for a more unified colonial system and one that might be more responsible to the king.

Essay Questions

These essays are based on the map exercises. They are designed to test students’ knowledge of the geography of the area discussed in this chapter and to test their knowledge of its historical development. Careful reading of the text will help them answer these questions.

1. Notice the differences in the geographic features of New England and the Chesapeake region. Consider the different motives for settlement and the societies that settled in these regions. Now describe how geographic conditions in the New World, combined with cultural attitudes brought from the Old World, shaped the pattern of settlement in these English societies.

2. Discuss how military considerations influenced the planting of settlements and colonies in British North America.

3. Beginning with Virginia, describe the settling of British North America as if you were a historical geographer. Tell which colonies were settled when, and what geographic factors (if any) were significant in their settlement.

Internet Resources

For Internet quizzes, resources, references to additional books and films, and more, consult the text’s Online Learning Center at brinkley12.

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