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| | ===Virginia=== | | ===Virginia=== |
| − | Some Englishmen invested money in what was called a "[[joint stock company]]," which was similar to a modern-day corporation, for the purpose of finding gold or other treasures. One of those joint stock companies was the "[[Virginia Company]]," which established the first permanent settlement for England in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. It was a disaster and the investors never received a profit. The men who settled in Jamestown were "English gentlemen" unaccustomed to working with their hands, and who expected to get rich with little effort. They lacked a common purpose and wasted their time searching for treasure, or simply doing nothing at all. Unwilling to work to grow their own food, they almost starved to death. | + | Some Englishmen invested money in what was called a "[[joint stock company]]," which was similar to a modern-day corporation, for the purpose of finding gold or other treasures. One of those joint stock companies was the London Company (also called the "[[Virginia Company]]" or the "Virginia Company of London") which established the first permanent settlement for England in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. It was a disaster and the investors never received a profit. The men who settled in Jamestown were "English gentlemen" unaccustomed to working with their hands, and who expected to get rich with little effort. They lacked a common purpose and wasted their time searching for treasure, or simply doing nothing at all. Unwilling to work to grow their own food, they almost starved to death. |
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| | '''1607''' is a date worth memorizing. This was after the Spanish had settled in Florida, but before the French had settled in Quebec. So remember the sequence in settling America: Spanish, English, and then French. | | '''1607''' is a date worth memorizing. This was after the Spanish had settled in Florida, but before the French had settled in Quebec. So remember the sequence in settling America: Spanish, English, and then French. |
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| | In 1624 King James (of the "King James Bible" fame) took back ownership and control of the Virginia colony and established it as a royal charter. The Virginia colony was mess, and had become a problem as a colony that enslaved workers and grew tobacco. More trouble was in its future. In 1676, Nathanial Bacon was a Virginia settler who decided to take the law into his own hands. He first massacred Indians in western Virginia, then took his small army of rebels to Jamestown, where he burned it down because the governor had refused to allow him to kill the Indians. Bacon himself soon died from a disease. This is known as [[Bacon's Rebellion]] and it resulted in less use of indentured servants and greater reliance on slaves, who could not rebel as easily. Once he was sure Bacon was really dead, the governor returned and hanged to death two dozen of his supporters. | | In 1624 King James (of the "King James Bible" fame) took back ownership and control of the Virginia colony and established it as a royal charter. The Virginia colony was mess, and had become a problem as a colony that enslaved workers and grew tobacco. More trouble was in its future. In 1676, Nathanial Bacon was a Virginia settler who decided to take the law into his own hands. He first massacred Indians in western Virginia, then took his small army of rebels to Jamestown, where he burned it down because the governor had refused to allow him to kill the Indians. Bacon himself soon died from a disease. This is known as [[Bacon's Rebellion]] and it resulted in less use of indentured servants and greater reliance on slaves, who could not rebel as easily. Once he was sure Bacon was really dead, the governor returned and hanged to death two dozen of his supporters. |
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| − | The Virginia colony, despite all its troubles, later produced four of our first five presidents. Why? Because it was big and prosperous. | + | The Virginia colony, despite all its troubles, later produced four of our first five presidents. Why? Because it was big and prosperous. |
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| | ===Massachusetts=== | | ===Massachusetts=== |
| | Let's turn to the Massachusetts settlements next. Massachusetts had a much harsher climate than Virginia, particularly in the wintertime. Its settlers were motivated by religion, not money. They were unhappy with the oppression by the Church of England, feeling it was too much like the Catholic Church. Two different groups of these people set out for North America. The first group, the Separatists (better known as Pilgrims), wanted to separate completely from the Church of England and establish a religiously pure community. They came to America by way of Holland, to where they first fled from England. The second group consisted of more mainstream Puritans who wanted to purify the church from within, without leaving it. Both groups were types of Puritans, and both groups landed by chance within 100 miles of each other in Massachusetts. There were far more Puritan immigrants than Pilgrim ones. | | Let's turn to the Massachusetts settlements next. Massachusetts had a much harsher climate than Virginia, particularly in the wintertime. Its settlers were motivated by religion, not money. They were unhappy with the oppression by the Church of England, feeling it was too much like the Catholic Church. Two different groups of these people set out for North America. The first group, the Separatists (better known as Pilgrims), wanted to separate completely from the Church of England and establish a religiously pure community. They came to America by way of Holland, to where they first fled from England. The second group consisted of more mainstream Puritans who wanted to purify the church from within, without leaving it. Both groups were types of Puritans, and both groups landed by chance within 100 miles of each other in Massachusetts. There were far more Puritan immigrants than Pilgrim ones. |