Virginia Colony: Early American History

Study Notes

Virginia Colony

The first English colony in North America was Virginia, established as a business venture by the Virginia Company to find gold and other valuable natural resources.
The Virginia Company established the House of Burgesses, the first European-type government in the New World.
When gold was not found, the Virginia colony turned to cultivating tobacco, which became a major cash crop and led to a need for African slaves.
The trans-Atlantic trade (Triangular Trade) enabled the colony to prosper and expand by trading tobacco and other resources with Europe, Africa, and other colonies.

Slavery in Virginia

The demand for labor-intensive tobacco farming led to the development of slavery in Virginia.
African slaves were brought to the colony to work on tobacco plantations.
The Virginia House of Burgesses later passed laws to regulate slavery, ensuring that poor white colonists would not side with slaves against rich white colonists.

Native Americans in Virginia

Native Americans, including the Powhatan tribe, had lived on the land for centuries before the English settlers arrived.
The English settlers forced Native Americans off their land, which was then used for tobacco farming and other agricultural purposes.
Many Native Americans fled the region to find new places to live.

Bacon's Rebellion

Poor and slave colonists, who did not own land, staged an uprising against the governor and his landowning supporters.
The rebellion, known as Bacon's Rebellion, sought harsher action against Native Americans to make more land available to all colonists.
The rebellion was eventually put down, and the Virginia House of Burgesses passed laws to regulate slavery.

Settlement of New England

The first New England colonies were established by the Puritans in Massachusetts.
Many colonists came to pursue a better life and to practice religion as they saw fit, but the Puritans were not tolerant of religious beliefs that differed from their own.

Founding of Rhode Island

Rhode Island was founded by religious dissenters from Massachusetts who were more tolerant of different religious beliefs.

New England Government

In royal colonies, the king controlled the government through an appointed royal governor and a partially elected legislature.
In colonies not controlled by the king, governments were run by town meetings.
Voting rights were limited to men who belonged to the church, and church membership was tightly controlled.

Relations with Native Americans in New England

King Philip's War (1675-1676) was a bloody conflict between colonists and Native Americans, led by Metacom (also known as King Philip).
The war caused significant loss of life among the Native American population, leading to large areas of New England becoming colonial settlements.

Loss of Massachusetts Charter

In 1686, the British king canceled the Massachusetts charter, which made it an independent colony.
He combined British colonies throughout New England into a single territory governed from England to gain more control over trade with the colonies.
The colonists in this territory greatly dissented against this decision.

Description

Learn about the establishment of Virginia, the first English colony in North America, including its founding by the Virginia Company and the creation of the House of Burgesses. This quiz also covers the development of slavery during this period.