United States History Student Edition

Understanding the Time and Place: North America, 1587–1754

Although several European nations had claims in North America, it was the British who eventually dominated the eastern part of the continent. By the mid-1700s, British colonies stretched for hundreds of miles along the Atlantic Coast.

The Earliest Settlements The earliest English colonies were founded at Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, in 1587, and at Jamestown, in Virginia, in 1607. The colony at Roanoke did not succeed, but the Jamestown colony did. Jamestown was settled on behalf of the Virginia Company, which was searching for gold and other resources. Early hardships, including starvation and disease, nearly doomed the colony, but the aid of local Native Americans helped the colonists survive. Eventually, as the colonists learned to plant and raise tobacco, Jamestown began to grow and thrive. The settlers' desire for new lands, however, soon led to warfare with the region's Native Americans. Religious Freedom in New England The next group of English settlers to come to America was not searching for gold and riches. Fleeing religious persecution in England, the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts in 1620 to practice their religion freely. Much like in Virginia, Native American aid helped the settlers survive their early days, although conflict between the newcomers and Native Americans quickly developed.

Other religious groups soon followed the Pilgrims to this area, which became known as New England. The Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, north of Plymouth, in 1630. The New England colonies of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire were founded by dissenters from within the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dissenters were people who disagreed with the strict religious policies followed by the Puritans. The Middle Colonies The Middle Colonies—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware—were founded between the 1660s and early 1700s. New York was originally a prosperous Dutch colony before England took it over in 1664. New Jersey was formed when a large western section of New York was separated and became its own colony. Pennsylvania was formed by yet another religious group, the Quakers. The colony's founder, William Penn, strove to treat all residents, including Native Americans, equally. Delaware formed in the south of Pennsylvania. The Southern Colonies The English established other colonies in the South. Maryland was settled as a safe haven for people of the Catholic faith in 1632. The Carolina colony was made up of land managed by a group of proprietors, who then sold or rented land to individual settlers. Eventually the settlers broke away from the proprietors, and in 1712 Carolina became two separate royal colonies. Georgia was originally planned as a colony for English debtors. It was also intended to act as a buffer between the Carolinas and Spanish Florida. Eventually the colony attracted a variety of settlers from Europe, including some who were

fleeing religious persecution. Colonial Economies

This illustration from the 1800s shows the Pilgrims signing the Mayflower Compact on November 11, 1620.

The economies of the colonies depended on their resources. Along the coast of New England, fishing and whaling were important industries,

Archive PL/Alamy Stock Photo

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