AP US History 2.1-2.2: European Colonies

Thirteen Colonies

The thirteen British colonies on North America's Atlantic coast that broke from the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War and united to form the United States.

Which four colonies belonged to the New England group of the Thirteen Colonies?

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Which four colonies belonged to the Middle Colonies group?

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Which five colonies belonged to the Southern Colonies group?

Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

How were the Thirteen Colonies governed within the British Empire?

They were administered separately under the Crown through different colonial arrangements, but generally shared Protestant, English-speaking populations and similar political, constitutional, and legal systems.

What was the significance of the 1606 charters granted to the London and Plymouth Companies?

James I authorized these companies to establish permanent English settlements in North America. The London Company founded Jamestown, while the Plymouth Company sponsored an unsuccessful settlement at Popham.

What was the first permanently settled English colony in North America, and when was it established?

The Virginia Colony was established at Jamestown in 1607.

What was the economic purpose of Jamestown's shift toward tobacco cultivation?

Tobacco became a profitable cash crop that helped the struggling Virginia colony survive after early deaths from disease, starvation, conflict, and the failure to find substantial gold.

Plymouth Colony

A New England colony founded in 1620 by English Puritan separatists, later known as the Pilgrims. It merged with Massachusetts Bay in 1691.

What was the Mayflower Compact?

An agreement by the Plymouth settlers to organize themselves as a unified community and make collective political decisions.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

A Puritan colony established in 1628 that attracted substantial migration from England. It later absorbed Plymouth and became part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

What were the main founding motivations of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the New England colonies?

Religious concerns were central: Maryland was associated with Catholic immigration, Pennsylvania with Quaker ideals, and New England largely with Puritan religious goals.

How did Roger Williams challenge Massachusetts Bay's religious and political system?

He advocated religious tolerance, separation of church and state, and freedom of conscience. After banishment from Massachusetts Bay, he founded Providence Plantations in 1636.

What was the relationship between the Thirteen Colonies and slavery?

Slavery was legal in every one of the thirteen colonies, and enslaved labor contributed substantially to colonial economies, especially in plantation regions.

What principles characterized the government Roger Williams helped establish in Rhode Island?

The settlement emphasized religious liberty, an egalitarian constitution, and majority rule in civil matters while separating civil government from religious authority.

What role did Anne Hutchinson play in the development of Rhode Island?

After religious conflict in Massachusetts Bay, she helped establish a settlement on Rhode Island, contributing to the region's development as a center of religious dissent.

How did the four Rhode Island settlements become one colony?

Providence, Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick developed separately but were united under a royal charter secured by Roger Williams in 1663 as the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

What was the New England Confederation?

A 1643 alliance linking Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven for cooperation among the New England colonies.

What happened to Maine during the colonial period?

Maine was absorbed by Massachusetts during the seventeenth century and remained connected to Massachusetts until it achieved statehood in 1820.

New Netherland

A Dutch colony centered on the Hudson River and established to profit from the fur trade. England seized it in 1664 and renamed New Amsterdam as New York.

How did New Netherland become part of the English colonial system?

English forces captured New Amsterdam and the rest of New Netherland in 1664. Although the Dutch briefly regained some territory, the 1674 Treaty of Westminster confirmed English control.

Why was Pennsylvania especially diverse compared with many other colonies?

William Penn's Quaker colony attracted Quakers, Scotch-Irish settlers, Germans, and other immigrants, producing a culturally and religiously diverse population.

What distinguished the Middle Colonies economically and demographically?

They had fertile agricultural regions, active ports, extensive trade, and diverse populations. Cities such as Philadelphia and New York became major commercial centers.

How did the Carolina colony develop into North Carolina and South Carolina?

The colony's northern and southern settlements increasingly operated separately. They became distinct colonies in 1712 and were formally made separate royal colonies in 1729.

What were the original goals of the founders of Georgia?

James Oglethorpe and other trustees hoped to create a philanthropic, orderly colony for England's poor and initially sought to prohibit slavery. Georgia became a royal colony in 1752.

How did the status of colonies change from proprietary to royal control?

A proprietary colony was governed under a charter granted to an individual or group, while a royal colony was placed more directly under the Crown. Virginia, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Georgia, and others shifted to royal administration over time.

Dominion of New England

A centralized administration created by King James II in 1686 that consolidated New England colonies, later adding New York and New Jersey. It ended after James II was overthrown during the Glorious Revolution.

Why did the Dominion of New England collapse?

The overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution triggered resistance to Governor Edmund Andros. The dominion was dismantled in 1689, and the colonies' previous governments were restored.

What primarily motivated the founding of many colonies outside New England, Maryland, and Pennsylvania?

Business interests, economic expansion, access to resources, and profitable trade were major motivations.

What economic patterns characterized New England?

New England's economy combined farming with maritime trade, fishing, shipbuilding, and commerce, reflecting its less suitable terrain for large plantations.

How did geography influence the economies of the Southern Colonies?

A warmer climate and fertile land supported plantation agriculture and export cash crops such as tobacco. This economy relied heavily on enslaved labor.

What was mercantilism, and how did it shape British colonial policy?

Mercantilism was an economic system in which Britain regulated colonial commerce to benefit the imperial center. Colonists were restricted in trading with rival European powers but participated in a broader British Atlantic network.

What products did the colonies export within the British Atlantic trading system?

Major exports included foodstuffs, timber, tobacco, furs, deerskins, and other natural resources.

What goods did colonists commonly obtain through Atlantic trade?

They imported products such as Asian tea, West Indian coffee, and West Indian sugar, along with manufactured goods.

How did immigration shape the Thirteen Colonies?

Immigrants included English, German, Dutch, Walloon, Sephardic Jewish, Scotch-Irish, and other groups. Immigration contributed to rapid population growth and substantial regional and religious diversity.

How did colonial population change between 1625 and 1775?

It grew from roughly 2,000 to about 2.4 million, though this expansion displaced many Native Americans and occurred alongside the growth of slavery.

Which colonial cities were major urban centers by 1760?

Philadelphia, New York, and Boston each had populations exceeding roughly 16,000, making them important ports and commercial centers even though they were small by European standards.

Why did the British colonies begin expanding westward in the eighteenth century?

Growing populations and land speculation encouraged settlement beyond the Atlantic coast, particularly into the Ohio River valley. Colonies such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Connecticut claimed western lands.

What British policy governed colonial land claims in relation to Native Americans?

Britain insisted that colonial land claims should be based on legitimate purchases from Native American groups, although colonial expansion still displaced Native peoples and generated conflict.

What motivated Spanish colonization in North America?

Spain sought wealth, territorial expansion, and the spread of Catholic Christianity. Spanish colonization included settlements, missions, and systems that exploited Indigenous labor.

What was the Spanish mission system?

A network of Catholic missions intended to convert Indigenous peoples and extend Spanish control. Missions often relied on Indigenous labor and disrupted existing Native communities.

What motivated French colonization in North America?

France pursued the fur trade, commercial expansion, and Catholic missionary work. French settlements were concentrated along the St. Lawrence River and the interior waterways.

How did the French generally interact with Native American peoples?

French colonists often formed trade and military alliances with Native nations, particularly to participate in the fur trade and compete with English and Dutch expansion.

How did Spanish, French, Dutch, and English colonization differ?

Spanish colonization emphasized conquest, missions, and imperial control; French colonization focused heavily on the fur trade and alliances; Dutch colonization emphasized commerce; and English colonization developed through varied religious, economic, and agricultural settlements.