Colonial America
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| Colonial Biographies - 5th grade | |||||
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| From the first settlement at Jamestown in 1607 early America's colonies enjoyed a slow but steady growth. Most of the colonies' population ---approximately 2,500,000 by 1775--- lived east of the Allegheny mountains. Most of the colonists were English or of English descent. Nearly all spoke English. Second in numbers were the Germans in Pennsylvania, the Dutch in New York, and the Irish and Scotch-Irish who had settled to some extent throughout all of the colonies. The original thirteen colonies were Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. |
| Plymouth | Quebec |
| Jamestown | Montreal |
| Roanoke | Fort Caroline |
| Santa Elena | Fort Orange |
| Lost Colony | New Amsterdam |
| St. Augustine |
Plymouth - It's History and People
Virtual Tour of the Plymouth Plantation
Roanoke Island - The Lost Colony
Quebec Early History
Since many continental explorations began in the region, Quebec has been called the cradle of Canada. In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross on the Gaspé and the following year he sailed up the St. Lawrence. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain built a trading post on the site of the present-day Quebec city, and from this and subsequent settlements Catholic missionaries, explorers, and fur traders penetrated the North American continent. The activities of private fur-trading companies ended, for a time, in 1663 when Louis XIV made the region, then known as New France, a royal colony and chose Jean Baptiste Talon to be intendant, or administrator.The long struggle to protect the colony and the fur trade from the Iroquois (other tribes were allies of the French) and the British was effectively lost in 1759, when the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham (see Abraham, Plains of). By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, Great Britain acquired New France. In an attempt to conciliate the French inhabitants, the British passed the Quebec Act of 1774, under which the colony was allowed to continue its semifeudal system of land tenure and to retain its language, religion, legal system, and customs.
After the American Revolution, many British Loyalists came to settle in Quebec. By the Constitutional Act of 1791 the British separated the area west of the Ottawa River and created the colony of Upper Canada (now Ontario) there. Quebec became known as Lower Canada, and in 1791 the first elective assembly was introduced.
Montreal History
A stockaded Native American village, Hochelaga, was found on the site (1535) by Cartier, and the island was visited in 1603 by Champlain, but it was not settled by the French until 1642, when a band of priests, nuns, and settlers under Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, founded the Ville Marie de Montréal. The settlement grew to become an important center of the fur trade and the starting point for the western expeditions of Jolliet, Marquette, La Salle, Vérendrye, and Duluth. It was fortified in 1725 and remained in French possession until 1760, when Vaudreuil de Cavagnal surrendered it to British forces under Amherst. Americans under Richard Montgomery occupied it briefly (1775–76) during the American Revolution.
Fort Caroline National Monument
Fort Caroline short history
Fort Caroline, settlement near the mouth of the St. Johns River, NE Fla.; est. 1564 by French Huguenots under René de Laudonnière. A Spanish force led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés attacked the fort in 1565, killed most of the colonists, and renamed the fort San Mateo. This was avenged by a French force led by Dominique de Gourgues, who in 1568 wiped out the garrison at San Mateo.
A Brief History of Albany
Henry Hudson, with the support of 18 crew members on the small ship Half Moon, was the first explorer to venture up the 'River" from Manhattan. Commissioned by the Dutch East India Company in 1609 to report on the new world, Hudson told of the magnificent river, and the bounty of Albany, then known as Fort Orange.The Dutch ignored Hudson's observations until 1613, when the East India Company sent five more vessels on Hudson's course. This time, the aggressive explorers set about gathering proof of the region's assets, mostly in the form of impressive furs.
In 1621 the Dutch established the colony of New Netherland, with the intent of developing trading posts in Manhattan, and in Albany. A few years later 18 French Huguenot families, along with soldiers and traders, settled in Fort Orange.
Fort Orange remained in Dutch control, with nearly 10,000 settlers, until 1664 when the English sailed over in four warships. They easily took control of Manhattan, and then ventured up the river to capture Fort Orange for "His Majesty". Fort Orange was renamed to honor the Duke of Albany, and in 1686 the British granted Albany a founding charter as a city.
Life in New Amsterdam in the 17th Century
New Amsterdam, Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson River and on the southern end of Manhattan island; est. 1624. It was the capital of the colony of New Netherland from 1626 to 1664, when it was captured by the British and renamed New York.
Rare Maps - Colonial America (and other periods)
Amusements in Colonial New England
Monticello: Home of Thomas Jefferson
Pilgrim Clothing: Dress in Early New England
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| 13 Colonies | America in 1713 | Immigrant distribution in the Colonies |
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| Slave Trade | U.S. - 1775 | 1776 Reproducible Map |
Pictures
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| Pilgrim Man Clothes | Pilgrim Woman Clothes | Ben Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette - January 2, 1750 | |
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Boston Gazette
Monday, October 7, 1776 |
Articles of Confederation | America's first continuously-published newspaper, the Boston News-Letter published its first issue on April 24, 1704. | Also displayed from this issue is an ad from the back page for a Scheme of a Lottery. The lottery was created to sell 6000 tickets at $2 each to raise funds to pave the highway in Charlestown from the Ferry to the Neck. Of the $12,000 to be raised, according to the ad, $10,800 is earmarked for prizes and $1200 for paving the highway. |
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| Virginia (1607) - Established by the London Company New Jersey (1618) - Originally settled by the Dutch, but seized by the English in 1664. Massachusetts (1620) - Founded as two colonies: Plymouth Colony (1620), settled by the Pilgrims; and Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630), settled by the Puritans. They were united in 1691, and annexed Maine, which had been colonized by the New England Council in the 1620's. New Hampshire (1622) - Originally part of Maine, then a colony from 1629 until annexed by Massachusetts, 1641-1643. Became a separate colony again in 1679. Pennsylvania (1623) - Originally settled by Dutch and Swedes. Came under English control in the 1664 and was granted to William Penn by Charles II in 1681. New York (1624) - Founded as New Netherland by the Dutch West India Company. Seized by the English in 1664 and renamed. Maryland (1634) - Granted to Lord Baltimore. Connecticut (1635) - Founded by settlers from Massachusetts and other colonies. New Haven Colony, founded by settlers from Massachusetts in 1638, annexed to Connecticut in 1662, when the older colony was granted a royal charter. Rhode Island (1636) - Settled by two groups from Massachusetts and united in 1644. Chartered by King Charles II in 1663. Delaware (1638) - Settled by Swedes; seized by the Dutch in 1655 and by the English in 1664. Granted to William Penn in 1682. North Carolina (1653) - Settled by pioneers from other colonies. Carolina was separated from Virginia and granted to a private company in 1663; divided into two colonies in 1711. Made a royal providence in 1729. South Carolina (1670) - Originally part of Carolina Colony. Was separated from North Carolina in 1711, and became a royal providence in 1729. Georgia (1733) - Granted to a private company by George II in 1732 and settled a year later in Savannah. |