Guide to the Readings: Early Colonial America
Objective: To gain a thorough understanding of early colonial life in America and the impact of religion and slavery shaping society in that time.
Key Questions:
1) What were the main reasons for venturing to the New World from Europe?
2) How did the ideology of certain Protestant sects like the Puritans differ from that of other New England settlers?
3) What aspects of democracy, at a local level, can be identified in the assigned readings concerning the settlement of America?
4) How did the cultural differences between Native Americans of the East and white European settlers contribute to the rise of hostility between these two groups in 17th and 18th century America?
5) Why did slavery exist in America and how did this shape both society and the economy in both New England and the South during the 17th century?
How to Approach the Readings:
North America during the early 1600s was almost entirely uninhabited by European settlers. Spanish and French explorers had ventured through what is now Texas, Florida, up the Mississippi, and into the southwest. Conquistadors would establish, with the help of the Roman Catholic Church, further settlements like those already established in what is now Latin America throughout New Spain, expanding Spanish government and Christianity throughout the west. Yet British exploration had not made any significant contact with Native American peoples till the establishment of Jamestown in 1607. The study of this settlement will be the focal point of our second week in this course.
Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company and settled by men from England with little or no experience at pioneer life and soldiering. Within the first year of the settlement’s existence only two women were noted as present amongst the Jamestown community. Captain John Smith and the other senior leaders of the company competed for control of the settlement amongst in-fighting, attacks from local tribes, outbreaks of disease, and even cannibalism. It is also during this time that the local tribes inhabiting the area came into contact with British settlers. We will use the course documents and supporting visuals to decipher why Jamestown and other British colonies in America suffered poor relations with Native Americans, what role women played during this time and how this role was interpreted by both men and women of such settlements, and why slavery was incorporated into daily colonial life-both north and south- at that time.
Likewise we must compare the readings on Jamestown to the other primary documents of this course, notably the Salem Witch Trial and The Mass. Bay Colony established by the Puritans. The readings on Salem from the textbook examines the testimony of Tituba and explores how religion shaped the mindset and system of government within the Puritan community. The readings from the text on John Winthrop also examines the Puritan ideology but this time from the settlement’s birth in the early 1600s. We need to interpret the message of John Winthrop and connect it to the question as to why did this group of people leave Europe and what did they seek to create in the New World. The roots to our culture as a nation rests within his words as well as other similar individuals that we will investigate in this week and next week’s readings. Make sure to go back over the first week’s readings before continuing on to week two.
The historical documents from this folder examine two forms of labor, indentured servitude and slavery. To approach both we must examine why either form of labor existed in the Colonies during the 1600s and 1700s. What economic demand and political mindset helped to establish the Atlantic Slave Trade? (Keep in mind that slavery already existed in the Western Hemisphere centuries before the introduction of Europeans to the continent.) The real question then is why did this trade become a norm of society for that time? By examining the Middle Passage document we come to understand two things: one, the trafficking of humans as a brutal task that resulted in a high loss of life. The second point is that, over time, many participants of the slave trade became opponents of slavery, like the document’s author Dr. Falconbridge. It is important than to assess what factors of that time influenced this change in attitude. Keep in mind certain colonies in America were not dependent on slaves or did not tolerate slavery, but many did and were economically dependent on this form of labor. Putting it all together, we need to understand how colonial societies prevailed and what moral issues did colonial assemblies contend with by the eve of the American Revolution?
Your discussion board is posted in the Discussions module. Use the above summary to guide you through the readings and the supporting visuals to interpret the text and primary documents.
