Early Explorers
Cold winters and thin soil made large-scale farming difficult in New England (the northern colonies), so colonists made money through trade, timber, and this specific industry using ocean resources.
What is fishing (or whaling/shipbuilding)?
Founded in 1607 by John Smith and the The Virginia Company, this was the first permanent English settlement/town in North America. Many died due to disease, conflict with the Pawhatan Indians, drought.
What was Jamestown?
This term describes the global sharing of plants, animals, ideas, and technology between the Old World and the New World.
What was the Columbian Exchange?
Signed in 1620 by 41 adult male passengers, this document established a self-governing agreement for Plymouth Colony where the majority vote wins.
What was the Mayflower Compact?
Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were banished from Massachusetts and helped establish this new colony (in the New England colonies) focused on religious freedom.
What was Rhode Island?
Sponsored by Spain in 1492, he sailed west across the Atlantic hoping to reach India but landed in the Caribbean instead.
Who is Christopher Columbus?
This severe winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown reduced the English settler population from 220 down to just 60.
What was the "Starving Time"?
This European economic system aimed to create a favorable balance of trade by selling more manufactured goods than importing raw materials.
What is Mercantilism?
Created in Virginia in 1619, this was the first elected representative legislature (the 1st government) in the American colonies.
What was the House of Burgesses?
The Wampanoag Native American tribe near Plymouth Colony formed an alliance with the Pilgrims and started this harvest celebration in 1621 that we still celebrate today.
What is Thanksgiving?
Because the cold climate and rocky soil made large-scale farming difficult, settlers in New England relied on thick forests to build ships and export this specific natural resource.
What is timber (or wood/lumber)?
After being banished from Massachusetts for his religious beliefs, he purchased land from the Narragansett tribe and founded Rhode Island to offer true religious freedom. (Hint: He shares the same letter as R as in Rhode Island)
Who was Roger Williams?
Because of the Colombian Exchange and introduced by Europeans, this ANIMAL completely transformed life, hunting, and travel for American Indians.
What is the horse?
In 1619, Jamestown shifted to this form of government when white, land-owning men elected officials to the House of Burgesses to make laws for them (opposite of a monarchy).
What is a Representative Democracy?
European explorers set sail across the oceans during the Age of Exploration driven by these "3 G's"—seeking riches for their country, spreading Christianity, and gaining global fame.
What are Gold, God, and Glory?
These colonies had a warm climate and fertile land of this region allowed colonists to make money on large farms called plantations by growing cash crops like tobacco, rice, and sugarcane.
What were the Southern Colonies?
He was the founder of Pennsylvania as a haven of religious tolerance and safety for Quakers.
Who was William Penn?
Europeans brought deadly illnesses like smallpox and measles to the Americas, which spread quickly because American Indians had no immunity to them.
What were diseases?
In this type of colony government, the King directly controlled the government and appoints the royal governor.
What is a Royal Colony?
This Spanish country sent explorers and conquistadors, such as Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, claimed vast areas of Central and South America, establishing long-term rule in this region.
What is Spain?
These are the "the 3 G's" that motivated European countries to explore and claim distant lands.
What are Gold, God, and Glory?
He led the pilgrams aboard the Mayflower, kept detailed journals of early colonial life, and served as the first elected governor of Plymouth Colony.
Who was William Bradford?
Europeans captured and forced millions of people from West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to work on large farms called plantations.
Who were African slaves?
Great Britain was ruled by this system of government, where power is held by a king or queen who is born into the role rather than elected by the people.
What is a monarchy?
While several nations explored the continent, this European country established permanent 17th-century settlements like Jamestown and Plymouth along the eastern coast of North America.
What is England?