Big Names
A young member of the House of Burgesses who capitalized on his fellow backwoodsmen’s complaints by mobilizing them to form a citizens’ militia. Died of dysentery in 1676.
Nathaniel Bacon
A Protestant theologian in during the 1630s. Believed American Indians should be treated justly. Advocated the then-radical notion of separation of church and state, believing government involvement in religion amounted to forced worship.
Roger Williams
English explorer. While working to find a Northwest Passage for the Dutch East India Company, he sailed up the Hudson River, establishing Dutch claims for what became New Amsterdam (modern-day New York).
Henry Hudson
A 1680 revolt against Spanish settlers in the modern-day American Southwest. Led by a man named Popé, it forced the Spanish to abandon Santa Fe. A rare, decisive American Indian victory against European colonization.
Pueblo Revolt
A colony in which the crown allotted land and governmental command to one person. Maryland under Lord Baltimore is an example of it.
Proprietary Colony
Puritan leader. Founded a settlement at Hartford, Connecticut (1636) after dissenting from the Massachusetts authorities.
Thomas Hooker
One of the most important figures of the Elizabethan era. Granted permission by Queen Elizabeth I to explore and colonize the New World in exchange for one-fifth of all the gold and silver this venture obtained. Founded Roanoke.
Sir Walter Raleigh
A pivotal leader at Jamestown. Negotiated peace between the settlers and local American Indians. Famously stated “He that will not work shall not eat,” forcing the Jamestown colonists to work to save their then-failing colony. Returned to England in 1609 after being injured in a gunpowder explosion.
Ongoing battle between English colonists and the American Indian inhabitants of New England. The English victory expanded their access to land that was previously inhabited by the natives.
King Philip’s War
A form of Protestant Christianity that adheres to the liturgy of the Church of England. Founded in the sixteenth century by King Henry VIII.
Anglicanism:
Virginia governor during Bacon’s Rebellion (1676). Ruled the colony based on the interests of the wealthy tobacco planters. Advocated for good relations with the American Indians in order to safeguard the beaver fur trade.
Sir William Berkeley
A wealthy reformer who founded Georgia in 1733 as a haven for those who had been imprisoned in England as debtors. He initially banned slavery and alcohol from the colony, which led to many disputes among settlers. In 1751, however, the colony was surrendered to the crown, which repealed both bans.
James Oglethorpe
A Quaker, this man believed in equality between people. He owned all the colony’s land and sold it to settlers at low costs, instead of developing a headright system. The religious tolerance, excellent climate, and low cost of land appealed to immigrants from across Western Europe.
William Penn
The 1688 overthrow of the Catholic King James II by the English Parliament. He was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange. Led to both celebration and unrest throughout the American colonies.
Glorious Revolution
The Dutch capital of their New Netherland colony. Noted for its tolerance of religious practices. It failed to attract enough settlers to compete with the surrounding English colonies. Conquered by the English in 1664.
New Amsterdam
French-Canadian explorer. He and Jacques Marquette were the first Europeans to explore and map the Mississippi River.
Louis Joliet
French explorer, also known as René-Robert Cavelier. He surveyed the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Gulf of Mexico. Founded a network of forts around the Great Lakes and in the modern-day Midwest.
Sieur de La Salle
A traveling New Light preacher during the Great Awakening. Known for his sermons on the “fire and brimstone” eternity that all sinners would face if they did not publicly confess their sins. Undermined the power and prestige of Old Light ministers by proclaiming that ordinary people could understand Christian doctrine without the clergy’s guidance.
George Whitefield
A war in New England in 1636–1638. Fought between the _____ tribe and the English colonists with their American Indian allies. A catastrophic defeat for the _____ tribe. Famous for the Mystic massacre, where over 500 _____ were slaughtered in a blaze.
Pequot War
Nicknamed “the Lost Colony.” First attempted English colony in the New World. Founded in 1585 on an island off the modern-day North Carolina coast. By 1590, its inhabitants had vanished for reasons that still remain unknown.
Roanoke
French explorer. Known as the “The Father of New France.” Founded Quebec in 1608. Made the first accurate maps of what is modern-day Eastern Canada.
Samuel de Champlain
Planned and executed a surprise attack in 1622 on Jamestown that massacred a fourth of the total Virginia colonists in one day. The resulting retaliation by the English settlers devastated his tribe, altering the regional balance of power.
Opechancanough
A preacher credited for sparking the (First) Great Awakening. His sermons encouraged parishioners to repent of their sins and obey God’s word in order to earn mercy. He delivered his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” in 1741.
Jonathan Edwards
A 1739 slave uprising in South Carolina. Led to the deaths of more than four dozen colonists and as many as 200 African slaves. Prompted South Carolina’s proprietors to create a stricter slave code.
Stono Rebellion
Drafted in 1683 by a New York assembly, following the colony’s takeover by the English. It mandated elections, and reinforced traditional English liberties such as trial by jury, security of property, and religious tolerance for Protestant churches.
Charter of Liberties and Privileges