This is an image of the Virginia Company of London
of 1606. This was given to overseas settlers by King James I
with the promise that they would be treated in the New World
as if they where still in England. Through this Charter there
was a promise of gold and a passage to the Indies for King James.
This is important because it shows the desire of the English to
go out in search of new land to gain wealth and glory to add to
their already powerful nation after suffering through internal
conflicts which prevented them to go out and colonize.
of 1606. This was given to overseas settlers by King James I
with the promise that they would be treated in the New World
as if they where still in England. Through this Charter there
was a promise of gold and a passage to the Indies for King James.
This is important because it shows the desire of the English to
go out in search of new land to gain wealth and glory to add to
their already powerful nation after suffering through internal
conflicts which prevented them to go out and colonize.
This image shows the arrival of Lord De La Warr to
Jamestown. Prior to his arrival, the colonists of Jamestown
endured a year long period known as "Starving Time" as
they had no leader as Captain John Smith returned to England
and food was scarce. Jamestown was on the verge of failure, with
its people already docked on ships to return to England when
a relief party, led by Lord De La Warr arrived. He was the new
governor of Jamestown and was sent by King James I to help
Jamestown survive. What this shows is England's intentions to
keep a colony in the New World. At first the goal was short term
in search of gold and riches but now with a new governor, King
James is hoping for a longer, more permanent stay in the New World.
Jamestown. Prior to his arrival, the colonists of Jamestown
endured a year long period known as "Starving Time" as
they had no leader as Captain John Smith returned to England
and food was scarce. Jamestown was on the verge of failure, with
its people already docked on ships to return to England when
a relief party, led by Lord De La Warr arrived. He was the new
governor of Jamestown and was sent by King James I to help
Jamestown survive. What this shows is England's intentions to
keep a colony in the New World. At first the goal was short term
in search of gold and riches but now with a new governor, King
James is hoping for a longer, more permanent stay in the New World.
This image portrays another attack launched by the Powhatan Native Americans on the English colonists of Jamestown. The Native Americans who inhabited the land before the English had always had a tense relationship with the colonists. They were angry that they where kicked out of their land and abused by the English. This image is important because it proved that the Powhatan's and the colonists could not live together peacefully. There were many Anglo-Powhatan Wars that broke out because the Native Americans saw intruders in their land. The wars eventually ended with the Powhatan's kicked out of their land.
This image portrays John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony for
19 years. Here after arriving on boat, John Winthrop gave a speech to his people
by proclaiming that "We shall be as a city upon a hill" signifying that the the
people must make Massachusetts a beacon of humanity. This is significant
because it proved that unlike Jamestown, the people lead under Gov. Winthrop
where in Massachusetts to stay. By stating that they shall be a "city upon a hill" they
displayed their belief in that God had sent them a covent to build a holy society
which would be a model for all of humankind.
19 years. Here after arriving on boat, John Winthrop gave a speech to his people
by proclaiming that "We shall be as a city upon a hill" signifying that the the
people must make Massachusetts a beacon of humanity. This is significant
because it proved that unlike Jamestown, the people lead under Gov. Winthrop
where in Massachusetts to stay. By stating that they shall be a "city upon a hill" they
displayed their belief in that God had sent them a covent to build a holy society
which would be a model for all of humankind.
The Salem Minister, Rodger Williams, is portrayed here in this image giving a sermon on his ideas and beliefs. He was one of the extreme Separatists who believed that the Massachusetts Bay Colony completely break apart from the corrupt Church of England. From the viewpoint of the leaders in the Bay Colony, Rodger Williams was a nuisance because he went against everything that the leaders said and in 1635 the Bay Colony authorities banished him from Massachusetts. This is significant for a couple of reasons. First it showed how the religious leaders or anyone with power in the government did not approve of any new ideas that individuals invented. It would be considered heresy for people to go against the official beliefs and anyone who did not would be punished. The other important significance is from Rodger Williams standpoint. If he was not banished then he could not have gone on to establish the first Baptist Church in 1636 in Providence, Rhode Island. His banishing was significant because it helped spread out the people in New England.
This image shows the Native Americans of Massachusetts Bay Colony fighting off an attack from the colonists. Originally, relations between the colonists and the Native Americans were somewhat peaceful as the Native Americans where friendly and generous to the colonists. However; tension grew as more and more people came over from Europe and continued to take more land from the Native Americans. This image is significant because it showed that the two groups of people could not live together. Native Americans, as seen in the image, were fighting off the Governor at the time John Endicott and were at a disadvantage with weapons and manpower. As the colonists continued to take land, the Native Americans grew more and more disgruntled and all of this built up to King Phillips War which proved costly for the Native Americans as there was a large amount of casualties.
This image shows working slaves in Colonial America. Here the slaves, who come from Africa, are working on tobacco plantations. The tobacco plantations was where the slave owners needed most of their slaves because of how demanding it was to cultivate tobacco. In the image the slaves are working on the field and then showing their finished work to their master who is doing nothing but writing down the results of the slave labor. Slavery in Colonial American began due to the tobacco fields and the demand for cheap labor. When slaves would come from Africa they would have no rights as they would immediately be sold to a master. Slavery rose greatly in the 1680s and southern society was based on it.
Portrayed in this image is the one of the many ships used in the "Middle Passage". This passage was what the transatlantic journey from Africa to the colonies was called. In this image the boat is shown with the amount of slaves being carried on it. As one can see there is too many slaves on the boat and they are packed in like sardines. The conditions on these transatlantic journeys where horrendous as death rates ran as high as 20%. Slaves did not have the correct amount of food and water and there where no bathrooms either. The women would be used for sex and overall the conditions were just inhumane. This really shows the committed the colonists had to gaining wealth as they cared nothing about how the slaves were treated and instead only cared about how many slaves they could pack on a ship and then sell to slave masters.
This photo depicts the Albany Congress of 1754. The congress was called for by the British government. It was supposed to be a intercolonial congress but unfortunately delegates from only 7 of the 13 colonies presented themselves. The leader of this congress was Benjamin Franklin who came up with the slogan of "Join or Die". The long term goal or purpose for the congress was for colonial home rule meaning that the colonies would rule themselves without having to be under the command of the crown. As a short term goal the congress wanted to ensure that the Iroquois Native Americans would be on the British side during the war instead of supporting the French. This Albany Congress was significant in the history of Colonial America because it began to give the colonies a little bit of freedom and begin to form some kind of unity which will later spurn into the American Revolution.
William Pitt is portrayed here in this image. In 1757 he became the highest leader of the London government and he decided that he would concentrate on the war efforts that were going on in the New World. William Pitt took over Edward Braddock who lead British men into many defeats. William Pitts first move was to attack the French Fort Louisbourg. After placing it under siege the British won and this battle became their first significant victory of the French-Indian War. William Pitt was a significant figure in the French-Indian War because he led the British to victory. He planned attacks with Captain James Wolfe on Quebec and Montreal. The significance of the British winning the war was that the French were eliminated from America. Also having the British around and wanting to avoid conflict with Native American Tribes led to control on the colonists leading to the American Revolution.
This image shows perhaps the most important battle of the French-Indian War with the Battle of Quebec in 1759. The attack was planned by Captain James Wolfe and he decided to strike at night in order to surprise the French and take an early advantage. The two armies, the French and the British, fought that morning on the Plains of Abraham which were on the outskirts of Quebec. The British surrounded Quebec and the French were defeated. This battle along with the the fall of Montreal in 1760 ended French occupation in America and made the British victorious. This was significant because it meant that the British would be in the New World for many years to come and with their future laws and regulations, spark the Revolution.
Here is the Proclamation of 1763 which was written post French-Indian War. After a successful war against the French the British wanted to set some rules on life for the colonists. In order to avoid more conflicts with the Native American tribes in the area the British proclaimed that it was prohibited to settle in the area west of the Appalachian Mountains. They said this because they feared that if colonists settled in those areas then they would intrude into Native American territory and start another war or conflict and Britain could not jump into another war because of the tremendous debt of the French-Indian War. Despite having that land prohibited to them some colonists traveled over the Appalachians and settled into the unclaimed land. This is significant because it shows the first time that the colonists went against the Crown's rule or decision. This first act of defiance would be the one of many to lead up to the American Revolution.