In 1607 about a hundred English settlers landed at Jamestown. Within a few years most of them were dead from disease, hunger and conflict. The colony survived because of one plant: tobacco. That choice shaped Virginia's land, its labour, and eventually its laws on slavery. Period 2 is about how different English colonies grew in very different ways.
Three regions
| Region | Settlers and economy | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake (Virginia, Maryland) | Young men seeking profit; tobacco plantations | Indentured servants, then enslaved Africans; House of Burgesses (1619) |
| New England | Puritan families; small farms, towns, trade | Strong churches, high literacy, "a city upon a hill" (Winthrop, 1630) |
| Middle Colonies | Mixed ethnic and religious groups; grain | Pennsylvania founded by the Quaker William Penn (1681) |
Slavery takes root
The first recorded Africans arrived in English Virginia in 1619. Over the following decades, colonies passed laws making slavery a lifelong, inherited status based on race. After Bacon's Rebellion (1676), Virginia's planters relied more on enslaved Africans than on indentured servants. Enslaved people resisted, most dramatically in the Stono Rebellion (1739) in South Carolina.
Conflict with Native nations
As colonies grew, they took more land. King Philip's War (1675–76) devastated New England. In New Mexico, the Pueblo Revolt (1680) drove the Spanish out for twelve years.
Ties to Britain
Under mercantilism, the Navigation Acts required colonial trade to benefit England. In practice, salutary neglect let colonies largely govern themselves, which mattered later.
The Great Awakening
In the 1730s and 1740s, preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield stirred a revival across the colonies. By challenging established ministers, it encouraged people to question authority.
Common mistakes students make
- Treating "the colonies" as one place. Regional differences are a favourite exam theme.
- Saying slavery was fully formed in 1619. It hardened into law over decades.
- Mixing up the Pueblo Revolt and Bacon's Rebellion. Both happened in the 1670s and 80s, in different colonies and for different reasons.
Try it
Say each answer before you flip. Then ask: after 1676, Virginia's planters relied more on enslaved Africans. What changed, and why then?
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