Fascinating Facts
• England gave land in the Ohio River valley to a group
of Virginia colonists. George Washington, one of those
colonists, was sent by the British to make the French leave
the area.
• Some Mohawks, who were part of the Iroquois League,
left the league to join the French in their war against the
British and other Iroquois.
• After the French and Indian War, the only part of
mainland on the Atlantic coast that did not belong to
England was Florida, which was still controlled by Spain.
Genre
Nonfiction
Comprehension Skill
Compare and
Contrast
Text Features
• Maps
• Captions
Scott Foresman Social Studies
ISBN 0-328-14893-8
ì<(sk$m)=beijdg< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U
In this book you will read about the growth and
development of the Thirteen English Colonies in
North America. From the time of the first European
settlements, the colonists experienced a complicated
relationship with the American Indians. This relationship
included agreements and conflicts that led to the French
and Indian War.
Write to It!
Suppose that you are a reporter for a colonial newspaper
covering the French and Indian War. Write a three- or
four-paragraph article summarizing the events of the
war.
Vocabulary
alliance
Write your article on a separate sheet of paper.
self-sufficient
backcountry
trading post
tributary
Maps
11 Mapquest.com, Inc.
Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply
regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
ISBN: 0-328-14893-8
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected
by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding
permission(s), write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, Illinois 60025.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
Unless otherwise acknowledged,
all Offices:
photographs
are the property
Foresman,New
a division
of Pearson
Editorial
Glenview,
Illinoisof•Scott
Parsippany,
Jersey
• NewEducation.
York, New York
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R) Background (Bkgd)
Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois
Opener: Francis G. Meyer/Corbis
Coppell, Texas • Sacramento, California • Mesa, Arizona
3 ©Bettmann/Corbis
4 Getty Images
7 ©Peter Gridley/Getty Images
12 Getty Images
13 State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, USA/Bridgeman Art Library
14 Bettmann/Corbis
New Beginnings
The Thirteen Colonies
When the European settlers arrived in North America, they
had to adapt to a new land with its own geography, history, and
culture. There were already people living in this new land who
had for centuries adapted their lives to the environment in which
they lived. These people were the American Indians, or Native
Americans. The settlers and the American Indians had a very
complicated relationship. At different points throughout early
American history, the settlers and American Indians fought wars
against each other, formed trade and military alliances, and
shared farming techniques. Two key factors that profoundly
impacted the way of life and the interactions between the
settlers and American Indians were geography and climate.
The geography and climate varied greatly along the east coast
of North America.
The colonists lived along the Atlantic coast of North America.
There were thirteen colonies, and each colony had distinctive
characteristics. However, colonies that were geographically close
to one another shared similar climates. As a result, three distinct
colonial regions emerged. The regions were called the New
England, the Middle, and the Southern Colonies.
The Thirteen English Colonies
2
3
The New England Colonies
The colonists who settled in the New England Colonies found
rocky soil, cold winters, and short summers to be characteristic of
the region’s geography and climate. Because of this, most farmers
in New England learned to be self-sufficient. They learned
important farming techniques, such as how to grow corn, from
the American Indians.
Fishing, boat building, and trading were not only popular ways
of earning a living, they were also important industries that helped
shape the growth of the New England economy. The dense New
England forests supplied plenty of timber to build ships. Other
natural resources found in New England were iron and animal
furs. One way the colonists obtained furs was by trading with
American Indians.
In 1633 Dutch colonists expanded their fur trade from the
Hudson River valley in present-day New York to present-day
Hartford, Connecticut. The English colonists in Massachusetts
wanted to compete with the Dutch for the fur trade. The Pequot,
a powerful American Indian group, saw the English as more
of a threat because there were more English colonists. In 1637
conflicts over land and the fur trade sparked a war between the
English and the Pequot. This was known as the Pequot War. In
this war, the English colonists were assisted by the Narragansett
and the Mohegan—rivals of the Pequot. By the fall of 1638,
English colonists and their American Indian allies defeated the
Pequot, and hundreds of Pequot were killed. For nearly forty years
after the end of the Pequot War, New England did not experience
any major conflicts with American Indians.
In 1675 King Philip’s War became the most costly conflict
between American Indians and the colonists. Twelve out of
ninety New England towns were destroyed and 5 percent of the
colonists were killed. Almost 40 percent of the American Indian
population were killed or fled the region. After the war, the
American Indians who stayed in New England survived in small,
scattered communities. The American Indians no longer had the
strength to use armed resistance to oppose the colonists. They lost
control of their land, and by the early 1700s English colonists had
expanded across the region.
Metacom, Sachem of the Wampanoag,
was known to colonists as “King Philip.”
4
5
The Middle Colonies
Between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies
lay the Middle Colonies. Unlike the colonies in the North, the
Middle Colonies had very fertile soil and a more moderate
climate. As a result, the Middle Colonies were often called the
“breadbasket” colonies because they supplied the New England
and the Southern Colonies with grains, such as wheat, barley,
and oats.
Unlike New England, there were fewer towns in the Middle
Colonies because of the large amount of space required for
farming. Rather than use land for a town square as in New
England, farmers in the Middle Colonies needed large areas of
land to grow crops and raise livestock. In addition, the Middle
Colonies had excellent iron and coal resources and a strong fur
industry. All of these items were traded in the bustling coastal
cities of the Middle Colonies.
Because many of the colonists who lived in Massachusetts
were Puritans from England, people who practiced other religious
beliefs were persecuted. In contrast, the Middle Colonies were
much more diverse and enjoyed more religious freedom. Quakers,
Presbyterians, Mennonites, and Catholics all lived in the Middle
Colonies. The Quakers, many of whom lived in Pennsylvania,
were known for their tolerance, especially toward African
Americans and American Indians.
6
William Penn and colonial leaders met with the Delaware in 1682.
In 1682 William Penn founded the Pennsylvania colony as a
place where his Quaker beliefs could be practiced. In the same
year, he made a treaty with the Lenni Lenape group. In the treaty,
Penn promised to pay them a fair price for most of the land that
King Charles II had given him. Compared to many other colonies,
Pennsylvania had no major conflicts with American Indians—at
least until Penn’s death in 1718.
The Lenape, or Delaware, lived in a region that consisted of
much of the Middle Colonies. In 1600 there were about twenty
thousand Delaware. By 1700 war and disease had reduced their
population to about four thousand. One cause of war was the
fur trade between American Indians and the colonists. The
demand from Europe for fur was so great that several American
Indian groups competed for the same hunting territories. This
competition led to war among the groups.
7
The Southern Colonies
The Southern Colonies had winters that were shorter and milder
than the winters in either New England or the Middle Colonies.
The geography was also different. The land close to the Atlantic
coast was a mixture of bays, swamps, and rivers. This land was
fertile and often wet, making it very good for growing cash crops,
such as tobacco, indigo, and rice. Many cash crops were grown
on plantations. Large plantations often had their own blacksmiths
and dressmakers. In some cases large plantations in the South had
bigger populations than some towns in New England.
Southern plantations brought much wealth and prestige to
the South. However, the majority of southerners did not own
plantations. Like farmers in New England, many southerners
were self-sufficient. These southerners lived in the backcountry,
surrounded by dense woods and hills. People living in the
backcountry had a complicated relationship with the American
Indians of that region, on whose hunting and fishing areas
they settled.
8
The Tuscarora, an American Indian group, went to war
against the North Carolina colonists in 1711. Two years later, the
colonists defeated the Tuscarora with the help of the Yamasee,
a rival American Indian group. In 1715 the Yamasee made an
alliance with part of the Creek group in their own fight against
the colonists. The colonists defeated this alliance with the help
of the Cherokee and other American Indians. By the end of the
war the next year, the American Indians were defeated. Many of
the survivors were driven from their homes and fled to Spanishcontrolled Florida.
More than a million animal furs were shipped from the port
city of Charleston, South Carolina between 1700 and 1715. The
fur trade forced the Cherokee to hunt farther from their homes.
Competition with the colonists for hunting grounds, wars with
other American Indian groups, and disease were some of the
challenges faced by the Cherokee. Between 1773 and 1792, the
Cherokee signed a number of treaties with colonists by which the
Cherokee gave up a great deal of their land in the South.
9
The Ohio River Valley
Much of the conflict that occurred between people in early
North America was about land. English colonists, French traders,
and many different American Indian groups were involved. By
the early 1700s the Atlantic Coast was becoming too densely
populated. Some English colonists began to cross the Appalachian
Mountains and move further west. They moved to the Ohio
River valley, which had very fertile land. By the mid-1700s, the
French already had trading posts in this region, where they met
American Indians and traded goods.
This area was important because the Ohio River was a
tributary of the Mississippi River. France had already claimed the
Mississippi River and all of its tributaries as part of New France.
Both the French and the English wanted to control the Ohio River
valley because it offered access to the Mississippi River, fertile
lands, and a central location for trade. In addition, American
Indians wanted to protect this region from being settled by the
English. Some American Indians depended on trade with both the
French and the British in manufactured goods, especially weapons.
The French and the English relied on the American Indians for
fur trade and military support. All three groups wanted to have
control of the Ohio River valley, and war seemed inevitable.
European Land Claims, 1750
10
11
The French and Indian War
In the 1740s England granted land in the Ohio River valley to
a group of Virginia colonists. These colonists thought the land
could be sold as farmland to other colonists. This land grant
increased tension between the French and the English. In the early
1750s the French built forts in the Ohio River valley to secure
what they felt was their territory. The British did not want to lose
their claim and demanded that the French dismantle their forts.
The French refused the demand, and war soon broke out.
George Washington’s attempt to capture Fort Duquesne in
1754 is known as the Battle of Great Meadows. The battle took
place near present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Washington’s
battle with French forces marked the beginning of the French and
Indian War. A number of battles between the British, the French,
and their American Indian allies followed.
George Washington
General Edward Braddock, Washington’s commander, was mortally
wounded near Fort Duquesne.
The struggle for power in North America was not the only
source of conflict between Britain and France. In 1756 Britain
formally declared war on France and the Seven Years’ War began.
Most of the fighting between the two countries and their allies
took place in Europe. In North America the British began the
war by losing battles to the French. One reason the French were
winning was their alliance with American Indians. Even though
American Indians traded with both the British and the French,
many American Indians feared that the English colonists would
drive them from their land.
To help gain an advantage, both the French and British made
alliances with different American Indian groups. In general, the
French had a better relationship with the American Indians
because they were traders and did not take the American Indians’
land as the English colonists did. The two major American
Indian groups involved were the Algonquians and the Iroquois.
These two groups were made up of different nations that shared
the same language and culture. During the French and Indian
War, the French formed alliances with the Algonquians and the
English formed alliances with the Iroquois League. The Iroquois
allied themselves with the English because the Iroquois and the
Algonquians had been enemies for a long time.
13
In November 1756 the war changed direction when former
Prime Minister William Pitt became Secretary of State. Pitt was a
very forceful man, and from London, he seized control of British
forces. He appointed new, young generals to lead the British and
Colonial troops. As a result, the British began winning battles
against the French. In 1758, British forces were able to capture
Fort Duquesne, the fort George Washington had failed to capture
in 1754. In this victory, four years later, Washington was able to
take part in the fort’s capture.
The Iroquois joined the British during the war. The Iroquois
hoped that this alliance would help them keep control of their
land. The British captured Quebec, the French capital city in New
France, in 1759. When the British gained control of Montreal
in 1760, most of France’s territory in North America fell under
British control. In 1760 the war between Britain and France for
North America largely ended. However, the two countries and
their allies continued to fight in Europe for the next three years.
British Control
After seven years of fighting, the British won the French and
Indian War. The two sides signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763,
and France gave much of its land in North America to Britain,
including most of Canada and all of its territory east of the
Mississippi River.
After the French and Indian War, England controlled much of
North America. However, the British forts and troops needed to
secure this vast territory were too few and too far apart. Because
the French had been defeated and were no longer a threat, the
colonists began to move west to settle. Many American Indians
feared that the growing number of settlers would force them off
their lands. This movement by the colonists would soon affect the
lives of the American Indians living in the West.
William Pitt became British
secretary of state in 1756.
14
15
In this book you will read about the growth and
development of the Thirteen English Colonies in
North America. From the time of the first European
Glossary
settlements,
the colonists experienced a complicated
relationship
with
American
Indians.two
This
relationship
alliance
anthe
agreement
between
groups
included
agreements
and conflicts
that led to the French
or nations
to defend
each other
and Indian War.
backcountry the rugged area of land near
the Appalachian Mountains
self-sufficient Vocabulary
able to rely on oneself for
most of what one needs
alliance
Write to It!
Suppose that you are a reporter for a colonial newspaper
covering the French and Indian War. Write a three- or
four-paragraph article summarizing the events of the
war.
Write your article on a separate sheet of paper.
trading post aself-sufficient
place where settlers and
American Indians met to trade goods
backcountry
tributary a stream or river that flows into
trading post
a larger river
tributary
Maps
11 Mapquest.com, Inc.
Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply
regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
ISBN: 0-328-14893-8
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman, a division of Pearson Education.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected
by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding
permission(s), write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, Illinois 60025.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
16
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R) Background (Bkgd)
Opener: Francis G. Meyer/Corbis
3 ©Bettmann/Corbis
4 Getty Images
7 ©Peter Gridley/Getty Images
12 Getty Images
13 State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, USA/Bridgeman Art Library
14 Bettmann/Corbis